Discussion on:

How to recycle rain water for use at home

I think it's a great Ideal especially if your on metered water,even a small system could save you a lot of money in the long term.

We live in central Texas where rainwater collection has been
used for years and is currently experiencing a revival due to
ground water problems. I suggest that the folks in the video do
not have nearly enough capacity for periods when it doesn't rain
as much as predicted. Time will tell. Why don't they use it for
drinking as well, that is what ourselves and many others in central
Texas do. We have a similar filtering system as theirs with the UV
at the end.

We have a large system with 69,000 gallons of capacity. The
maximum we have collected so far is 64,000 gallons. In 2007-
2008 central Texas experienced an El Nino effect so that we had
to have water delivered. Since then we have had sufficient rain to
get us to the 64,000 gallon that I mentioned. However we are
being told by the local weather people that we are in another El
Nino effect but we still have about 55,000 gallons which will last
about 7 months.

The system previewed would only be economically feasible if it included all household use of water (but isn't anywhere near large enough) - and then might be questionably economically feasible for some areas using good quality ground water. There is a huge amount of good quality information available on rain water usage from all over the world - this isn't rocket science and it has been researched for many years. Your "designers" would have benefited greatly by doing a little more homework before starting. BTW UV doesn't kill all the bacteria, just a high portion and it requires frequent maintenance to maintain even partial efficiency. In addition most laundry detergents are going to be as, or nearly as efficient for killing single cell organisms as UV.

REusing rainwater has been around for millennia. They are called cisterns. You'll see them all over the Caribbean where there aren't water wells.

We have 2000 of rain water storage in San Diego, but opted for
polyethylene tanks at side of the hosue. Unfortunately I don't
think that it will be long before an inquisitive mouse has chewed
through that bladder tank under the deck of the Parkers house.
Roof type has a significant impact on the amount of water you
harvest, metal is great, concrete tiles not so good as they absorb
so much before run off begins.
I'm looking into fog harvesting, a technique that has apparently
been used of ridges in the Andes for years.
Chris

Hi, I want to share some information about the Arabs houses especially
in my country Jordan. a lot of houses owners like our family for
example, does have what is called (Water Well) under the ground
surface, it is 2x2 m2 . So, when it starts raining the rain water will fall
on the roof and then goes directly to one corner, after that, it will go
down by a tube immediately to the water Well. by that the house now
contains a larger water storage than before.

In many localities, collecting rain water for personal use is illegal. Check out the LaPlata county in Colorado...if you are caught collecting rain water, you pay a tremendous fine...The reason? If everybody collected rain water, there would be no municipal water in the drier parts of the county! Selfishness of some affects the needs of the many!

Maybe people should not live in the drier parts of Colorado?

I don't understand how homeowners can put up with the idea that rain falling on their roof doesn't belong to them. And it is silly to say that the water is being "used up" by the people with rain collectors. They're not selling it to Los Angeles! They're using it to water their lawns and gardens, in which case it goes into the ground like it would have anyway. Or they're using it to flush their toilets and do their laundry, in which case it goes into the sewage system instead of the storm sewers. So the only loser is the sewage utility, which bills people according to their water usage.

Grey water system have been thought about and in practice for a
few years. The concept being, of course, that the waste water
from sinks, bath tubs and showers is recycled for use in toilets
and laundry and, with proper filtration, perhaps even for yard and
garden purposes. Rain water collection is something that's been
around since for a millennia or two and the concept is usually in
the form of a cistern. Commonly, a large underground container
or reservoir to collect rain water and snow melts for use in toilet
and perhaps laundry. The bladder system, however, is an
interesting one but only practical in warm to moderate climate,
not in areas like northern Europe, Asia or Canada, unless a
means to keep it thawed for less than the cost of metered water
is devised. I must agree that the concept of the bladder for use
under crawl spaces and low level sun decks is a good one,
indeed.

@tech_ed@...

We're told where there's a will, there's a way. I suggest you discuss the idea with neighbors, friends, et al. in your community. I don't know what form of government LaPlata county has, but surely there is a way for residents to address those who govern you. (Check the US constitution for your right to address the goverment with grievances.) Having done your research on support of the idea, implications of the idea -- cost savings to home owners; loss of revenue to the body that now collects it -- how to bring an idea or grievance to the attention of those responsible, go for it. If those who are elected to whatever body that is giving you a big "No Way" are elected, work on getting whoever you can removed from office.

Of course, you and those who agree with you will not have the influence of labor unions or big business, but you will be surprised what group of committed voters can accomplish. Passive resistance can work wonders. Consider Mahatma Ghandi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Remember the words of Benjamin Franklin: "If we do not hang together, we shall certainly hang separately." Finally, as my father used to say: "If you can't outfight 'em, out-think 'em."

Good luck!

In the state of Colorado this is illegal for most of us.

Check the water laws in your state before attempting this.

I don't agree with the Colorado Law, but it's based on changes made to Water Rights in the state...and somewhat enforced by a Federal Lawsuit that stated that a farmer downstream from us had more right to water in our possession than we do.

And it's silly, as others pointed out, the water ends up in the ground anyways.

People living in a desert should take the hint from Mother Nature and move or figure out how to survive with the water that falls in your area. If you have to depend on water from 200 miles or further away you probably live where you should not.

That includes most of the people living in Southern California.

Not everybody lives in L.A. Can this system be used in the northeast?