Assessing the Status and Importance of Rainwater Harvesting from Public Perceptions (Case Study: Six Regional Capital Cities of Iran)

Ancient Iranian civilization flourished in an arid and desertic landscape for thousands of years merely due to special water harvesting and management systems. However, currently the country faces a challenging water resources crisis. Since perception of importance of a subject or technology is key factor in its adoption, this study attempts to inquire into perception of Iranian citizens on the importance and necessity of rainwater harvesting. Therefore, 187 respondents from six regional capital cities were interviewed on their RWH experience, knowledge and opinions on the significance and benefits of RWA. The face-to-face questionnaire administration mode was used for the survey. Results indicates that there is a low level of RWH experience and knowledge among the current generation of Iranian, whereas more than 70 and 40% have no RWH experience and information. Respectively. However, there is a high inclination (80%) towards RWH adoption provided that financial supports shall be available. Since more than 51% of the respondents perceive RWH is highly and very highly necessary in large public and commercial buildings, RWH should start from these buildings. More than half of the respondents believe that rainwater is useful for domestic water supply. The respondents perceive that the reduction of water bills (30% of respondents) and alleviation of water shortage crisis (55% of respondents) are the most important advantages of RWH for private households and general public, respectively. More than one-third of the respondents conceive that main beneficiary of RWH will be agriculture sector.