If I were building a house today, one thing that I would insist upon including would be a rainwater harvesting system.
Water is quickly becoming a more valuable resource and there’s no sense in wasting any precious drop.
A good rainwater harvesting system includes several components. First you need a good roofing cover. Any current roof will suffice for non-potable water (water for washing or gardening, but not for drinking or cooking). But if you’re planning on ingesting the harvested water you’ll want to look for a leach-free metal or fiberglass roofing materials.
Next you’ll need a complete harvesting system including a storage tank.
A good system will include a rain head. Rain heads are essentially boxes that divert the flow of water from your guttering system into the pipes leading to your holding tank.
A good system will also include a first-flush component. A first-flush is where the first runoff from the roof during a rain is diverted ‘away’ from your storage unit. This helps to keep debris, molds, pollen and other pollutants out of your system.
There are manufacturers now that make a combined rain-head, first-flush system that includes a high end rainwater filter. Adding a rainwater filter helps keep leaves, insects and other materials ‘out’ of your system.
The harvested water then goes down your pipe system into your holding tank or cistern. Cisterns can be as uncomplicated as a very large plastic container that can be hidden below a deck. Some people opt for an above-ground level cistern, or an underground plastic tank. I’ve even seen huge cement constructed holding tanks below ground level.
All of these will work. You just need to find the right size cistern for your needs and situation.
Rainwater harvesting is definitely on my ‘must have’ list.
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