People already want the ecologically correct solutions and studies show how we can make those solutions actually the more financially viable alternative to mechanical and chemical filtration that traditionally has had a devastating effect on our environment, and the cost is driving the world into an emergency situation.

Thinking globally, but acting locally, in accordance to the laws that mother nature has put down, understanding and observing the way the planet deals with wastewater and reproducing those conditions in our planning and projects so as to return the energy supplied in collective blackwater management systems back into nature safely and wisely in stewardship of the planet.

As engineers, we now need to think progress in terms of the planet as a whole, where every last rock and tree is just as much a part of the civilization we are planning to develop as the people living in it.

Systems… It’s all about systems… Working with nature as part of our whole system, not separate from it, and using her qualities to delve deeper into the heart of our most essential needs.

Natural Wastewater Treatment Systems is an excellent place to find all the most up to date and current information on ecologically correct and financially more desirable solutions that transform blackwater into greywater, the way nature intended through more than 30 examples, 178 scientific tables and over 30 years of research that is now considered common knowledge.

This 576-page hardcover academic text for civil and environmental engineering courses, written by Ronald W. Crites, E. Joe Middlebrooks and Sherwood C. Reed, published by CRC in August of 2005, measures 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.5 and ships at 2 pounds.

Effectively incorporating the theories and processes of several of the most recent core engineering disciplines into a single text, this book is at the same time the perfect reference text for undergrad courses and professionals already working in the area, providing up to date, serious information, on Natural Wastewater Treatment Systems.

When we think of going off the grid, one of the most important issues is rainwater harvesting, and earthships have this concept ingrained into them, as most of them find themselves in an area where rainfall is an almost sacred thing.

What about once the water has actually fallen to earth? Then what? How can we make sure that the water will stay clean, what about when we use the water, doesnt it have to go out into the sewage system and contaminate our natural rivers?

What about reusing that water through separating not so dirty rinse-water from the deadly sewage of our human waste? Couldnt that rinse water be used in flushing?

What should we do with flushed water? What do we do with excess rinse water? What is a greywater system, how can one be setup, and how does this retake the desert regions around the homes in New Mexico?

If we take questions like these seriously, we find that it is more than possible to turn water from the sky, into a useful tool for our continued survival in desert regions, and that waste-watercan be used to not only irrigate the surrounding property, but retake the desert, with our own tropical oasis, that builds a better quality of life for the future.

This 204-page paperback, written by the well known character/architect behind earthship construction, Michael Reynolds, was published by Solar Survival Press in June of 2005, measuring 10.9 x 8.3 x 0.6 and shipping at 1.2 pounds.

New Mexico is one of the places where water shortages can create serious challenges for the residents, and in the United States, there are already a lot of issues about the sacred water from the sky; this book covers treating water, reusing, using, storing, catching water, from a self-reliant standpoint in one of the driest regions of the world, helping others find solutions to their own situations, today.

Buy Water From The Sky on Amazon.com!

Involving all the members of a community in the different decisions that need to be taken around water provision, hygiene and education from the very start, Oxfam water fieldworkers who have been there and done this in the most rural communities on earth and have experience; they pass their knowledge on to you, for a more sustainable world community that cares about how we use water, right now.

What puts this book apart from a lot of other project books out there is that it was written by people who actually lived and went through it, holding dear to the UN principles of water conservation,in a world that has all but given up on the impoverished communities of our world.

Do you believe that every last man, woman and child has the right to development? Are you committed to fighting for a future where all people can meet their basic needs for food, shelter, health, skills, live without the fear of violence, be heard and live free of discrimination?

Oxfam is dedicated to this, all over the world, and this book is a direct result of fighting that battle, for a better tomorrow, one that we cannotjust hope for, but count on, because people like your are taking matters into their own hands, through knowledge, wisdom and most importantly, action!

An action that can be as simple as how our community is dealing with its water supplies or as deep as world concern!

This 184-page paperback, written by Jan Davis, Gerry Garvey and Michael Wood, was first published by Oxfam in December of 1993, measuring 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.7 and ships at 7.2 ounces.

If you are interested in Developing and Managing the Community Water Supplies where you live or somewhere dear to you, this book will show you how it has been done in the past, the potential problems you can face and more importantly, excellent strategies for overcoming those obstacles, reaching for success, starting now.

Learn about Oxfam:
Oxfam’s Programs & campaigns

Buy on Amazon:
Developing and Managing Community Water Supplies

Off-Grid water systems, disaster preparedness and fire protection using the principles of ecological design, make sustainable groundwater management, building a cistern, pond or water tank a little more than just tools to fulfill an immediate need, it brings us a perspective on life unlike any other.

A perspective, where, doing-it-ourselves, for ourselves, independently, we end up doing something so important for the collective community and the many creatures that live on this planet, that not only makes a difference; it builds a better tomorrow!

This is not just another engineers guide to plans and building materials, this is a book that was written for you, the real person, the one that makes the difference in the modern world of sustainability.

It doesnt matter if you are looking after your own utopic community or are just a single homesteader in the middle of the big city, what you want (what the whole world wants right now), is to just do something good for the world, while providing for the needs of our right now.

Water Storage is a book with all the answers about why our society and people in the green trends look to storing water, where those peak demands throughout the day are, how supply can vary throughout the year and what measures we can take to secure all the water we need in the most efficient and sustainable solution for your situation, looking to all possible resources available on-site where we live.

This is a 125-page paperback with 128 photos and 43 figures, written by Art Ludwig and published by Oasis Design in May of 2005, measuring 11 x 8.5, ships at 9.6 ounces.

From ferrocement jars to rain barrels, wellsprings or aquifer recharging, Water Storage addresses the best designs for your situation in the most ecologically correct way, to make sure that what you build in your water system will not only last for generations, it will make a difference in the present!

Water Storage will take advantage of what you have on site or locally available, reducing material miles and ecological footprints to achieve something both sustainable and self-reliant in a productive language that even the most average of home owners will easily understand or even zen with their first read.

This is a practical guide to all those tropical Oasis that once existed along the silk road between Europe and China thousands of years ago before Rome destroyed Carthage.

In this self-contained rainwater harvesting manual, you can learn to cultivate your own plot of unproductive piece of Sonora Desert into something similar to those of the Mediterranean 1001 Arabian Nights. Passive low-tech water harvesting that is historically proven to with Mother Natures own purifying process.

So what exactly are water harvesting earthworks? Well, if you read his first volume on rainwater harvesting for drylands you already know, but for those of you looking to get straight to it; water harvesting earthworks are about using the land in favor of natures water cycles to capture clean rainwater in favor of local indigenous plants as well as sustainable land management practices that are agriculturally more environmentally friendly.

Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands Volume 2 builds on the basic do-it-yourself landscaping architecture for homesteaders and landowners interested in a more sustainable living with more detailed how-to information and a plethora of varying earthworks, uses of mulch, vegetation, greywater recycling and the overall customization that fits your particular site.

The four factors that put this volume apart from the other two in this series are Earthworks, Mulch, Vegetation and Greywater Recycling.

Of course volume 2 wouldnt be complete if it didnt review the basics that were well developed fully in details in volume one, such as a more holistic planning, guiding principles, and a range of strategies that will help you assess your water harvesting potential, but here, the emphasis is on recovering drylands through more creative earthworks.

Developing desert and drylands into useful, sustainable green areas, is a way for us human beings to steward the earth through our own lands and Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands Volume 2 takes us closer to working smarter, not harder.

This volume two of a three part series helps people take responsibility for their own communitys food production, stimulating locally what should happen globally; true sustainability and stewardship.

Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands Volume 2 is a 336-page paperback written by Brad Lancaster, published by Chelsea Green and does what the author has been doing for years; it teaches through real life stories, how to take back the desert for a more sustainable tomorrow through water harvesting earthworks that cost nothing yet replenish everything the way the Earth intended, lending each creature their role.

Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands Volume 2 is not merely a comprehensive do-it-yourself guide to water harvesting earthworks for more sustainable living in uninhabitable desert-like conditions; it is also an integral part of the path to universal stewardship of space-station earth.

Related:
Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands – Volume #1 Interview with Brad Lancaster.

Written by Suzy Banks, Richard Heinichen and Illustrated by Tre Arenz, its an easy to grasp filler-in on the basics, straight from chapter one.

With the whole process detailed in easy to grasp language that is captivating while at the same time technical enough to give the reader a sensation that they already know what the authors are talking about without sounding too drab or boring.

This 108-page paperback was first published by Tank Town in March of 2006, the rainwater harvesting company owned and operated by the authors themselves.

Measuring at 8.9 x 6 x 0.5 and shipping at 12 ounces this book will make sure that your first rainwater harvesting projects are all successes, because the authors have made all the mistakes for you and explain why certain things need to be done a certain way in a funny voice that lets the reader laugh with them.

From micron measurement, troubleshooting, pump problems, filtration hanging gutters, valve checks, and even understanding chemicals and pollution, the photographs and drawings make the text of this DIY handbook both funny and smart.

Covering everything you need to know for harvesting your own rainwater from the roof of your own home, Rainwater Collection for the Mechanically Challenged is for the homeowner looking to become a little more environmentally conscious, self-reliant and sustainable for a better America, and a better tomorrow.

With studies from around the world, this book has numerous examples for anyone (but especially professionals in the area), looking to construct a low-tech rainwater catchment system, even from scratch if necessary.

Authors Nissen-Peterson and John Gould have put together this 320-page paperback measuring 6 1/4″ x 9 1/4″ and shipping at 1.3 pounds; first published in November of 1999 by Practical Action.

To achieve, either the total or supplementary household water-requirement, this book takes in all aspects of design, construction, techniques, sizing systems, putting up gutters, choice of materials, training, operation and maintenance.

As well as non-technical factors such as social, financial, cultural, institutional, political, general issues, health and water quality are all discussed in detail; especially recommended as a resource manual for aid workers.

With drawings, photographs, step-by-step accounts of different household situations and Nissen-Petersens own two decades of practical experience in Asia and Africa, this book caters to researchers, builders, architects, water engineers, development workers and managers looking for an edge in todays professional high-tech world of rainwater systems.

Rainwater Catchment Systems for Domestic Supply: Design, Construction and Implementation is the professionals guide to low-tech ground and roof rainwater harvesting solutions that have been tried and tested for more than 20 years.

This 240-page paperback was recently published in June of 2007 by New Society Publishers and holds an ecological taste to it, inspired by the latest tend in our country for sustainable practices in the use of water.

Design for water is a way of thinking about how our western society uses and abuses Mother Natures life giving elixir and proposes strategies for the professional of tomorrows America, to take precautions for the now.

Outlines for municipal systems, parks, schools, industries, commerce, residential communities, and multiple sources-landscape for water collection providing also, case studies, references, schematics and even specific details as well as how to assemble and apply equipment.

Rainwater harvesting for wildlife, filtration, analysis, purification, distribution, reuse, storm water reuse, storage, setup, active systems and passive systems are all well detailed.

Some of the more modern catchment techniques already in use are also dealt with in order to make this book more appealing to landowners, developers, municipal decision-makers, landscape architects and engineers.

Design for Water was developed to make research on sustainable water practices more accessible to the professional in the know today with guidelines and important information for preparing the most passive alternative available.

You have written a great first volume on rainwater harvesting, would it be correct to say that volume 1 is more about rainwater management? Give us a quick rundown of planned volumes 2 and 3 and what each will cover.

• Volume 1 covers rainwater harvesting and water and watershed management in a way that is easily and joyfully attainable for all of us. Volume 1 is the core of my three books, and it lays down the foundation for readers to conceptualize an integrated system that will maximize their site’s potential and efficiency well beyond just water savings and harvesting, while greatly decreasing the likelihood of mistakes.

• Volume 2 covers specific step by step implementation of water-harvesting earthworks.

• Volume 3 covers roof catchment and cistern systems. More specifics are available on my website.

When did you first get interested in rainwater harvesting and management?

I first became aware of a more sustainable and common sense approach to water management during my college studies in the 1980s when I realized how quickly Arizona and my hometown of Tucson were rapidly depleting their fresh water resources. I saw that we were killing the long term viability of our communities and ecosystems. I did not want to be a part of the problem. I wanted to be part of the solution.

I did not figure out how I could contribute to the solution until I learned of rainwater harvesting and sustainable living and design strategies in a permaculture course in the early 1990s. Permaculture is a method of integrated sustainable design based on natural systems.

Learning how to be part of the solution further crystalized for me when I visited the Water Farmer in Zimbabwe. The inspirational story of how he turned a wasteland into an oasis by harvesting the rain, and depositing more water into his watershed than he took out is the core of Chapter 1 of my book “Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands, Volume 1″. He warned me not to run from problems, but to face them and make the needed changes in my own life. Living the example I wanted to live would have the greatest effect to bring on positive change and solutions.

Thus, I came home and strove to put more water into my watershed than I took out. And I too created a sustainable oasis on what was once a wasteland of an urban lot in downtown Tucson. I did it by following the water harvesting principles laid out in my book, and it has reaped many benefits including onsite organic food production, and increadible drop in my utility bills and cost of living, a beautiful award-winning landscape and garden, and a richer community in which the abundance of water harvesting is spreading. I tell more of the story, and how others can do the same in urban, suburban, or rural lots in my book “Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands, Volume 1.”

What is it like writing 3 books and where did you get all those great illustrations?

It is far, far more work than I ever would have imagined. The project began 7 years ago, with the 3 last years consuming well over full time hours of work. But once I started I could not stop. I wanted to create the water harvesting resource or tool box I wish I had when I began water harvesting. I wanted a resource that would empower readers to do the maximum good with simple, but very effective strategies in their own homes, yards, and communities. With all three volumes, I’ve done it.

I try to empower my community in many ways not just with water. In that vein, I hired all local artists all friends and fellow water harvesters too. We worked together for a long time to create the illustrations throughout all three volumes.

I noticed that 10% of the profits generated with these books will go to the “Regenerative Fund” and what is the “Green Press Initiative”?

The Regenerative Fund is a mechanism I’ve created to get more on the ground examples of sustainable water haresting, because people “get it” fastest when they see it in person, in action, in life.

The Green Press Inititative is an effort to lessen the consumption of our forests a major living component of our watersheds in the production of books by promoting the use of recycled paper. I am a part of this effort, and all my books are printed on paper that is at least 50% post consumer recycled paper.

I see you have worked on all kinds of sustainable projects can you tell us about some of these?

I’ve helped create water-harvesting landscapes for many project including Milagro co-housing in Tucson where all stormwater is harvested on-site within water harvesting earthworks that are the foundation of the landscape. A huge amount of food is produced on site, while enhancing much of the native flora and fauna too.

Another project, Desert Harvesters, promotes the sustainable planting, growing, harvesting, processing, and eating of native plant foods. At the core of the project are mesquite pods millings and mesquite pancake chow downs with prickly pear syrup – see Desert Harvester for more.

And as to more of my projects, well, read my books and visit my website www.HarvestingRainwater.com.

Where can we purchase your books?

My website www.HarvestingRainwater.com, any bookstore (just order it), or your local library (if you request that they carry it). You can also obtain it at my water harvesting presentations and book signings look to the events page of my website for details.

Thanks for stopping in for a chat Brad, I am looking forward to landscaping my small urban lot to better capture the rain this spring. We will also be looking forward to volumes 2 and 3 – thanks!

Sure.