Rainwater Harvesting

Rainwater harvesting is a simple but unique technique to collect and store rainwater. Usually, people, who inhabit dry or partially dry regions for drinking, irrigation and also to refill ground water levels, were following this system.

What, Why, Where

The fundamental concept is to collect the natural precipitation from a building's top. It is nothing but an old fashioned technique coming into being again in a new style. Greece and Palestine have been excavated with a 4000 odd-years old rainwater harvesting apparatus and so is the case with Rome. It gives in additional water to artificially increase the level of ground water.

Preserving water has become the necessity because the water available on the surface is becoming scarce limiting our usage to ground water for our entire daily needs. Growing population and dynamic urbanization has changed the soil types leading to low capacity ground water level.

Storing rainwater and replenishing ground water are the two important techniques of rainwater harvesting. Runoff rainwater and rooftop rainwater harvesting are the famous systems used, of which rooftop is more popular because of it is economical and accessible all the time.

Conservation of water has become a top priority for all and many methods like DIY and commercial domestic systems have been put into place to harvest rainwater and use them for domestic purposes.

It's Benefits On The City

Rainwater harvesting has a multifaceted use in urban areas like for domestic purpose, increased soil dampness, boost ground water level, prevent flooding and enhance the quality of ground water. In a developed country, this water can be utilized to flush or even wash cloths and can be ideally used for bathing also. However, drinking this water directly should be avoided before treatment of rainwater.

India, Australia, New Zealand, China and Brazil are some of those countries that use the technique of rainwater harvesting to cater to their citizens needs and fulfill their growing demand.

Rainwater harvesting techniques can be traced back to biblical times and with the beginning of agriculture. This is a very effective technique that constructively uses rainwater that may otherwise be drained through drainages offering no help to us.

The shortfall of these rainwater-harvesting techniques is that it has to completely depend on rains. It may cost you some good amount for all the apparatus and equipments required to store the water and also take time in the process of treating the water for drinking purpose.

This methodology of storing rainwater has helped many farmers to irrigate even during non-rainy seasons and when it was found that this water to a great extent is uncontaminated humans have made full utilization of it. So start conserving the natural resource, water, to harvest it to ease the environment's stress, to save funds and to replenish the ground water levels artificially.

Source:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainwater_harvesting

Harvesting