Rainwater harvesting

Rainwater harvesting is the collection of rainwater before it flows into the general water system which is then reused for domestic, commercial or industrial purposes.

Although there is no real water shortage in the UK, rain does not fall consistently and in recent years there have been droughts and hosepipe bans. Before designing a system you need to decide how much water you need to store by calculating how much you use in a day. Rainwater is best used for supplying household appliances and in the garden. A complex filtration and purification system is needed in order to ensure drinking water is safe. Rainwater is most commonly harvested by collecting rainwater from the roof guttering into barrels or tanks, and from areas of paving or tarmac. In the UK rainwater harvesting can reduce mains water usage by up to 50%.  Rainwater harvesting offers many advantages. There is no need to use mains water for laundry/ car washing or flushing the toilet and in addition to it being free, rainwater is free from harmful chemical free which is better for plant health and soil conditions.

Related resources...

Publications
300 Liter per Day Water Treatment System
FogQuest Fog Water Collection Manual
Guidebook to Fogcatchers - Installation Manual 2018
The Texas Manual on Rainwater Harvesting (3rd Edition)
Water Harvesting - Guidelines to Good Practice
Roofwater Harvesting : A Handbook for Practitioners
Slow Sand Filtration
Websites
AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS
FogQuest: Sustainable Water Solutions
Creating Water Foundation
Water Catchment Calculator & diagrams of three main systems
Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust | Gardening for Wetlands
Rain gardens | UK rain garden guide
South west water - rainwater harvesting
Rainwater harvesting for drylands and beyond by Brad Lancaster
Rainwater harvesting calculator
Rainwater harvesting: using the weather to pay your bills - theguardian.com
WOCAT Global and Regional Books
FAO Water Harvesting Online Catalog
ARTICLE : 9 Tips On Collecting Rainwater
Pamphlet : Building a Rain Barrel - Easy as 1, 2, 3
SamSamWater Foundation Online Library
Recycled Plastic Drum Rainwater Tank
Article : A Rough Guide on How to Build a Gravity Fed Aquaculture System
Videos
10.000 liters of water a day from the fog in Lima, Peru
Rainwater Harvesting Off Grid
A series of rain gardens
Rainwater Harvesting - Home System Tour
Earthship Biotecture - Sand Filters
Creating Water in the Atacama Desert - Creating Water Foundation - Documentary
Rain Barrel System 220 Gallons SHTF Water Storage
Building a Rain Barrel - Easy as 1, 2, 3
Organisations
Creating Water Foundation
The Creating Water Foundation