Everything You Need to Know About Trapping Rainwater

3. Conduits

These are the pipelines that carry the rainwater from a rooftop or catchment area and drop it into the collection unit. Mostly, people use PVC pipes to make conduits. This material is durable and easy to handle, which makes it an ideal material for this purpose.

4. First-Flushing

This system involves a valve that makes sure that the first spell of water coming through the drainage is flushed out. The basic goal of first-flushing is to prevent debris and pollutants from entering the storage system.

You can also store first-flushing water in a small tank and use it for purposes other than drinking. By doing so, you can utilize natural resources in a responsible manner.

5. Filter

This is the final stage of rainwater harvesting, which makes the water useable for drinking or other household purposes. It helps remove any kind of pollutants and suspended elements from the stored rainwater.

n most cases, the filter unit consists of different filtration layers. Layers include sand, charcoal, and gravel. These layers help to filter out unwanted materials like debris and dust before pouring the water into a storage tank.

Photo by Inge Maria on Unsplash

Why Should You Use a Rainwater Filter?

The primary purpose of using a rainwater filter is to ensure that the collected rainwater is safe for household and drinking purposes. The first stage of filtration involves flushing out the first few liters of water that comes down from drainage pipes or gutters.

By using a typical filtration system, you can make rainwater as safe as drinking water. Hence, once processed, you can use this rainwater for the purpose of cooking and drinking. The rainwater may contain contaminants such as algae, bird excrement, air pollution, leaves, dust, and sand.

In order to make water suitable for humans, it is essential to install filtration and purification equipment. This system is capable of removing such contaminants and harmful elements.

Do You Need to Filter Rainwater to Drink It?

There is nothing purer than rainwater; however, air pollution can harm the purity of rainwater. Moreover, when rainwater falls on the roof surface, it is exposed to dust, debris, and bird excretions.

As a result, the rainwater also becomes contaminated, which makes it unfit for drinking. Therefore, the best way to utilize rainwater is to use a suitable and effective filtration system. After processing the rainwater through filters, you can remove all the contaminants and infectious elements.

Moreover, you can also use an in-house filter that purifies the water and makes it perfectly safe to drink. On the other hand, when you need water to wash your car or clothes, it isn’t necessary to use an expensive filtration system. You can use the collected rainwater after simply filtering it through a sand and charcoal filter.

Do You Need to Filter Rainwater to Grow Plants?

Although rainwater is ideal for plants as compared to underground water, the presence of pollutants is the main concern. Since our air is polluted with a variety of harmful substances like carbon monoxide, arsenic, and other acids, it is not advisable to use rainwater to grow plants without filtering it.

Acid rain is one of the issues, which may turn out to be harmful to the plants. Hence, before using rainwater for agricultural purposes, it would be better to use a proper filtration system. It will also ensure that the plants you grow are also healthy to consume.

Since our air is polluted with a variety of harmful substances like carbon monoxide, arsenic, and other acids, it is not advisable to use rainwater to grow plants without filtering it.

Rainwater to Grow Food

When it comes to utilizing the rainwater for growing food, the first thing that comes into mind is the scale of such farming. In fact, the utilization of rainwater for agricultural purposes depends on the annual rainfall in a particular area.

For instance, if you live in an area that doesn’t receive sufficient annual rainfall, there is no point in creating a rainwater harvesting mechanism. The scale of water collection for agricultural purposes is larger than what we see in a household rainwater collection system.

In addition, the cost of making a rainwater harvesting system is enormous, which requires you to analyze the annual rainfall. If the rainfall in your area is good, storing rainwater for growing food is a viable method.

The most essential element necessary for plant growth is nitrogen, which is found in rainwater. When the water vapors condense, they absorb atmospheric nitrogen. This means that rainwater also minimizes the need for fertilizers.

Rainwater for Aquaponics

To run an aquaponics farm, rainwater would serve as the best option. This is because rainwater is fresh, clean, and soft, which makes it a perfect source of water. When you are harvesting rainwater for aquaponics, you need to offer some sort of filtration system to remove the impurities.

Moreover, the rainwater used for this purpose is recycled continuously. This suggests that if the water is fresh, there isn’t any issue of toxic run-off. Since there are no weeds, you don’t have to use harmful chemicals, pesticides, or herbicides.

Rainwater for Hydroponics

If you are looking for renewable energy and water resources, rainwater is the best option to consider. This alternative to tap water is more effective as it requires less energy and resources to store rainwater.

The best way to use rainwater for a hydroponics garden is to collect and filter the water before entering it into the system. Rainwater is soft, which assists the photosynthesis process for better growth hydroponic plants.

Rainwater for Greenhouse Plants
No doubt, water is a highly useful and precious resource for growing plants in any kind of setup. When you are running a greenhouse farm, it is possible to make it more efficient by using rainwater.

In most cases, greenhouses utilize drip irrigation, which makes it possible to use stored water for an extended time. The roof of a greenhouse farm would serve as the best place to collect rainwater. Gutter-connected greenhouses are gaining popularity, and growers are taking advantage of different filtration layers.

Below are the essential steps that you need to follow while using rainwater for greenhouse farming.

Quality
The quality of rainwater is outstanding, as it is in its purest form. Most rainwater is clean, but when it comes into contact with the roof and gutters, it may become polluted. Debris may get into the system, which you can easily filter through a filtration system.

Collection
Gutter-connected greenhouses collect the majority of rainwater that falls on their roofs. The gutters are connected to the downspout and piping system. The pipes take the rainwater into pre-constructed storage tanks or underground reserves.

Filtration
Before entering the drip irrigation system, the pollutants and debris should be removed from the rainwater. The initial step while collecting and filtering the rainwater is to flush the first few liters of it. A small tank can also be used for this purpose. The flushed-out water can also be used for washing different farming equipment.

Storage
This is the last stage regarding the storage of rainwater for greenhouse farming. In most cases, a concrete cistern serves as a low-cost storage compartment. Moreover, it can also be a concrete septic tank. The largest septic tanks that you can buy offers a capacity of 5,000 gallons.

Rain Barrels and Equipment

Meeting Our Future Freshwater Needs

With the passage of time, clean water supplies are becoming scarce and hard to find. In this situation, trapping rainwater is the best and most feasible way to meet our freshwater needs.

Apart from using rainwater for domestic purposes, this kind of water source is serving as a viable option for farming. For instance, gutter-connected greenhouses are also using rainwater for drip irrigation.

Therefore, it is essential to learn about the process of trapping rainwater and making the most of it. The major steps of rainwater harvesting include collection, filtration, and storage. By using the latest technology, you can take more benefits by trapping the rainwater.

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

Article courtesy of Den Garden