Rainwater Harvesting

Rainwater harvesting involves the collection, storage and distribution of rainwater for use inside and outside the home or business. Whether you have a small barrel to store water for your plants or a large underground tank to supply all of your water needs there are many benefits to rainwater harvesting.

Rain is free! Many communities have restrictions on usage of their water main system along with increasing costs as supplies become tight. When stored correctly rain water is much cleaner than tap water as there are no chemicals added to kill bacteria in the pipelines.

By harvesting water from rain you help reduce damage to our streams, rivers, water habitats and organisms caused by stormwater runoff. We can do without many things but we cannot do without water. Rainwater harvesting is one way to help protect this valuable resource. The photo to the right is of the water collection system, rain is collected from the roof of the building and directed into these pipes. Since the first 10 minutes or so of rain is considered to dirty to use it is diverted away from the main outside water tank. We use a racket ball to cut off the diverted flow much as a ball valve would but this way it's automatically done.

Rain water catchment system

The photo to the left shows the water holding tank, pump and heater. It all currently resides inside the building above the bathroom.