Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID CO-2023-R07

Analysis of the rainwater harvesting potential for residential irrigation in Colorado’s main urban areas under future climate conditions

Institute: Colorado
Year Established: 2023 Start Date: 2023-09-01 End Date: 2024-08-31
Total Federal Funds: $10,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $10,000

Principal Investigators: Aditi Bhaskar

Project Summary: According to the 2023 Colorado Water Plan, there will be less water available in the future than will be needed to supply all the projected demands on water. Different strategies to reduce the use of water have been proposed to deal with this shortage. From these, rainwater harvesting may be a good option to supply residential irrigation demands. Nevertheless, as rainfall is variable in Colorado, there is little certainty on how effective rainwater harvesting could be. This study aims to determine how landscape configuration, irrigation systems, and rainwater harvesting storage capacity affect the effectiveness of rainwater harvesting for residential irrigation in Colorado. To achieve this, we will build a model that describes the performance of rainwater harvesting systems in Colorado’s main urban areas considering future rain projections. The results of this project will help stakeholders in the urban planning process to build a more water resilient Colorado.