Why rainwater harvesting is done

Simply put, rainwater harvesting is a process used for collecting and storing rainwater. Just think about the rainwater that falls on roofs, hardstand areas, paths and other impermeable surfaces. Usually, all this precious water would simply run into the stormwater system or the drain away, but rainwater harvesting allows it to be captured and used to supplement or replace reticulated water used in a wide range of applications — both indoor and outdoor.

Remember in times of water restrictions, tank water is yours to use as you want. In order to do this, the best solution is the installation of a rainwater harvesting system. They generally consist of the following:.

Rainwater can be used for a variety of general purposes and can supplement or even replace municipal water supply entirely. The reality is that rainwater harvesting is becoming a viable alternative for supplying our households and businesses with water.

There are many countries such as Germany and Australia where rainwater harvesting is a norm. Due to the green building movement, you will be seeing rainwater harvesting systems become more popular here in America.

The collection of rainwater is known by many names throughout the world. It ranges from rainwater collection to rainwater harvesting to rainwater catchment. In addition, terms such as roofwater collection or rooftop water collection is also used in other countries. We believe that rainwater harvesting is a viable technology in an urban setting. All that is necessary to take advantage of this resource is to capture the free water falling on your roof and direct it to a rainwater storage tank.

By doing this, you can take control of your water supply and replace all or at least a substantial portion of your water needs. Not enough benefits for you? Discover more rainwater harvesting advantages. Rainwater harvesting is important for several reasons but one of the biggest is the fact that we are tapping out water conservation gains inside our homes so we need to start looking outdoors for more opportunities. The following graph shows the gains that have been achieved with our indoor water fixtures through the combination of governmental standards and innovation by fixture companies.

Probably not! This phenomenom is known as the law of diminishing returns. So where will the next revolution in water conservation take place? We believe we offer services in the areas where this revolution will take place. You can essentially use rainwater anywhere you use tap water. You have asked a question which would require some smart academics or consulting firm people to dig into. It may not affect the piping infrastructure pressurized supply and wastewater piping since water would be going through these pipes anyway, but it would definitely affect the water treatment infrastructure.

Theoretically, the treatment infrastructure would have to treat less water, thus prolonging the life and extending the anticipated maintenance on this infrastructure.

So how to go about calculating those benefits? One simple way may be to figure out the cost to run a water treatment plant per gallon of water treated. Then once you know how much water you would save through the use of harvested rainwater, you could come up with a good cost of the benefit of a large-scale rainwater harvesting system to a municipal infrastructure system.

Thank you so much for your grand initiative on this topic sir!! This is the kind of opportunities I have Benn looking for for the gone years, in fact you are imparting so much knowledge to us rainwater harvesting. The citation link link please, how can I cute you? Thank you so much. Hello Chris, I myself am a Civil engineer and wanted to make a blog about benefits and techniques of rainwater harvesting.

Reading your post has really enlighten me, but I would like to ask you about harvesting rainwater in an open well. It is a common practise where I live, but I have seen that when it rains, and the water id put into the well, the water in the well becomes muddy and cannot be used immediately but only after allowing the soil particles to settle. When this well is the only source of water for the house, most people shy away from this practise, especially if they personally do not have to face water shortage issues.

Would you take sometime to explain how this problem can be solve? Foustin, thanks for your question. I have heard about using rainwater from roof surfaces to recharge wells in places like India but it is not a practice used in the US. I think it would be difficult to keep the water in the well from becoming muddy if you let rainwater, say from a pipe off a gutter, go directly into the well. The only way to do that would be to calm the water before letting it enter the well.

If you discharge the water below the water surface of the well, that could dissipate some of the incoming energy and allow less dirt to be kicked up in the well. But in the end, this is just a guess for me. Hello sir I am a school going kid. In this project I have to make a model showing rainwater harvesting. So I thought of making Roof top rainwater harvesting.

Which to opt? Pls advise. I think creating a roof top rainwater harvesting model would be a little be easier to make and model versus a retention pond model. All you need is a roof structure with some gutters that channel the rainwater into a rainwater tank. Good luck with your project!

I am an engineering geologist from Turkey. I wonder that, if it is possible the harvesting rainwater to transfer into the soil directly?

If your answer is yes, could you please explain, are there any disadvanteges for the foundation of the buildings? Thank you.

If you are inquiring about allowing rainwater to flow off of structures and directly transfer it to soil for infiltration, it can be done but due to the quantity of runoff and the long time that soil infiltration can require, you will still need a reservoir of sorts to temporarily hold the excess rainwater before it can transfer to the soil and infiltrate.

Collected rainwater could build up in the dry well as the soil is catching up in terms of infiltration. A system like this could be fine next to buildings especially if the bottom of the dry well is below the bottom of the foundation.

Doing some research on water catchment for my own home, but also looking into price breaks on municipal water for people in my coastal town that utilize catchment. I see the upsides but what might be the downsides ecologically speaking, of capturing water that would otherwise recharge the groundwater?

How does catchment affect the larger landscape? Use our Rainwater System Calculator to find out which system is right for you.

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