Rain water is free water. However, if you want to store your rainwater, you may have to invest in a system that collects or harvests the rain water and filters it making it more suitable for drinking or general purposes around your home.
You might be surprised at how much water you can quickly collect from your roof if it rains.
Just a half inch of rain falling on a 1,000-square-foot roof can yield 300 gallons of water.
If you like to garden and water your plants, rainwater is typically healthier for your plants than water that has been treated by the city which might contain things like chlorine.
Your rain water harvesting system may pay for itself fairly quickly depending on how much city water you pay for and how much gardening and watering you do.
Harvesting rain water gives you more options regarding your water supply and also lowers your water bills. You may only need to make a one-time investment to get an efficient water harvesting system.
The first thing you have to do is install gutters, if you don’t already have gutters, to trap and direct the rain water. The water is from your roof which may not be clean enough to drink initially.
After installing gutters, the next step is getting a Rain Harvesting Leaf Eater Downspout Filter (or similar device). Water collected by your gutters may contain leaves and debris that have gathered on your roof. The water from the gutters is directed through the Leaf Eater Downspout Filter screen that is slanted at a 45 degree angle. Leaves, insects and other debris gets caught by the filter before it goes into your rain harvesting water pipes and tanks. Then the leaves and debris simply dry up and usually blow away or are easily removed with very little effort.
These Leaf Eater Downspout Filter screens generally cost about $37 and are worth the expense. They do a good job of keeping leaves and other undesirable objects out of your water tank.
When the rain water comes through the Rain Harvesting Leaf Eater Downspout Filter, it can pass into a pipe that goes to your water tanks or you can first pass it through a First Flush Diverter system.
If it hasn’t rained in a while, the first couple of gallons that come up the roof might be kind of dirty. The roof can contain dust and other debris. The water might contain bacteria, sediments, chemical residues, bird and lizard droppings and more. All these are not desirable elements in a water storage system.
Using the Rain Harvesting Downspout First Flush Diverter, the first one or two gallons of water from a new rain is diverted into a tube, instead of flowing to the water storage tank.
After your first flush diverter captures to the first gallon or two of dirty water from your roof, the cleaner water starts flowing into the storage tank.
A water filter such as the Berkey water filter or the Alexapure Pro or a reverse osmosis system may be used to clean or filter the rain water making it safer for drinking. These filters may remove most impurities, bacteria, metal toxicity, and acidity in the rain water. Do your own research though to be sure you’re drinking healthy water.
Keep in mind when you buy water tanks to store rainwater in, there are food grade and nonfood grade water tanks. If you’re planning on drinking the water that comes out of your rainwater harvesting storage tanks, you might want to be sure you’re purchasing food grade water tanks. Otherwise sunlight may penetrate the tank walls and cause algae to grow in your water supply.
With an efficient rain water harvesting system, the value of your property may increase. It may also mean lower water bills and a more abundant water supply all year long.
Published on 2020-07-28 01:31:09
