RWH01 Rainwater Harvesting

About this course

This course is about rainwater harvesting in small buildings and, in housing, in particular. It describes how rainwater harvesting systems can be designed and installed in buildings to supplement or replace, municipal water supplies.

In many areas of the world, water is becoming increasingly scarce. Climate change, increasing urbanisation and limited maintenance and upgrading of municipal water infrastructure is making this situation worse and in many areas, water supplies are also becoming increasingly unreliable.

As water is a necessity for life, it is necessary to think about alternative water resources and ensuring that a reliable supply is achieved. One of the most effective ways of doing this is through a rainwater harvesting system. This enables rain falling on a site to be captured and used. Where there is sufficient rain it is possible to source all of the water required on a site in this manner and not to have a municipal supply. In this way, buildings can be ‘off-grid’ and effectively ‘water neutral’.

The course provides guidance on how to develop rainwater harvesting systems. It includes calculations that can be used to size a rainwater harvesting system and shows how these can be designed, installed and maintained.

What this course offers

Taking the course, and using the tools and checklists, will help you develop knowledge, skills and processes that will enable you to become more capable of developing rainwater harvesting systems.

What you will learn

The following topics will be covered in the course.

1. What is a rainwater harvesting system?

Rainwater harvesting systems are described. The reasons why rainwater harvesting systems are developed are also provided.

2. What are the components of a rainwater harvesting system?

The key components of a rainwater harvesting system are introduced with examples. The section also shows how these components are assembled to build a full rainwater harvesting system.

3. How do you design a rainwater harvesting system?

This section shows that it is important to understand water needs and rainfall patterns before rainwater harvesting systems can be designed. It provides calculations that can be used to size rainwater tanks and calculate the payback periods of systems.  

 4. How do you install and manage a rainwater harvesting system?

This section provides pointers on the installation and management of rainwater harvesting systems. This includes developing a log to monitor issues and the performance of the system

5. Are there tools and guides you can to develop rainwater harvesting systems?

Tools and guides that can be used for the development of rainwater harvesting systems are provided. These enable the process of developing rainwater harvesting systems to be more efficient and to help avoid  ‘reinventing the wheel’.

How you will learn

The course is online and you will be able to access the following resources

  • Course presentation
  • Course book
  • Course quiz
  • Templates and guides
  • Course work
  • Additional reading

The course is self-paced and you can work through the material in your own time. Access to course will be provided for 3 months from the date of registration.

Course certificate

A course certificate can be provided should you wish to receive formal confirmation of your successful completion of the course. For this, you must download and apply tools and guides provided and submit coursework. This will be reviewed by the Course Instructor and, where requirements are met, a course certificate will be issued.

What do I need to attend the course?

You will need access to the Internet and a Gmail account with a password to access the course.  

Who developed the course?

The course was developed by Instructors who have designed and run management and technical courses for the United Nations, government departments, universities, professional bodies and community organisations.   

Accessing the course, course books, tools and guides

Access to the course enables you to view the presentations, the course book, tools and guides, the additional reading, the coursework and take the quiz. Please contact us with your Gmail address and the course you would like to attend here.

Course books, tools and guides can be viewed online during the course. If you would like to download and use these, these may be available through the shop.

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