Harvest the Rain

Enlarge Image Image Gallery Rainwater systems can be as simple as routing gutters to an old oak barrel, like Phoebe Jenkins and her family of Barkeyville, Pennsylvania, use. JOSEPH JENKINS

Rainwater harvesting systems can be as simple as directing gutters to a lidded garbage can or as complex as a concrete cistern, roof washer and filtration system. But whatever your application, rest assured that you'll be getting some of the purest — and cheapest — water around.

WHY RAINWATER?

Rainwater can be used for potable water (drinking, cooking, bathing) or nonpotable uses such as landscape irrigation, livestock watering and washing. Collecting and using rainwater has numerous benefits, ranging from improved water quality to reduced stress on underground aquifers.

"All water is rainwater," rainwater systems enthusiast and author Richard Heinichen is fond of saying. And indeed, he's right: All our water, whether sucked from an aquifer, river or well, or harvested from a rooftop, once was cloud-borne.

But after it falls from the sky, rainwater percolates through the earth and rocks, where it picks up minerals and salts. As Heinichen points out, in many cases, this water also collects other contaminants such as industrial chemicals, pesticides and fecal coliform bacteria found in the soil. Captured before it hits the ground, rainwater is free of many pollutants that plague surface and underground water supplies and, according to the Texas Water Development Board, "almost always exceeds [the quality] of ground or surface water."

Rainwater typically has very low hardness levels, which reduces the use of soaps and detergents, and eliminates the need for a water softener. Fewer minerals also saves wear and tear on your plumbing fixtures.

Stored rainwater also is a good standby in times of emergencies such as power outages or during periods of extreme drought when wells dry up. In some areas where water supplies may not be available or dependable (or may be prohibitively expensive), collected rainwater is sometimes the least expensive option and can easily be less expensive than bottled water. Rainwater harvesting reduces the impact on aquifers, lessening the demand on ecologically sensitive or threatened aquifers. Collecting some of the rainwater falling on impervious surfaces also minimizes erosion and flooding: On some lots, as much as 50 percent of the land area is covered by roof surface.

Because it doesn't have to be treated, pumped or distributed through a complex network, harvested rainwater saves energy and the use of chemicals. Some municipal water users sometimes switch to harvested rainwater as a way to avoid chlorination and fluoridation treatments.

CAPTURE THE CLOUD JUICE

Rain barrels, the simplest rainwater collection devices, can save thousands of gallons of tap water each year, and save money and energy, too. (Lawn and garden watering typically consume 40 percent of total household water use in the summer.) Your plants also will love the warm, soft, chlorine-free rainwater.