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Old idea that’s new again: Rainwater harvesting

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 29, 2008 at 5:54 am

From the Sacramento Bee, this column by Daniel Weintraub:

With California on the edge of drought and water restrictions already beginning in some areas, the state might soon be looking toward an ancient practice that is attracting renewed interest around the world: rainwater harvesting.

In Australia, rainwater harvesting has been widespread for years, and in parts of the country it is the only source of fresh water. The government of Texas is an aggressive proponent of the idea. And in Washington’s San Juan Islands, residents have overwhelmed a state agency that grants permits for the installation of harvesting systems. But in California, the notion of capturing rainwater for use in irrigating landscape still has not reached the mainstream. Using rainwater for toilet flushing or even drinking is almost unheard of.

Dylan Coleman would like to change that. Coleman, from the town of Mount Shasta, is a consultant and seller of rainwater harvesting equipment. With his wife, he also runs a nonprofit foundation – Save The Rain – that raises money to pay for the installation of rainwater harvesting systems in Africa.

Lately, he has been much busier with the Africa project than he has been selling systems here under his company’s Wonder Water brand. “I’ve become more of an educational institution than an actual business,” Coleman told me. “I do a lot of talks. Rainwater harvesting has skipped over a couple of generations. We’ve lost the knowledge. We are having to be reawakened to what it can do and how effective it can be.”

Read the rest of this story from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.

May 29, 2008 · Filed Under Conservation

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