Rainwater Harvesting and Rainwater Catchment

What is rainwater harvesting?

Rainwater harvesting with a rainwater catchment system includes the collection and storage of rainwater into tanks or cisterns. Rooftop rainwater harvesting has become increasingly popular as a way to provide off-grid high-quality drinking water. Rainwater can also be used for gardening, livestock, and irrigation, etc.. The most common materials used to capture and store rainwater are tile, metal sheets, and plastics. If safely configured, rainwater harvesting can provide high-quality drinking water. For any rainwater collection system, water testing, treatment and disinfection should be considered.

What are the risks of drinking rainwater?

Rainwater can carry harmful bacteria, parasites, viruses, and chemicals. The health risk of getting sick from rainwater varies depending on your location, the type of catchment system installed and how frequently it rains.

How do I know my rainwater is safe to drink?

While rainwater often begins very clean (thanks to solar distillation), it can pick up metals, minerals, (and maybe some other things) as it collects and transports through a rainwater collection system. Depending on the type of contaminants found in your water or the risks in your system design, there are many water filtration and disinfection systems to choose from. After getting your rainwater quality tested, you want to then pick a treatment that will keep your rainwater safe to drink. 

Is it safe to use rainwater for vegetables?

Almost always yes, unless testing finds very high lead or other heavy metals.

What should I test my rainwater system for?

The most common contaminants found in rainwater collection systems include, heavy metals, non-metal inorganics, organic materials, microbes and occasionally plastic or semi-volatile compounds. The most popular rainwater catchment and rainwater quality testing packages are included on this page.

My rainwater harvesting system smells like... 

Depending on the way your rainwater smells, looks or tastes, different water testing packages might make more sense. Even if your rainwater doesn’t have a smell, taste or color, you should at least test it once in a while because most contaminants DO NOT have an organoleptic effect.