Can you imagine a life without water, which is a dominant part of our everyday lives? If we are not able to do our bit to save and improve the planet’s water, it’s not long before earth will have no clean water. The most important thing to do is save water and recycle it for use. The rain water can be conserved for later use. It can also be used to increase the level of the underground water table by diverting the water underground instead of it just flowing into the drains and sewage pipes and getting wasted. You can use the water you collect by this method for watering your plants or other gardening projects. This way you will be saving on you water bill and still have the water required for your greenery, car wash or other activities.
Before starting with the construction of rain collection system make proper arrangements. You might need a little help from a professional who can use tools if you are not aware of how to use them.
Things required:
Here is a list of things that you need for this project.
- 1 piece of net or a thin cloth that allows water to pass through
- Bucket
- Drum with a lid
- Pipe strainer
- 3 cinder blocks
- Marker
- Tool kit
Process:
Going green is the motto of today and to do our bit, let’s start with harvesting rainwater in our homes. It might sound almost impossible or a lot of hard work but the fact is, it can be really simple by just following a few steps:
1. The first thing that needs to be done is to connect all the water outlets on the terrace to one pipe. That will make it easier to collect all the water without wasting even a single drop. Make sure to keep your terrace clean once you start collecting water. Avoid throwing cigarette butts around or any other waste which is not good for health.
2. The water will be collected in a drum or tank kept at a secure position under the pipe that brings down all the water. The size of the tank depends on the space available. Choose the container according to the space available and fixes it there.
3. After this, the top of the rain water collection system needs to be made. This can be made by cutting the top of a bucket. Make sure the bucket is a food grade bucket. For a 500 liter collection drum, you will need a 20 liter bucket. Cut the top of the bucket with appropriate tools; make sure it’s cut evenly. To make the cutting easy, just make a mark with a marker before cutting it. Standing water is a good breeding ground for mosquitoes, so to keep them away the top should be secured with a thin net or a paint strainer.
4. Now place the cut top from the bucket on the lid of the collection drum and mark it. After marking it, cut it to make a hole for the top to fit into it.
5. The collection drum should be fitted with a tap for outlet.
6. Now you have to connect the pipe bringing down the water from your terrace or the roof gutters to one single pipe that will connect to the mouth of the collection drum.
7. The end of the pipe should be connected with a strain that fits well to it so that it keeps away any dirt that flies with the wind into the water such as leaves, paper etc.
8. The pipe with the strain should be then directed into the top of the receiving drum that is secured with a net to keep insects out.
9. There should be an outlet for excess water at the top of the drum that should be directed to a safe place where it can seep underground without getting wasted.
Please remember this water is not fit for human consumption by any chance. You can use this water for gardening, cleaning and washing.