ABSTRACT
Water harvesting is not a new development but rather an ancient method of water supply.[3-5] Fraiser[6]
reported several examples from the literature of early water harvesting structures. Researchers found such structures that date back over 9000 yr in the Edom Mountains in southern Jordan. Some other evidence was identified of simple forms of water harvesting practiced in the Ur area in Iraq at around 4500 B.C. The term was probably cited for the first time in the literature by Geddes in 1963 defining it as the collection and storage of any form of water, either runoff or creek flow, for productive use.[7] This definition, as well as others, focuses on surface runoff as the key factor in water harvesting, the source of runoff being mainly rainfall and snowmelt flowing from slopes and in ephemeral streams.[8]
During the past 40 yr, water harvesting has been receiving renewed attention.[9] Boers and Ben-Asher[10]
reviewed the achievements in this field during the 1970s. Research during that period emphasized two aspects: surface runoff inducement, as well as runoff collection and conservation. Considerable research was done on methods to reduce surface storage and infiltration losses. Runoff farming and the issue of relative sizes of the catchment area and storage reservoir have recently concentrated thorough investigation efforts.[11-13] However, very little was done concerning the more fundamental physical and hydrologic
R ai nf al lS at el li te
modeling aspects of water harvesting. Nevertheless, this field is currently capturing significant attention.[14-16]
The goal of this chapter is to provide an overview of various water harvesting methods and to present a case study on the application of reservoir siting in a dry marginal area of Lebanon using the hydro-spatial AHP method that was developed for that purpose.
