It’s a simple idea. Save water, use it later. People around the world have been harvesting rainwater for thousands of years, but the concept is now experiencing a revival in light of water scarcity problems that are caused by global warming.

How it works: While there are many ways to harvest rainwater, it is usually done in one of two ways: the water is collected either from roofs or saved in underground cisterns. Roof catchment systems move the water into a storage container (sometimes underground), like a rain barrel, through pipes or gutters. To see it for yourself, click this link for pictures of the various types of rainwater harvesting systems available. The collected water can then be used for watering lawns, washing cars, flushing the toilet or whatever else you can think of.

A model of an underground rainwater storage system

In India, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have taken an active role in generating the capital needed to build catchment systems. Groups like Jal Swaraj create rain centers that provide information, resources, and training for locals. In turn, these locals present their wealth of traditional wisdom about how best to interact with nature. The NGOs give money or building materials thereby enabling residents to put their knowledge to work and appeasing the water crisis in their area.

Rainwater harvesting is gaining momentum in the U.S as well. Because there are so many rainwater harvesting companies in America nowadays, it is becoming easier and cheaper to buy and/or install rainwater collection devices in your own home. Here are just a few companies to choose from:

RainHarvest

Rain Harvesting

American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association

Water Tanks

It’s really exciting that investing in technology that helps the environment by reusing natural resources is catching on. In Malaysia, the Environment Ministry is encouraging developers to make rainwater collection systems a selling point for house buyers and to stress the point that while these systems might be expensive today, they will save a lot of money tomorrow. Hospitals are in on it, homeowners are in on it, even hospitals and baseball teams (which I will write about later on because that’s an interesting story in and of itself). The revival of rainwater harvesting is essential in times of environmental uncertainty and I can only hope that more people will save and reuse resources in this way.

As usual, here are the latest updates about the state of water in the world today:

Haiti is in the hearts and minds of many of us right now after a 7.0 earthquake hit Port-au-Prince just days ago. At the apex of a mounting heap of problems this disaster-struck country faces is a lack of clean water. Public Radio International outlines just how important clean water is to the reeling nation of Haiti when so many have been injured and are at higher risk of disease.

Hawaii implements nation’s first marine debris action plan The island takes first steps toward cleaning man-made debris off of its beaches and coral reefs thanks to an action plan mandated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

How Britain is addressing the problem of rising sea levels. Experts discuss options for how best to protect the 10 million people who live in flood risk areas around England and Wales. Ideas include retreating, defending, and attacking.

This is a useful video that demonstrates ways of conserving water that I hadn’t thought of before

India Cities Focus on Rainwater Harvesting to Provide Clean Drinking Water: The Indian government is now requiring all new buildings in 18 out of 28 of its states to have rainwater harvesting systems in an effort to support the needs of their booming population.