A National Program for Large Scale Rainwater Harvesting: An Individual or Public Responsibility?

Rooftop rainwater harvesting systems for human consumption represent an alternative among individual technologies of water supply. However, this solution should not be treated exclusively as an emergency and pro-poor alternative when it is applied in the form of public policy intended for supplying water to rural populations of semi-arid regions. By aiming at the assessment of the role that this type of solution represents for rural populations, this study evaluates the Brazilian rainwater harvesting program which has already constructed 372,000 cisterns with a storage capacity of 16 m(2) of water. A survey covering 623 beneficiaries of this program in 68 municipalities located across the state of Minas Gerais revealed that obstacles in terms of the articulation of water supply and health programs remain for the success of the program. In addition, the adoption of appropriate practices involved in the handling of the different components of the program depends on improving the awareness among the beneficiaries. This represents one of the major challenges for the effectiveness of the program. The present study indicates that the precarious living conditions of the population who beneficiates from the Brazilian rainwater harvesting program impose a major challenge to the overall effectiveness of the program and increases the level of involvement and responsibility on the part of the government.