Rainwater collectors ease drought.Among the many resources we are now being asked to conserve, water is the most crucial. In addition to the solar water heating systems and power-producing photovoltaic systems that will adorn more roofs in the future, another addition should be a water collection system.
As a nation, we take water for granted—we use an average of 80 gallons of it a day. In underdeveloped countries, that figure is more like five gallons per day. Like an increasing number of resources, we are beginning to realize good quality and low price are becoming a thing of the past.
Another reason has emerged, revitalizing the practice of capturing rainwater during storms and stockpiling it for drier times. Scientists warn us that climate change will result in more severe droughts and erratic storms worldwide. Many areas of Hawai‘i, the Mainland and the rest of the world are being affected by drought. Maui County remains in drought conditions with South Maui still classified in extreme drought.
Water catchment systems are not a new idea to those living in Hawai‘i. Remote areas utilize them due to the unavailability of municipal water systems and because of the difficulty and prohibitive expense of drilling through lava rock.
There are many types of rainwater harvesting systems, ranging in complexity from simple to sophisticated. But in general, rainwater harvesting systems carry the rain from the roof to a storage tank.
I save catchment water with a simple system. The gutters edging my home’s roof funnel rainwater through a screen and some rudimentary plumbing into a simple above-ground water reservoir. The water isn’t sparkling clean, but it is safe enough to sustain a couple of koi and a small vegetable garden. Even a small system can supply enough water for a modest food garden and help alleviate the sting of today’s grocery prices.
Hawai‘i’s “Guru of Water Catchment,” Trisha Macomber of the Natural Resources and Environmental Management Department at UH, has authored Guidelines on Rainwater Catchment Systems for Hawaii, an excellent publication which covers how to build a system and how to store rainwater to keep it clean and healthy (find the link at www.harvesth2o.com/hawaii.shtml).
There are many communities promoting and implementing rainwater harvesting programs. Drought, population growth, stricter water conservation laws and increasing environmental awareness are driving the popularity of community- and state-based incentives on the Mainland. And the need to acquire new water sources and new and more effective infrastructure such as water treatment and distribution are necessitating innovation in the field worldwide. New companies and new policies are pushing rainwater harvesting from the off-the-grid fringe to the core of today’s green building design.
Take advantage of our increasingly erratic storms to mitigate severe droughts, because, as we all know, when it rains here on Maui, it pours. Although water catchment may just be another drop in the bucket when it comes to sustainable solutions, if we gather enough drops in enough buckets, we can join a movement that is “taking the nation by storm.”