Gotta Catch it All: Water Conservation through Rainwater Catchment

As the green building movement gains momentum within the United States and elsewhere, rainwater catchment systems are becoming increasingly common in both rural and urban environments.

Alternatively known as rainwater collection or rainwater harvesting, rainwater catchment refers to the act of collecting the run-off from a structure such as a roof or other impervious surface.

Rainwater catchment systems have a long history and are believed to have originated in the early civilizations of the Middle East and Asia several thousand years ago, according to John Gould and Erik Nissen-Petersen, authors of Rainwater Catchment Systems for Domestic Supply.

Collecting and utilizing rainwater runoff at its most basic level encourages water conservation and reduces demand on existing water sources. If you’re thinking that such conservation measures are unnecessary, think again. Despite a perceived notion of abundance and water security, the reality is that we are in the midst of a global water crisis.

As outlined by the World Resources Institute, this water crisis is characterized by changing climates, increasing demand for water, and unsustainable patterns of water use:
-With climate change, dry areas in the world are becoming increasingly dry and precipitation patterns are becoming more variable and extreme
-Increasing populations and incomes worldwide have led to increased demand for water-intensive products like meat and energy from fossil fuels
-groundwater supplies are being depleted at unsustainable rates for use in agriculture, drinking, and industrial processes
-water infrastructure worldwide is in a state of disrepair, leading to such inefficiencies as 6 billion gallons of treated water being lost daily within the US due to leaky pipes
-efficient water use is currently not incentivized, allowing wasteful, polluting, and unsustainable water consumption practices to continue unchecked and uninhibited

Such a crisis necessitates using our water resources wisely, and collecting and utilizing rainwater is one such way to do just that.

While the global water crisis is certainly a daunting, overwhelming, and dire environmental issue facing our world today, the act of domestic water conservation through rainwater catchment systems is a relatively simple and easily achievable method of water conservation that anyone striving toward greener living can implement.

In addition to supplementing individual and community water supplies, rainwater collection offers additional benefits including increased flood control, reduced river pollution, reduced demand on and overexploitation of groundwater, and cost savings on drainage infrastructure.

My interest in rainwater catchment systems was piqued upon my arrival to a sustainable off-grid permaculture farm in Puerto Rico. It’s currently the dry season in Puerto Rico, and agriculture and animal husbandry are notoriously “thirsty” enterprises. However, with a series of rain catchment barrels on the property, much of the water needs of the plants and animals on the land are being met entirely from rainwater.

These catchment systems are simple, repurposed industrial barrels. They are placed strategically throughout the property to be near the animals and plants. Some of the barrels catch rainwater runoff directly from the roof, while others are placed downhill from metal sheeting, which essentially utilizes gravity to channel the water into the barrel.

Here on the farm, we use the water collected to water plants and provide drinking water to animals. However, rainwater has many non-agricultural uses and can be used for a variety of purposes, including:
-watering lawns, gardens, and houseplants
-flushing toilets (keep a bucket of rainwater next to your toilet and pour the rainwater directly into the bowl when you need to flush. This can reduce household water use by 27%)
-adding water to your compost (Don’t have an at-home compost? Check out my earlier post on household composting!)
-rinsing vegetables straight from your garden
-washing cars, garden tools, lawnmowers, and other equipment
-washing pets
-providing drinking water for wildlife, pets,or livestock

Rainwater can also be used for drinking and cooking. As Care2 Healthy Living explains in their post on 10 uses for Rainwater, rainwater can actually be high quality enough for human consumption. Rainwater tends to be fairly pure and does not contain any chlorine or other chemicals often added to tap water. A filtration system or boiling the water can make rainwater safe to drink or cook with. If you do plan to use rainwater for drinking and cooking, it is best to collect rainwater directly rather than from a potentially dirty impervious surface such as a roof or gutter.

Additionally, rainwater can be used for bathing and laundry. To read more on the logistics of treating rainwater to wash in (or choosing not to treat it), check out this guide. Using rainwater for your laundry and bathing needs would reduce household water consumption by 40%.

With so many uses and so much conservation value, rainwater collection systems offer a simple, affordable, and easily achievable means toward greener living.

Your DIY rain catchment system could even be as basic as simply leaving a 5-gallon bucket outside and using the water collected to water your plants.

Another great method of water conservation we have here on the farm is a sink water collection bucket. The handled bucket sits in the sink and catches all of the water we use to wash and rinse our dishes. When the bucket fills, we dump it outside onto the numerous garden beds. Thus, water which would have initially only been used once is now put to a secondary use rather than being lost down the drain.

When it comes to water conservation, we can all do our part to live more sustainably. In conjunction with greening your hygiene and laundry routines, utilizing rainwater catchment systems can help significantly reduce our water consumption.

While many may not reside on a tropical farm and are perhaps hunkered down in the depths of a frigid and seemingly inescapable winter, rainwater collection is nonetheless something to keep in the back of your mind to put to use in warmer times to wash your vehicles, water your gardens, provide drinking water to animals such as chickens, and utilize in a multitude of ways in order to conserve water and practice everyday environmentalism.

It should also be noted that it is possible to winterize your rainwater catchment system. Learn how here.

So, this week, I urge you to consider implementing a rainwater collection system, or at the very least to do some research and start planning a system for once things thaw. This method of water conservation is simple, useful, and is quickly becoming commonplace. Don’t miss your chance to harvest, conserve, utilize, and preserve one of the earth’s most precious resources.

Have experience using rainwater catchment systems? Want to try flushing your toilet or watering your plants with repurposed sink water? As always, let me know how it goes in the comments section below and best of luck in your continuing journey toward greener living.

~Sam

Plastics Purge Part II: Sip Sustainably and Say No to Single-Use Plastic Straws!

Welcome to Part II of Greener Living’s Plastics Purge series. If you missed Part I on eliminating single use plastic bags, be sure to check that out here.

As with disposable plastic bags, single-use, disposable plastic straws are a seemingly benign product of plastic’s ubiquity and versatility. However, just like plastic bags, this seemingly minor and easily overlooked plastic product is unnecessary and has negative environmental ramifications.

Single-use plastic straws are typically made from polypropylene plastic and do not biodegrade in the environment. Once disposed of, these straws contribute to both macroplastic pollution (the straws themselves) and, more alarmingly, microplastic pollution resulting from the breakdown of larger plastics in the environment from exposure to sunlight and ocean waves.

Plastic straws, unlike some other plastic products, are not recyclable. They are too lightweight to make it through mechanical recycling sorters and therefore drop through sorting screens where they either contaminate the recycling stream or are disposed of as garbage.

The facts and figures surrounding plastic straw waste is a contested topic, with some outlets reporting that in the US alone, 500 million drinking straws are used and thrown away every day, while other sources note that plastic straws make up just 0.025% of the 8 million tons of plastic that enter our oceans annually. That’s 2,000 pounds of plastic pollution attributed directly to straw waste each year. Eliminating single-use disposable straws certainly won't be a cure-all to plastic pollution, but it is a good place to start.

Although the extent of their impact is debated, the fact of the matter is that plastic straws are an unnecessary source of waste that should be eliminated. It is this fact that has brought plastic straws to the forefront of many plastic pollution campaigns resulting in a series of plastic straw bans in cities and businesses across the globe. Seattle banned plastic straws and plastic utensils in July. California has issued a state-wide restriction on single-use plastic straws, requiring patrons at restaurants to ask for a straw rather than automatically receiving one. Starbucks has announced a plan to eliminate plastic straws globally by 2020, with similar policies being enacted in companies, cities, and countries all over the world.

However, we don’t need to wait for our cities, restaurants, and states to ban straws before taking action.You can act to combat this issue today by refusing to use plastic straws. Go without straws and lids when getting soft drinks to-go. Be sure to ask for your drinks at restaurants WITHOUT a straw. Or, if you like using straws, consider investing in an alternative to single-use plastic straws, such as straws made from paper, metal, bamboo, or glass.

In my self-designated role of Environmentalist-At-Large in my family, I took the step of gifting everyone a Final Straw, touted as being the world’s most bad-ass straw, and I’d say they live up to the hype. These straws are comfortable and fun to use, easy to transport, and they come with their own carrying case, drying rack, and a cleaning squeegee. The cases come in great colors and can attach to your keys, so you’ll never be caught out without your straw!

Says Final Straw-user (and my mother), Nancy: “I like it. It’s easy to clean. Very sturdy. And I can stick it in my pocket when I am done with it so I can bring it places.”

I also was gifted a set of reusable silicone straws from my Aunt (shout out to my Aunt Dawn who not only got me those straws, but also started composting at home and is fighting for her town to ban single-use plastic bags! Go Aunt Dawn!).

Both my Final Straw and my silicone straw are enjoyable to use, easy to transport in a bag, purse, or on key chains, and offer a way for folks to sip sustainably.

Of course, if you do find yourself out without your straw, or if you simply have no desire to spend money on a reusable one, you can always drink your beverages without a straw.

I’ll admit from experience that it can be tricky to remember to ask for your drink without a straw when eating out. I’ve been guilty of forgetting, and then what’s the point? The straw is already there. Already wasted. However, I can also tell you from experience that the post-refusal high and the satisfaction of enjoying your beverage knowing you’ve opted out of a wasteful and unsustainable practice makes it easier to remember to ask for no straw the next time around.

Whether you’ve been implementing these greener living practices from the start or you’re just now looking to do away with unnecessary waste in your everyday life and adopt more environmentally friendly practices, eliminating single-use plastic straws is a great first or continuing step.

Seriously, there is perhaps no form of waste so superfluous and unnecessary as the plastic straw. There is simply no reason for them to exist. If you do need or prefer a straw to drink with, there are plenty of non-disposable alternatives that can offer you all of the imagined or actual benefits and conveniences of drinking through straws.

So, please, let’s all come to the consensus that plastic straws suck! And we don’t need them. If you agree and you’d like to continue or start eliminating plastic straw waste in your everyday life, consider taking the OneLessStraw pledge started by enterprising teenage environmentalists Carter and Olivia Reis.

For anyone who is a regular reader (if those exist?), I apologize for my recent hiatus. My life was briefly and intensely consumed by frenzied preparations for my 3-month solo sojourn, on which I have just embarked.

This post comes to you from a remote, off-grid (yet wi-fi equipped) sustainable farm on the island of Puerto Rico. There are more Plastics Purge posts still to come, but in the meantime I may allow my current travels and experiences to influence my weekly topics, so stay tuned for a whole bunch of good stuff still to come!

Until later,
  Sam