« "Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond, Volume 1' is the first book in a three-volume guide that teaches you how to conceptualize, design, and implement sustainable water-harvesting systems for your home, landscape, and community. The lessons in this volume will enable you to assess your on-site resources, give you a diverse array of strategies to maximize their potential, and empower you with guiding principles to create an integrated, multi-functional water-harvesting plan specific to your site and needs. »--
Our planet's water shortage is a reality for one in five people worldwide, but enough precipitation falls annually to provide ample water for everybody. We simply have to collect, store, distribute, and reuse a small percentage of that which falls from the sky. Fortunately, this way of saving the world comes with perks such as increasing your property's value, lowering your utility bills, or simply creating a comfortable oasis for conversation just outside the kitchen door. "Harvest the Rain" presents a wealth of opportunities for enriching your life. Now that you've found this book, you can reap the benefits and ensure that future generations inherit a better world. A frequent guest on public radio, a perennial presenter at green events, Nate Downey is a seasoned teacher, speaker, writer, and businessman. Soon after he started Santa Fe Permaculture in 1992, Nate's wife, Melissa McDonald, joined his forward-thinking landscape-design firm. Since then, their beautiful, functional, and ecological projects have appeared regularly in prominent publications from "Su Casa" to "Sunset." Nate Downey also writes a popular monthly column called "Permaculture in Practice" for "The Santa Fe New Mexican's" award-winning Real Estate Guide. Visit his website at www.harvesttherain.com.
Dry areas suffer not only from limited rainfall but alsonatural leakage'-90% of rainwater is lost directly or indirectly, and is unavailable for agriculture or domestic use. Water harvesting is a low-cost, easy-to-use, environmentally-friendly way to recover a large part of this lost water. How does water harvesting work? Which sites or areas are
Water conservation is one of the most effective sustainable design practices, yet few professionals know how to collect and use rainwater effectively. Rainwater Harvesting the first comprehensive book on designing rainwater harvesting systems. It provides practical guidelines for developing a rainwater harvesting strategy, taking into account climate, public policies, environmental impact, and end uses. Case studies are included throughout. Rainwater Harvesting is a valuable reference for architects, landscape architects, and site engineers.
From time immemorial, people have been managing rain. The availability of water and water sources determined where people would be able to live. Adequate rainfall decided on the quality of agriculture. Technical advances and finance may have enabled societies to inhabit big cities and expand agriculture into dry areas, but only because of the resource rain provided through the water cycle. Due to population growth, pollution, and climate change, water scarcity will be one of the most critical problems all around the world in the next 15 years. Today, around 10% of the world’s population lacks a proper water supply service. Harvesting rainwater and using it for drinking, domestic, industrial, and agricultural uses will help to supply quality water to urban and rural populations. Divided into four sections, basic concepts, narratives of RWH, programs implemented by diverse sectors of society, and notable cases, the book summarizes experiences from 14 different countries all around the globe, developed and developing countries, urban and rural areas. The subject of this book is related to the promotion of different international rainwater experiences that provides sustainable water services and climate resilience, including technical aspects and socio-cultural and policy affairs. This book was written for all people interested in sustainable rainwater management. Students, people just starting in the subject, and experts will find this book interesting as it creates an overview of rainwater harvesting practice and technology all around the world. We encourage all readers to read these stories and arguments at your leisure. Some many ideas and techniques can be picked up and applicable for serving the last 10% that is waiting for water security and proper water service.
“You owe it to your family to follow the prescriptions in this book and be prepared for droughts and shortages through rainwater harvesting.” —Jerry Yudelson, author of Dry Run: Preventing the Next Urban Water Crisis Water is a crucial resource increasingly under stress. Yet rainfall, even in arid climates, can make up a sizable portion of any home, acreage, or farm’s water requirements if harvested and utilized with care. The key is appropriate planning and high-quality site- and climate-specific design. Essential Rainwater Harvesting is a comprehensive manual for designing, building, and maintaining water harvesting systems for the warm and cold climates of the world. Presenting design considerations and approaches for the most common household rainwater supply scenarios—primary, supplemental, and off-grid supply—this step-by-step approach covers: Considerations for full-property water security Demand planning and conservation strategies Supply calculations and design implications for extreme rainfall and drought Materials selection and water quality System and site assessment Sizing and design of gutters, conveyance, tanks, and pumps Pre-filtration, filtration, and disinfection options System maintenance and upkeep This practical resource provides DIYers, trades, and rainwater practitioners with the essential tools, methods, and technical know-how to design, build, and maintain rainwater harvesting systems anywhere. “Go to it! Become a rainwater harvester! Embrace your downpipes and filtration systems! And all the while with this brilliant book stuffed into your back pocket.” —Rob Hopkins, founder of the Transition movement “Inspired to save your own rainwater for garden and home? Essential Rainwater Harvesting is bursting with personal, practical, and precise information to get gardeners saving water right now.” —Donna Balzer, author of No Guff Vegetable Gardening
2020 independent Press Award Winner--Green Book Category Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond, Volume 2 is a how-to guide enabling you to "plant the rain" by creating water-harvesting "earthworks" or "rain gardens." Earthworks are simple, inexpensive strategies and landforms that passively harvest multiple sources of free on-site water including rainfall, stormwater runoff, air conditioning condensate, and greywater within "living tanks" of soil and vegetation. The plants then pump the water back out in the form of beauty, food, shelter, wildlife habitat, timber and forage, while controlling erosion, reducing down-stream flooding, dropping utility costs, increasing soil fertility, and improving water and air quality. This revised and expanded full-color second edition builds on the information in Volume 1 by showing you how to turn your yard, school, business, park, and neighborhood into lively, regenerative producers of resources. Conditions at home will improve as you simultaneously enrich the ecosystem and inspire the surrounding community. Learn to select, place, size, construct, and plant your chosen earthworks. All is made easier and more effective by the illustrations of natural patterns of water and sediment flow with which you can collaborate or mimic. Detailed step-by-step instructions with over 550 images show you how to do it, and plentiful stories of success motivate you so you will do it!
Rainwater is the purest form of water on earth and water is a cyclic resource that is continuously cycled in nature and can also be reused for various activities after it is cleaned. Don’t you agree then that harvesting rainwater is something that should be a popular practice? Ancient India was well ahead of time, and civilization as early as Indus Valley already had excellent rainwater harvesting system. But, as we progressed along with the rest of the world, we abandoned our traditional practices; and at present we are trying to reintroduce the ancient conservation techniques and integrate them with the new technology to address our water scarcity. Let’s Save The Rain not only talks about the traditional and modern rainwater harvesting systems, but it is a short introduction to this important water conservation technique. The concept, its uses, and its close relationship with the environment are beautifully elucidated with experiments, DIYs, and math calculations. This book is an easy read that explores the concepts and increase awareness about rainwater harvesting.
If water is life, rainwater is a fountain of life. The purpose of this book is to show how various communities have caught that fountain of life using rainwater catchment systems. This book looks at real, practical, global experiences of rainwater catchment (a.k.a. rainwater harvesting) on individual, financially constrained, and community based levels through academic, mathematical and practical perspectives. This book can be used to learn practical skills, see inspiring examples, and to make math have more meaning. This book is for practitioners, DIYers, community members looking for water solutions, as well as for students and teachers in environmental science, environmental studies, sustainable design, international development, engineering, and mathematics. The book is broken into sections on rainwater catchment in general, types, components, gravity, calculations, implementation stories, useful links, conversions, and problem-sets.
Turn water scarcity into water abundance! Earthworks are one of the easiest, least expensive, and most effective ways of passively harvesting and conserving multiple sources of water in the soil. Associated vegetation then pumps the harvested water back out in the form of beauty, food, shelter, wildlife habitat, and passive heating and cooling strategies, while controlling erosion, increasing soil fertility, reducing downstream flooding, and improving water and air quality. Building on the information presented in Volume 1, this book shows you how to select, place, size, construct, and plant your chosen water-harvesting earthworks. It presents detailed how-to information and variations of a diverse array of earthworks, including chapters on mulch, vegetation, and greywater recycling so you can customize the techniques to the unique requirements of your site. Real life stories and examples permeate the book, including: How curb cuts redirect street runoff to passively irrigate flourishing shade trees planted along the street How check dams have helped create springs and perennial flows in once-dry creeks How infiltration basins are creating thriving rain-fed gardens How backyard greywater laundromats are turning "wastewater" into a resource growing food, beauty, and shade that builds community, and more. How to create simple tools to read slope and water flow More than 225 illustrations and photographs
