Rainwater Harvesting for Drinking

Category : Rainwater Harvesting

Water is vital for human life. Yes, we need water for all our activities in day-to-day life. Do you know that most of the villages in the globe have no source of drinking water. In order to resolve the water crisis and to conserve the water for the present and for the future generations, we need to adopt one of the best way of water conservation called rainwater harvesting. Here, let’s learn about the different methods of rainwater harvesting.

1. What is rainwater harvesting and why is it for drinking purpose?

Rainwater harvesting or RWH is the process of collecting rain that falls onto a catchment area of a building/structure where water is collected and stored in a storage tank which could be easily used for various uses both in residential and commercial buildings.

Rainwater harvesting is the most ancient and sustainable method to collect, store and purify rainwater for potable purposes. Rainwater harvesting greatly enhances the green living and meets human water needs at the time of drought like conditions. It can be the major source of water in various regions of the world where water supply is limited.

Roof top rainwater harvesting (RWH) method has been carried out worldwide to provide an inexpensive source of potable/drinking water for many people. Rainwater harvesting has a significant role to play in water saving. Once you start harvesting rainwater, you have your own supply of water that can be used wisely.

Rainwater harvesting for drinking water effectively meets the water shortage problem. While in rural areas, it becomes the main source of water for potable uses which include drinking, bathing and cooking. In rural areas it is recommended to treat the collected rainwater prior to use particularly if it is intended to be used for drinking. The cost for installation and maintenance of RWH system is effective and economical. Harvesting rainwater is a sustainable solution for the demand for potable water in both rural and urban development.

2. How to collect and convert rainwater for drinking purpose?

Rainwater harvesting is the technique of capturing the rainfall for residential and commercial applications. Harvested rainwater is drinkable only when it undergoes disinfection treatment. Rooftop rainwater harvesting is the most common technique of rainwater harvesting (RWH) for domestic consumption. Rainwater can be disinfected before consumption to remove disease causing microorganisms.

Catchment region (roof of the building), conveyance system, storage system, distribution system and are parts of RWH system. Rain water harvesting from building roof tops can be considered as an important step towards maximizing the water availability for domestic and other uses. The quality of harvested rainwater basically depends on the types of roofing materials, the climatic conditions of the local area and the levels of atmospheric pollutions. However, rainwater quality may be affected by air pollution, and other factors. Treatment before water consumption (filtration or/and disinfection) are very important. The most common treatment technologies to purify rainwater include chlorination, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, ozonation, microfiltration and ultra filtration. When collected rainwater undergoes any of these processes then it is safe for potable purpose.

Several studies have shown that water from well-maintained and covered rooftop tanks generally meets drinking water quality standards. It enables households as well as community buildings, schools and other such to manage their own water supply for various potable and non-potable purposes. RWH system offers sufficient amount of water and energy savings through lower consumption.

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