Advantage and Benefits of Rain Water Harvesting

What are the advantage and benefits of rain water harvesting ?

Rain water harvesting has numerous benefits but the major one is that it is sustainable water management application that can be applied by anyone at several levels, from a simple rain barrel to a extensive rainwater harvesting system that integrates with an irrigation system or household plumbing.

When you think about it......  do we required to  use municipal treated water to sprinkle on our lawn and landscaping ? Certainly not ! Harvested rain water is the best candidate for irrigation use in addition to so many water other water uses. By using the rain water harvesting system to provide water for some, or all our water demand, you can decrease dependence on municipal treated water.

Generally, rain water harvesting is seen as a action that is socially acceptable and environmentally responsible all the while, promoting self-reliance.

Water conservation benefits of rain water harvesting.

• Rainwater that falls on your roof and is property is free. All it takes a process to harvest it into a tank or cistern for later use.

• Rain water harvesting can be a great educational tool for people to acknowledge their individual or household water use. This may get them to start conserving water.

• For communities that depend on imported water supply to meet their needs, collecting rainwater that falls naturally in the community can decrease the need for imported water.

• Rain water harvesting helps reduce the peak  demands throughout the summer, saving treated water for major and and appropriate water uses.

• While the rain water can be an ideal primary water source for may uses and circumstances, it is also an excellent backup water provider in emergency situation

Environmental benefits of rain water harvesting

• Rain water harvesting can decrease storm water run-off from a property. Elimination of run-off can decrease contamination of surface water by pesticides, fertilizers, metals and sediment.

• By reducing storm water run-off, rain water harvesting can reduce the peak flow velocity and volume in the local streams and rivers. Potentially reducing the streamsbank erosion.

• Rainwater harvesting methods can be employed as simple and effective process to meet the a municipality strom water management program requirements of individual properties.

It is a perfect source of water for plants and landscape irrigation because it has no chemicals like fluoride and chlorine.

Water-energy nexus benifits of rain water harvesting. 

While the logical use of rain water harvesting is for water conservation reason, it also decrease energy use within a community.

• Generally, the end use of rain water is established on the property where rainwater is collected. Replacing municipal water use at a home and property with rain water decrease the amount of water that a municipality has to treat and then pump it to our house. Treatment and pumping of water by municipal required a lot of energy. 
• Implementation of rain water harvesting can help in fulfilling new standards of water and energy efficiency ratings and rules that are being developed in communities. 

The economic benefits of rainwater harvesting.

• Collecting and using rainwater to replace municipal water use to decrease your water bill. 
• Decreasing municipal water use of areas like irrigation decreases the amount of water that a municipality has to treat and pump. This in turn, reduce water service cost to a municipality. 
• Extensive implementation of rain water harvesting within a municipality service area can decrease the long term water development requirements of a city, allowing the city to use their existing water infrastructure investments more efficiently. The cost to supply treated water to the community is becoming more expensive each year. The cost of creating pipes, dams and treatment plant, not to mention the cost of maintenance and infrastructure replacement is costly. As water users, the rate payment in the community will eventually will foot this rising bill. So, the practice of rain water harvesting can reduce water demand and thus allows municipalities to provide potatory water service at low cost. 
• Designing and installing rainwater collection system can give sustainable jobs for the future of economy. Rainwater harvesting industry can become a major employer in the green infrastructure movement. 

The additional benefits of rainwater harvesting

• Rainwater can be used for irrigation purposes, indoor non-potatory water use, or potatory water supply.  
• Rainwater harvesting can supply an independent water sources in those areas where other water sources are unavailable, or the standard is unsatisfactory, or they are very costly to develop, or it is very difficult to get them. 
• If a potatory water sources is used, zero hardness of rain water provides many benefits. It removes the scale build-up in home appliances that could occur with the use of other water sources. It will extend the life of the environment. Moreover, it reduces the amount of detergent or soaps needed in laundry and dishwashing devices, reducing the cash spent on these detergents and soaps. 
• Rainwater from a potatory rainwater harvesting system which has been properly filtered and disinfected is some of great testing water available. There are not many chemicals that municipally treated water has like fluoride or chloramines (chlorine).