Want a quick but very useful and effective homesteading project you can knock-out this weekend? Consider installing a rainwater catchment system. A diverter runs less than $35.00 and in less than an hour, you can have a supplemental system for your water needs.
If you need some convincing that rainwater catchment is a worthwhile project, consider the following benefits:
There are two main ways to collect rainwater on your property: earthworks and man-made systems such as barrels. Rainwater expert, Brad Lancaster, offers eight principles to consider when planning for water management on your land.
The first method to consider for collecting rainwater is through the use of earthworks: rain gardens, basins, swales, berms, drains, terraces, and check dams. Rain gardens are becoming more common in public areas like grocery stores, parks, and within traffic circles and are simply shallow depressions that are planted with deep-rooted (preferably native) plants and that collect rainwater. These gardens reduce damage from storm-water, filter pollution from the water before it reaches the underground streams, and provide a habitat for wildlife.
Like the rain garden, a basin (or swale), is a low area used to collect rainwater and reduce erosion and flooding. Oftentimes, moisture-loving plants are placed within and are naturally watered. What’s the difference between the two? A basin is a bowl-like structure and a swale is usually longer and follows the contour of the land. A basin can be very useful in allowing the water to “sit” long enough for it to infiltrate the soil. A swale can be very effective in diverting water away from places such as the foundation of buildings. For practicality, basins and swales are often surrounded by berms, a raised mound of soil, which can be used as pathways and/or planting beds for plants that like drier roots.
Other earthworks to consider incorporating into your water management system are terraces, French drains, and check dams. Most of us are familiar with the rice terraces of Asia but even small-scale use of terraces can allow some of us mountain-folk to make greater use of our land. For more examples of an incredible use of terraces in mountain regions, check out the Austrian farmer, Sepp Holzer. Finally, a French drain (a trench filled with rock or gravel) and check dams (low, pervious dams) can be used to reroute or slow down water paths on your property.
Now on to man-made systems. There are some simple tools that can help you to immediately make use of rainwater. There is the Rain Saucer, which looks like an upside-down umbrella that funnels water into a barrel. There is also the Groasis Box, which catches water, prevents evaporation, and protects young plants—allowing for greater growing options in arid places. But for most of us, installing rain barrels and cisterns are going to be the most effective options. I’ll be covering rain barrel installation since this is the cheapest and quickest.
Before setting up your barrel, check into local regulations. In some states, collecting rainwater is illegal because it violates water rights. On the other hand, places like Texas offer tax incentives for rainwater-catchment equipment and Tucson, Arizona is requiring all new dwellings to have a rainwater harvesting system.
Your next consideration is how large of a system is needed. The average American uses 70 gallons of water, per person, per day. With modern appliances and by repairing leaks, that number can drop to 50 gallons. A useful formula is as follows: collectible rainwater gallons = .05 X rainfall inches X area (square feet). Generally speaking, the western states annually receive 5-15 gallons per square foot of roof, the central states, 20-40, and the eastern states, 3-50. So, for instance, a person living in the east would need 500 square feet of roof and 1,000 gallons of storage space whereas a person in the west would need 1,000 square feet of roof and 4,000 gallons of storage.
If you’re looking to just supply your garden’s watering needs, there is another useful formula: dry climate plants = 0.3 X area; temperate climate plants (such as vegetables) = 0.6 X area; and wet climate plants = 0.9 X area. For example, a 10-foot by 10-foot vegetable garden in an eastern state would need about 60 gallons of water per week (0.6 X 100 square feet); this could be supplied by a small roof and a few barrels.
Unfortunately, these calculations are complicated by the fact that the western states generally receive their rainfall in the winter and the central states receive most of their rainfall in the summer. The eastern states are lucky to receive an evenly distributed rainfall.
Rain collection systems often make use of three types of filters: sediment filter, activated carbon cartridges, and UV sterilizers. The sediment filters are usually screened filter baskets that remove large solids. Carbon cartridges can remove organic matter and prevent discoloration and odors. Finally, UV sterilizers contain a UV-emitting lamp that kills microorganisms so that the water is drinkable. However, it requires more maintenance as the mineral deposits build up.
Our particular location in the Appalachians receives nearly 80 inches of rain annually and we have a well, so our purpose in installing rain barrels was to reduce electricity costs from having to run the well pump and to have a back-up water system in case we have a power outage (which is pretty common around here). We chose the Fiskars DiverterPro because it has a built-in automatic overflow; once the barrel is full, the water is diverted back into the downspout. We also like that it is a totally closed system so we don’t have to worry about things such as mosquito larva. It does have a filter, which rarely requires cleaning. This provides for the water needs of our garden and livestock and then some. However, if we did need to drink the water, we have a DIY water filter with a Berkey purifier or we could boil it on the woodstove, the regular stove, or in the solar oven. We got our barrels free from a local company that makes herbal tinctures. I have also seen them available on Freecycle.org.
We all have so many projects on our to-do lists but installing some rain catchment barrels is a project you can check-off pretty quickly. There are many benefits that come with rainwater catchment project: having an emergency water source, saving money, making gardening easier, just to name a few. So add this to your list and then sit back and enjoy the next rainstorm.
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There’s more to an efficient & effective rainfall collection system than diverting the initial “dirty” water then sending the rest to a barrel. The tank should be sized based on your collection surface footprint, runoff efficiency of that surface, annual rainfall pattern and your projected usage pattern. An upper limit for tank size is the projected annual rainfall 100% collected. If you are using the water throughout the year the tank can be smaller. Write a spreadsheet entering the monthly rainfall pattern with a running calculation of how much water would be in the tank. Enter your expected monthly use as a subtraction. Work with the numbers to ensure the tank is never expected to overflow, and hopefully to never empty.