Solar-Powered Rainwater and Well Water Treatment for Sustainable School Water

Abstract

Purpose: This study evaluates the implementation of an integrated solar-powered rainwater harvesting, well water, and treatment system at SMAN 12 Padang as an alternative source of non-potable clean water and a green-school technology. Design/methods/approach: The intervention integrated rooftop rainwater collection, well water, staged filtration, photovoltaic power, and IoT-based monitoring. Water quality was evaluated before and after filtration using temperature, pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), turbidity, iron (Fe), and zinc (Zn). System implementation also included a 600 Wp photovoltaic array, water filtration units, and real-time monitoring. Findings/results: Before treatment, two source samples showed acidic pH (5.60 and 5.19), TDS of 408 and 320 ppm, and high turbidity of 209 and 281 NTU. After filtration, the measured water quality improved to 28 °C, pH 6.9, TDS 198 ppm, turbidity 4 NTU, Fe 0.110 ppm, and Zn below the limit of detection. The IoT dashboard also recorded post-treatment values of 25.1 °C, pH 6.14, and TDS 182 ppm during system operation. Conclusions: The integrated system substantially improved the measured physicochemical quality of the available water and demonstrates the feasibility of combining rainwater and well water utilization, filtration, solar energy, and digital monitoring for sustainable school water management. Further routine microbiological testing and long-term performance monitoring are required before making drinking-water claims.