Ground-Runoff Harvesting to Increase Water Availability in Isolated Households on Hilly Mediterranean Islands: A Case Study in a Micro-Catchment of Ibiza (Spain)

Ground-runoff harvesting (GRH) emerges as a promising, sustainable solution to address freshwater scarcity on Mediterranean islands. A study in Ibiza demonstrated that GRH can capture significant volumes of water from extreme rainfall events, filling a 40 m³ tank in just one hour during a 65 mm/h precipitation event. Using a curve-number-based rainfall-runoff model, researchers estimated that installing GRH systems across Ibiza's forested areas could harvest approximately 1.31 million cubic meters of freshwater annually—equivalent to about 5% of the island's total freshwater budget. This approach offers an inexpensive and scalable method to increase water availability in isolated households, particularly in drought-prone regions with limited groundwater resources.

Pedretti, D., Roig Palomeque, I., & Meier, S. (2023). Ground-Runoff Harvesting to Increase Water Availability in Isolated Households on Hilly Mediterranean Islands: A Case Study in a Micro-Catchment of Ibiza (Spain). Water, 15(24), 4317. https://doi.org/10.3390/w15244317