rainwater harvesting, definition of

Rainwater harvesting refers to the act of 'keeping' rainwater that falls on your roof for use later. This implies that the a certain amount of plumbing is done to collect the water to a central tank, then plumbing is done to provide the water where needed. Also overflow plumbing needs to be done for when the tank is full.

This is often done to reduce a building's dependence on piped 'town water' or to provide fresh water where town water is not available. The water so collected is suitable for drinking as long the roof is clean and the water tank is rated for potable water storage.

See here for an online calculator to work out the amount of water you can harvest and the size of tank you need in relation to your water usage.

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