Benefits Of Storing Rainwater

Rainwater harvesting is the practice of collecting and using rainwater being discharged from hard surfaces such as ceilings or floors. It is an ancient technique that is regaining popularity now that more and more people are looking for ways to use water resources more intelligently.

Today, many rural areas depend on harvesting rainwater, but urban areas that are more or less exclusively served by utility companies, tend to forget this resource. Rainwater harvesting is an important solution, especially in the big cities where they are spending more water than is actually available. A problem that this is also exacerbating is the transformations to the environment and how climate change is occurring.

Capturing Rainwater
In order to capture rainwater, it is necessary that the surface or ‘runoff’ that is exposed to storm water permit allow its collection. This can happen either because the surface is impermeable or because its absorptive capacity is less than the infiltration on slopes.

In urban centres, areas exposed to rain are mostly impervious (roofs, roads and parking), so uptake can be performed with relatively small investments. Driving the water into runoff storage is usually performed by gutters on roofs (linked to siphon drains), pipe sheet and / or PVC gutters with or without grids in the floors.

Key benefits of rainwater harvesting:

Economic
Rainwater is a free and easy resource to maintain. It is also relatively clean and can be used in a whole host of different ways and activities that do not (health, to wash surfaces, vehicles or clothing, watering gardens or crops, among other possibilities).
Harvesting it can lead to a saving on bills of piped drinking water by the reduction in use.

Environmental
Collecting rainwater helps the conservation of reserves of drinking water, such as our rivers, lakes, and other wetlands.
It also fosters a culture of conservation and highlights an optimal use of water.

Social
It decreases the volume of rain water entering the drainage system combined (both sanitary and storm water), thereby avoiding flooding and reducing the volume of sewage discharges. This then increases their availability for other uses.

Harvesting this way reduces the use of energy and chemicals needed to treat rainwater in the city, also decreasing the amount of expenditures generated and helping with the treatment of other areas of focus. Overall, rainwater collection is very cheap and simple to get up and running, even for domestic home owners, so start harvesting today!

How To Save Water Efficiently?

It is always important to know how to efficiently use water in your home – not only for the sake of the environment, but also for saving you money. Here are some tips that will help you keep your water in check for around the house.

* Know your current water consumption and compare it to the average daily-per-capita domestic consumption. This will give you an idea of how much you could be wasting.

* Check your sanitary equipment, review your spending habits and decide upon the technological changes needed.

* Repair leaks. A leaky toilet for example can waste 200,000 litres per year!

* Change your consumption habits. Take a shower rather than a bath. Turn off the tap while washing, shaving, brushing teeth etc. Do not let the water run and use it only when you really need it.

* Don’t use the toilet as a bin for flushing away baby wipes or tissues. This is a monumental waste of water, when a bin would suffice.

* Use quick flush or low flush toilets to save water where necessary.

* Use flow reducer shower heads to reduce water consumption of up to 10 litres for a 5 minute shower.

* Don't defrost food under running water, just use your fridge the night before.

* Turn the sink tap off when washing up and only use as much as you need to.

* Use quick cycle on your washing machine. Try not to do lots of half loads per day and the same is relevant for the dishwasher. Only use when full.

* Look for efficient kitchen appliances, such as dishwasher, tumble drier and washing machine.

* Don’t fill a whole kettle up if you're only making 1 or 2 cups of tea.

* Install aerators and flow restrictors on taps throughout the home. They can also be screwed into the pipes of the kitchen taps with aerators and flow restrictors placed in the pipes in the bathroom to reduce water consumption.

* Flow reducers. These devices can be incorporated into the piping of the sinks or showers to prevent water consumption exceeding a set amount (typically 8 litres per minute to 15 litres per minute for a tap and 10 litres per minute to 20 litres per minute for a shower.)

* If you use air conditioning, clean the filters properly and always aim to buy the most energy efficient model possible.

* When it rains which it generally does in England install a rainwater harvesting system for your garden. It is great for being able to store large quantities of water. If the rainwater is harvested you can dramatically reduce the amount of water used daily per person.

We all love to save money and do our bit for the environment so what are we waiting for?