Rainwater Harvesting with Gutters

by Anya Beers Writer

Rainwater harvesting is saving water from the rainfall and deposit it a safe place and re-use it for future purposes, rather than allow it go waste. It can be then used for irrigation, watering the plants and shower but it can also solve the problem of scarcity of water and lower the water bills.

Due to the scarcity of clean water availability in many urban as well as rural areas is one of the main reasons why rainwater harvesting is being used by many countries including developed countries too. The water resources are depleting gradually from most locations, whereas population is growing exponentially and water is required to provide for everyone. Rainwater harvesting can be done I several ways:

Rainwater Harvesting Techniques:-

In Urban areas rain water harvesting is done mostly by using sink rain pipe most popularly known as gutters and a catchment area where water is stored.

Catchment Area:

Roof of the house is known as catchment area and it determines how much rainwater can be harvested. The shape of the roof plays an important role in determining the catchment area. The material of the catchment area is also really important; metal rooftop works the best as it contains least contaminant.

Gutters:

After the rain falls on the top of the catchment area, it slopes down into the gutter. It is a long curved pipe which allows the water to pass through them and then fall into the storage tank. The material of the gutter is also essential; zinc gutters are known to be the best for their durability and non-rust properties.

Storage Tank:

Water flows into the storage tank from the gutters. Storage tank also known as the cistern is made mainly to protect the water and keep it safe to be used when necessary.

Moreover, there are many regions where rainfall management is bad and eventually the heavy rainfall causes floods and standing water. These floods ruin the urban infrastructure and irrigation land. Hence, it is very important to publicize harvesting of rain water in urban areas.