Harvest the rain, reap the gains

Rainwater is a life-giving resource, and without it, there’d be no life on earth. Its primary purpose is to give us water to drink. During a downpour, rain seeps into the ground to become part of rivers and lakes, or what is called ground water.

• 

Rainwater harvesting is a technique of collection and storage of rainwater into natural reservoirs or tanks, or the infiltration of surface water into subsurface aquifers (before it is lost as surface runoff). One method of rainwater harvesting is rooftop harvesting. With rooftop harvesting, almost any surface – tiles,metal sheets,plastics – can be used to intercept the flow of rainwater and provide a household with water, conveniently accessible and available year – round.

General publications

There is a large and growing body of research and documentation on domestic Rainwater Harvesting (DRWH). Here we provide an overview of some introductory readings:

– Rainwater Harvesting Handbook (African Development Bank)

-Rainwater Harvesting in the Homestead (Peter Morgan)

Importance of Rainwater Harvesting

The importance of rainwater harvesting lies in fact that it can be stored for future use. Just as it can be used directly so also the stored water can be utilized to revitalize the ground level water and improve its quality. This also helps to raise the level of ground water which then can be easily accessible.

7 Different types of rainwater harvesting system

1. Water Butt

2. Direct – pumped

3. Indirect Gravity

4. Indirect pumped

5. Gravity only

6. Retention ponds

7. In – Ground Storage