RESIDENTIAL RAINWATER HARVESTING
Harvesting rainwater one droplet at a time...
One inch of rainfall on a 2,000-square-foot roof equals 1,250 gallons of water
A roof in a region receiving 30 inches of annual rainfall generates 37,500 gallons of reusable water
Capturing this water reduces runoff and flooding, and provides a significant amount of water for reuse
Rather than waste those spring showers, many homeowners are opting to go green by reusing rainwater for household tasks.
“It’s becoming huge, it really took off — and the great thing is that it’s just as popular with homeowners as with bigger commercial jobs,” says Ryan Young, a supervisor at Aquascape. Young estimates that 75 percent of his projects involve Rain-Xchange, Aquascape’s rainwater harvesting system.
With RainXchange and similar systems, rain is collected in a barrel, then filtered and used for jobs that don’t require treated water, such as washing a car, watering a lawn or spraying down a deck.
Homeowners, especially avid gardeners, save by relying on (free) rain instead of paying for tap water. For the environmentalists, rainwater harvesting eases the burden on water treatment facilities, allowing them to use less energy. It also cuts down on pollution by decreasing stormwater runoff into streams and rivers and minimizes sewer backups.
Rather than waste those spring showers, many homeowners are opting to go green by reusing rainwater for household tasks.
“It’s becoming huge, it really took off — and the great thing is that it’s just as popular with homeowners as with bigger commercial jobs,” says Ryan Young, a supervisor at Aquascape, an Illinois-based water gardening company with upwards of 450 contractors across the country. Young estimates that 75 percent of his projects involve Rain-Xchange, Aquascape’s rainwater harvesting system.
With RainXchange and similar systems, rain is collected in a barrel, then filtered and used for jobs that don’t require treated water, such as washing a car, watering a lawn or spraying down a deck.
Some setups even bring the recycled rain inside, to use in toilets and washing machines.
Homeowners, especially avid gardeners, save by relying on (free) rain instead of paying for tap water. For the environmentalists, rainwater harvesting eases the burden on water treatment facilities, allowing them to use less energy. It also cuts down on pollution by decreasing stormwater runoff into streams and rivers and minimizes sewer backups.
“You’re helping prevent water from mixing with waste, then dumping into the river,” explains Alice Edgerton, project coordinator for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Philadelphia Green, one of the country’s largest greening programs. “The environmental benefits are big.”