Rainwater harvesting is sometimes also referred to as rainwater recycling. What this means is that you will be collecting rainwater and using it around your yard.
When it is raining, if you collect this water using water butts, you can use this water in your yard for various purposes. Therefore, you don’t have to then use your main water supply to water your garden or even wash your car.
When it comes to rain harvesting, we are talking about the rain that comes off your roofs and down your gutters. It is really beneficial to know what rain harvesting is and to do it yourself at home, as you can save money on your water bills.
While also making your home overall much more sustainable.
In this article, we will be talking about what rainwater harvesting is, and why you should consider doing it yourself at home and how!
Why Harvest Rainwater?
Studies have shown that on average, a person will use around 150 liters of water every day. This doesn’t just include drinking water either, as we use water in the kitchen, bathroom and garden.
A lot of this water goes to waste, therefore by harvesting rainwater, you are saving the amount of water that you use and help to protect the environment.
By installing a rainwater harvesting system, you can help to reduce our water bills by half, especially if you spend a lot of time in the garden watering it or washing your car.
This system is really beneficial if you also find yourself in a drought or with a hose pipe ban, as you will have free water that you can use to water your garden with.
Due to benign soft water, this water won’t have any negative effects and reduce the amount of detergent you need to apply.
Harvesting Rainwater Process
Installing a rainwater harvesting system is very simple and only involves a couple of steps.
Typically, water will hit your room and fall off, through the gutters and go down the pipes. As the water goes down these pipes, they will filter into either an above ground or underground tank just for rainwater.
There is a filter that the rainwater goes through. This filter can be placed either at the top of the tank or just before the tank, so the rain has to pass through it before it is stored in the tank.
The filter is really important, as the filter cleans the rainwater of any impurities. It also prevents any leaves, debris or moss from making its way into the tank.
Then this clean water free from any debris is stored in this water tank until it is needed to be used.
When you want to use this water, the rainwater is normally pumped out from your tank, whether this is an underground or above ground tank. It is usually pumped to its point of use, this can be a toilet for flushing, a washing machine or a tap for garden use.
What Can Rainwater Be Used For?
By using harvested rainwater, you can reduce your mains water usage by half. There are many uses for your rainwater, these include washing machines, garden and outside use and toilets.
In fact, gardens actually prefer rainwater to drinking water that you get out of your main water taps. This Is so because rainwater does not contain all the chemicals that our drinking water does, which makes it safer for us to drink.
In addition to this, rainwater is naturally soft, which means it is safer for you to use in your appliances such as your washing machine. Thus, you can end up using less detergent as well.
With our main water, sometimes the water can be hard and this affects the durability of our appliances. Therefore, rainwater can be a much safer alternative.
Can Water Be Harvested By Patios Or Driveways?
We would recommend that you stay away from harvesting rainwater from patios or hard standing areas such as driveways.
This is because waste products or oils could enter the water, which could be used for flushing toilets or washing clothes, and this could affect them.
In addition to that, water from these areas are much more likely to collect dirt from the ground. Unlike water that drains off your roof, which is a lot cleaner.
Does Rain Harvesting Prevent Flooding?
If you live in an area that is known for heavy rainfall, then by harvesting this rainwater into your rain tank, you can help stop flooding.
When you experience a heavy rainfall, then your water tank will fill up, and if the rain continues, then the remaining water will overflow into a soak area. This then takes any stress off any public storm drains. Thus, fewer chances of flooding occurring when it rains.
Conclusion
Rain harvesting is when you collect and store rainwater that would have normally flown into the drain from the gutters. Usually this water is collected straight into water butts or is collected off the roof.
However, this water has many uses in and outside the home. With the impact of that, it could reduce your water and energy bills, as you will have to amuse your water mains less.
We hope you have found this article useful and understand why you may want to consider rain harvesting. As rain harvesting can make you a lot more suitable.
Hi, my name is Mike Noren and I am an activist for saving water. In the USA alone, we waste almost 900 billion gallons of water every year. To put that into perspective, that equates to the yearly household water use of around 11 million homes!
We waste water in so many ways, like leaving the faucet on while we brush our teeth, bathing instead of showering, and watering our lawns more than we need to.
Through my site, you'll learn more about droughts and their effects on society, how to collect rainwater and use it in your everyday life, and how much water you really need to be using a day. Remember that saving water will also save money on your water bill, so why not give it a go and help me Save The Drop!
