I make/sell rain barrels from my other site I call Aaron’s Rain Barrels, it’s kind of a hobby part time business. Every once an awhile I get a nice customer testimonial that is relevant to this website so here it is. This rainwater harvester shows that you do not need to spend much to [...]
UCR Rainwater Harvesting Grant
Five University of California engineering students have been given two grants to construct a rainwater harvesting system on the campus. The grants were given by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for $10,000 each to setup downspouts, rainwater diversion, catchment and storage tanks.
Their plan is [...]
Rainwater Cisterns - Basins, Barrels and Tanks
The rainwater cistern is historically an underground basin of water, but it can also be an above ground barrel or tank. Much like an artificial well, cisterns are used to make sure that water is not contaminated nor suffers from evaporation. Probably the most effective but overlooked form of [...]
Think Before You Drink
People who think about drinking rainwater have a good idea, but their main concern is usually the rainwater quality. Rainwater in and of itself is not usually a problem, however Mother Nature does use water as a way to clean the sky as well as the rivers, lakes and streams. There are [...]
Roofing Materials for Rainwater Harvesting
I was asked the other day about what is the best roofing material for rainwater harvesting and it made me pause. I have the generic ideas once presented by others in the past but why not build upon them in a logical way and think about new solutions?
Roofing materials not good [...]
Rainwater Storage and Economy
The rainwater cistern is historically an underground basin of water, but it can also be an above ground barrel or tank. Much like an artificial well, cisterns are used to make sure that water is not contaminated nor suffers from evaporation. Probably the most effective but overlooked form of rainwater storage in [...]
What is Rainwater Catchment?
The rainwater cistern is historically an underground basin of water, but it can also be an above ground barrel or tank. Much like an artificial well, cisterns are used to make sure that water is not contaminated nor suffers from evaporation. Probably the most effective but overlooked form of rainwater storage in [...]
Mathematical Principles of the Rainwater Calculator
The mathematical principles of a rainwater calculator are really quite simple. How much rainwater will fall? How long will the rainwater keep falling? Are there any times during the year when no water falls at all? When? For how long? How big and in what condition is the cistern or [...]
The History of Rainwater Collection
The long history of rainwater collection, can be traced (in recorded history) as far back as ancient times some 3,000 years ago (850 BC) if not even farther. The need for water is a basic human essential for maintaining life, without it, no civilization could have prospered. Rainwater collection in ancient [...]
Forgotten Rain - Rediscovering Rainwater Harvesting
Heather’s book can be purchased from her website ( HERE ) Linking to it is the least I could do - books like this are often overlooked just as the subject of rainwater harvesting is, but this will change!
This rainwater harvesting book is packed with great images and drawings of [...]
My Rainwater Collection System
I have been making rain barrels for rainwater collection for years and offer them from my other website. I have also installed multiple units together to make larger capacity rain water collection systems and there have been several people who have requested this. My rainwater collection systems are still not [...]
Building a Rainwater Harvesting System
I think it is great when ordinary people build their own rainwater harvesting systems.
The story below is of a gentleman who made an outstanding rainwater harvesting system out of a 1550 gallon rainwater tank. He later added (3) 3,000 gallon tanks after he realized how much water can be collected [...]
Which rainwater tank is ideal for rainwater harvesting?
Actually this is a question that does not have one right answer because there are many different rainwater tanks used in rainwater harvesting. Still it is important to understand the advantages and disadvantages of the different storage tanks used. This is because the rainwater tank is a very [...]