What and How to Harvest Rainwater- Should you?

Sustainability is something we should think about not after the fall but before. Engineers ad Architects have been thinking about this since 2008 and even more and more before. Rain water and harvesting water should be an important ingenuity that we are paying more attention to as the water source becomes less and less available to our people. For example, the situation in Flint, Michigan where regular citizens of America still do not have clean water to drink. Why should we continue to depend on the government to allow us clean water. We all deserve clean drinkable water. So why not do it ourselves. Have you thought about pooling and creating your own water quarry? Well here’s some information on this topic

The Concept: Planning and Maintaining – the secret is respect if an entire village can survive off of 6 cm of rainwater, we have to learn how to respect what is given to us in order to keep it coming long for the future of mankind.

So if you are not familiar with rain water harvesting, let’s start with a simple definition. Harvesting Rainwater mean to capture rain water where it falls and capture the runoff from, catchment and streams etc. Generally water harvesting is direct rainwater collection; water to be stored for later use and recharge into the ground water again.

This type of Water Harvesting can provide drinking water, irrigation water, increase groundwater recharge, reduce storm water discharges, urban floods and overloading of sewage treatment plants. Such as the picture below, the water you store can be used as a irrigation system for your lawn, garden, or specific plants. There’s truly no bad way to go when having your own supply of water. Minus a monthly bill…
                                       
Rain water is a primary source of water with rivers, streams, and lakes a secondary source. You can figure out your rain harvesting potential with this simple equation: rainfall (mm) x collection efficiency. Take this example into account:

1. Area of plot to collect water from = 100sq m (120 sq yards)
2. Height of rainfall = 0.6m (600mm or 24 inches)
3. Volume of rainfall over the plot (area of plot x height of rainfall)
4. Assuming that only 60% pf total rainfall is effectively harvested.
5. Volume of water harvested = 36,000 liters (60,000 liters x 0.6)

With this example this amount of water is twice the annual water drinking requirement of a 5 member family. (10 liters per person)

Rain Water harvesting does seem pretty straight to the point and easy but be aware you need to do your diligence in research. For example, regular maintenance is a must, your water holding tank has to be mosquito free, and the tank has to be zinc-alum free because that is dangerous to drink.

In order to install a water harvesting system properly- you need to probably consult a plumber and/or electrician for the proper build and pumping system. Like more things innovative and clean, the long term benefits are great but the initial cost is the headache.

A good resource to get more information from….”National Water Harvesters’ Network (NWHN) is a far-reaching network that addresses water issues through people from diverse background in India and abroad. The members of NWHN are primarily professionals, bureaucrats, grassroots functionaries, interested citizens and all those committed in developing or undertaking water harvesting program. The network addresses and highlights the local issues and the traditional systems relating to water harvesting to further the cause of community based water management.”