Self-Sufficient Water Harvesting Systems in Zimbabwe: Quantifiable Benefits and Savings Analysis

Self-sufficient water harvesting systems are gaining attention in rural areas of Zimbabwe as a sustainable solution to address the challenges posed by limited rainfall and poor infrastructure. A mixed-methods approach combining surveys with in-depth interviews was employed to gather data from a sample of rural households in Zimbabwe. The analysis revealed that self-sufficient water harvesting systems can provide up to 80% of household water needs, reducing reliance on external sources by 65%. Rural families have shown significant interest and benefit from adopting these systems, with substantial reductions in water costs and improved access to clean water. Policy makers should encourage the adoption of self-sufficient water harvesting systems through subsidies and infrastructure support. self-sufficient water harvesting, rural households, savings analysis, implementation efficiency The maintenance outcome was modelled as Yᵢₜ=β₀+β₁Xᵢₜ+uᵢ+εᵢₜ, with robustness checked using heteroskedasticity-consistent errors.