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Rainwater Collection Systems |
Out of all the natural things we absolutely need to live, water is perhaps the one we take for granted. Turn on the tap and there it is, clean and fresh ready to be
used. However, this may not always be the case - an unfortunate side product of our complex consumer lifestyle. The Western world consumes an enormous amount of clean water, an amount which is constantly growing and strain our resources to the limit. If we all tried to save water, using rainwater collection systems and also recycling grey water, the benefit would be massive ...
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Water falls from the sky in various amounts, depending on the region we live in and we just allow it to drain away. We then pay to have more water pumped to our homes for us to drink and bathe in. Of course, the convenience is great, but the pipe must be paid at the end of the day and it would be prudent to take some kind of measures making us more self sufficient in our water use.
Clean water is essential for drinking, but so essential for washing our clothes, or watering the garden, for example. Americans use on average around 69 gallons of water per person, per day, or abour 2100 gallons per month. Now if you have a roof area of 2500 square feet, then the rain water you could save equates to 0.6 x 2500 = 1500 gallons! This water can be used for a hots of routine task around the home, like washing the car, for example. Rainwater collection systems save water in barrels or even underground tanks, whihc is then pumped out onto the garden or into a seperate reservoir to wash our clothes. A simple rain barrel diverter will fill a water butt placed near the rainwater downpipe from the home's gutter system without much trouble, and this is perfect for our outdoor plants. Without doubt, it would be prudent to make sure that the rainwater in our area is not very, very polluted, but this is not too common nowadays. Rain water is fantastic for washing clothes, leaving the material with a soft feel and fresh smell. If preferred, a basic filter can be used to remove possible harsher chemicals that may have been absorbed from the atmosphere, but this is generally not required. If the water is to be used fro drinking, then quite a sophisticated filter system, possibly of the reverse osmosis type will be needed. Water recovery and other measures would remove the pressure from our water processing plants and also help to preserve an essential natural resource that is more and more in short supply.
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