Assessment of factors affecting adoption of rooftop rainwater harvesting technology for domestic use in Blantyre, Malawi

Abstract

Despite widespread perception that harvested rainwater from rooftop has poor quality, rooftop rainwater harvesting remains an option for ensuring access to safe drinking water. This study assessed factors affecting adoption of rooftop rainwater harvesting technology for domestic use. The study used simple random sampling to select 150 households. Data was collected from Nancholi area in Blantyre City, with questionnaires and check lists used as data collection tools. Additionally, water samples from 100 households of adopters of Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting were collected and measured using standard methods and equipment. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 16.0. The results on Chi- square test showed that there was no significant difference in roof catchment and differences (p<0.05) in supporting collecting system, storage devices and storage capacity of rooftop rainwater harvesting systems among households. On suitability for drinking, the pH, free chlorine, total chlorine, and total dissolved solids met the minimum requirements of the Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS, 2013) for drinking water. However, thermotolerant coliform and turbidity did not meet the requirements of the MBS because it contained dirty, debris and bird feacal matter. The results on Binary logistic regression test indicates that household size, household perception and household income have significant relationship to the probability for adoption. However, it was found that water source, access to information, and distance to water source registered an insignificant relationship (p>0.05) with the probability of the adoption. The study found that harvested rooftop rainwater is not suitable for direct drinking since it contains microbes. When harvested rooftop rainwater is intended for drinking, water treatment like boiling and use of water guard should be promoted.