Rainwater has been harvested for centuries and is important for greener living.
Each year the idea of conservation and protecting our resources grows more of an issue. Water is certainly no exception to this rule. According to the Texas A&M University Extension, rainwater harvesting includes the capturing, diversion and storing of rainwater for later use. A good use of harvested rainwater is gardening, watering flowers and lawns. Using city water for these purposes can be costly and wasteful to water systems that are needed for drinking and plumbing systems. Does this Spark an idea?
Roof and Catchments
First a surface must be located where rainwater will hit and be captured. Roofs are typically used for this purpose because they are readily available and accessible. Other catchments used may include decks, terraces, yard areas or homemade surfaces such as corrugated sheets. Roofs that are prone to oxidizing effects of sun and airborne toxins should be avoided. Cedar rooftops should be completely avoided due to the acidity of the wood, which is toxic for plant life.
Gutters, Guards and Pipes
The roof or homemade system requires a guttering system to collect the flow of water and transport it to a piping system. Gutters can be purchased or made using PVC pipe, galvanized iron or bamboo. The gutters need to be sized according to the most extreme water flow from rain. Installing gutters with a continuous slope assists in the prevention of debris buildup. Gutter guards are optional and are often used depending on the surrounding foliage of the rainwater harvesting system. A piping system needs to carry the water from the catchment or roof to the harvesting system. Piping or conduits can be constructed out of a number of materials including galvanized iron or PVC pipe.
First Flush and Filter
A first flushing system is the component of the harvesting process that strains the first rainfall of a storm that is flushed out of the harvesting system and not used. When rain falls, the first water contains the most pollutants and chemicals. First water diverters can be purchased and have shown to remove up to 80 percent of pollutants from the rainwater. The rest of the water that is contained can be run through filters or debris traps to purify the water as desired. A number of filters exist such as charcoal or sand filters.
Storage and Disinfection
Storage tanks can be any size depending on the needs of the individual. Tanks can be purchased from a number of different retailers such as farm implement stores, home improvement stores or online specialty stores. Purchased tanks can hold anywhere from 300 to 3,000 gallons of water. A tank can also be made from materials such as galvanized iron, plastic, concrete or ferrocement. Some people do a final disinfection on collected water using UV lighting and particle filters, but this is totally dependent on what the water will be used for.
Tags: galvanized iron, harvesting system, piping system