Assessment of a Rainwater Harvesting System for the Volta Regional Hospital in Ghana

Rainwater harvesting is the art and science of capturing rain for human use. This study analysed rainfall data for the Regional Hospital's catchment area to ascertain potential harvestable rainfall. Assessment of the buildings and their respective roof areas were also done to determine the possible roof catchment areas. The potential rainwater that could be harvested from the different blocks within the hospital range between 3,306.18 -9,943.45m3. The potential total average rainwater that could be harvested from the different blocks within the hospital catchment area of 51,939.11m2 is 53,524.29 m3 per annum. According to data collected from the GWCL, the monthly and yearly demand of water by the hospital are 3,146 m3 and 337,752m3 respectively, which is lower than the total potential rainwater that could be harvested per annum of 53, 524.29m3 . This implies that there would be an excess water of 15,772.29m3 . Theoretically, it means that harvested and stored rainwater could meet the water needs of the hospital. Keywords: Rainwater harvesting (RWH); Water storage; Organizational water usage