Study on Rainwater Viability for Non-Drinking use in an Agricultural Research unit in Brazil

The reduction in the availability of drinking water to populations has stimulated the search for alternative forms of technologies that enable the use and reuse of rainwater for non-drinking purposes, which are associated with practices that contribute to the reduction of waste. Thus, the aim of the present work was to propose a model for capturing rainwater and to identify the demands for the use of non-potable water for an agricultural research unit, in order to replace the current model with a more sustainable one. The work was carried out in a research station of IDR-Paraná-Institute of Rural Development of Paraná – Iapar-Emater, in the municipality of Ponta Grossa, Paraná. Three factors were evaluated: precipitation, collection area and demand quantity in each activity. The system is feasible to be implemented. The maximum demand for a month of higher consumption was estimated at 56.700 liters. It was possible to estimate the intake for the month with the lowest precipitation at the site, with this volume exceeding 46.000 liters of water, a value sufficient to meet the unit's demand for washing vehicles and for use in agricultural spraying, contributing to the reduction of use of drinking water at the station. Water use technologies are sustainable solutions and contribute to the rational use of water, providing the conservation of water resources for future generations.