Things You Need to Consider
The next time it rains, don’t let nature’s gift run right pass your fingers and straight into the ground. Rainwater harvesting is a very simple way of conserving nature’s most precious resource. You do not necessarily need big and expensive equipment to do so. All you need is some creativity. Back then, when there were no main pipes to bring water into the house, people relied on natural sources for water. These sources consisted of rainwater, wells as well as streams and rivers. Out of all these sources, rainwater remains easily available for harvesting anywhere in the world. Basically, a rainwater cistern does exactly what its name says; it collects rainwater in the cistern to be used for birdbaths, watering plants, drinking, and other daily usages. In a rainy climate, installing a rainwater cistern might provide you with independence from your normal tap water supply that flow from the treatment plants. However, before you start putting out buckets and waiting for rain to fill them up, there are some things that you will need to consider.
Steps
- Laws and Legislations
Surprisingly, in some states, rainwater harvesting is prohibited by the law as it is considered to be an act of stealing from those who have rights to take water from the watershed. On the contrary, there are also some countries which require new property owners to install rainwater cisterns of a specific standard to meet the needs of its inhabitants.
- Location
If you are to rely solely on rainwater harvesting to meet your daily water needs, do make sure that you are living in an area that is not affected by drought. Building a rainwater cistern in a dry area will be a waste of money as it would be left dry most of the time.
- Consumption
In some areas where even the rainwater is contaminated, it would not be advisable to drink water supplied from your rainwater cistern unless you have proper filters in place. However, this rainwater can still be used to water plants and even flush toilets.
- Size
If you are planning to rely solely on rainwater running through your taps, make sure that you have a big enough cistern to meet your household daily needs or you may risk running out of water.
Image Credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/4344849745/
