Abstract
Rainwater harvesting is defined and a review of its types is presented. Runoff farming rainwater harvesting is classified as micro-, macro-catchment runoff farming according to the catchment area and type of flow. Rooftop rainwater harvesting is also presented as good alternatives for some of the domestic uses. Some examples of the runoff farming rainwater harvesting and the rooftop rainwater harvesting together with the technologies and techniques to be implemented are presented. The Iraqi Western Desert (IWD) is a typical semi-arid region for application of rainwater harvesting. The hydrological features of IWD reflect the need for implementing water harvesting. The main wadies of this area are Wadi Horan, Wadi AL-Ghadaf, Wadi Tubal and Wadi AL-Ubayadh. These wadies are detailed with their hydrological and geographical features. Some previous practices of rainwater harvesting in IWD and particularly the Zubaidah Burkas are introduced. According to how much water can be harvested from this area, a few rainwater harvesting techniques applicable for the IWD are proposed.
