Going GREEN - Rainwater Harvesting

Harvesting rainwater simply means finding a way to capture rainfall and runoff so that it can be recycled and used primarily for landscaping.

Rainwater catchment or rainwater harvesting (RWH) are catch-all terms for collecting, storing, and later using precipitation from roof run-off (or other sources, depending on your application). Across the globe, rainwater is used for many purposes, including drinking water, irrigation, aquaculture, air conditioning, groundwater recharge, and fire fighting. It has been utilized for many centuries.

Harvesting rainwater offers many advantages: it conserves municipal and well water; it is free; gravity fed systems conserve energy; it is low in salts and good for plants; and it can reduce flooding and erosion. Rainwater provides an excellent primary, supplementary, or alternative source of water. Rainwater can be used at multiple scales from residential to commercial and at the neighborhood or community level.

Rainwater tanks and barrels can be made or purchased and are relatively inexpensive. I personally have taken an interest in becoming more "green" and decided to contruct my own rain barrel. Now all-in-all, the materials cost about $100. Labor was of course, free! Below is a picture for reference. Now it may take some time to recoup my costs in water bill savings, but I have to believe the free, chemical-free water I'm using on my landscape has great benefit. 

Let's all "Go Green"!