How to HARVEST RAINWATER from your roof

Could the tank just have a small slope at the bottom so the sludge goes down to one specific outlet for that and another above for clean water?

Thank you

i would like to use rainwater to flush the toilet but not all the time the rainwater tank will have water in it. how can i set it up so that when there is no more water in the rainwater tank, water from the city will be used to flush the toilet.

Is it legal to not include the first flush in Australia and only plan to use this water in garden

I love the idea of the drop-down tube for the inlet.

thanks, this was really useful and comprehensive. Im just designing our water harvesting system and there were many elements I had not considered. As our system is purely for watering the garden im going to place the tap at the very bottom to reduce build up of sludge

Correct me if I'm wrong, but rainwater is subject to PFAs contamination. Please research PFAs as its in our paper, toilet paper, cooking oils, teflon pans, waterproof mascaras, etc. I hope your rainwater is clean (the only place that I know it to be clean is on Hawaii and that may only be a few years before the rainwater is affected), but to keep it clean we need to make some major lifestyle changes.

I’m in the U.K. so please take some of our rainwater too! (We get far too much almost every day!!)🤣😂

In most of the USA I’ve noticed they pronounce the word roof as “ruf” - (but I don’t know why..)

what if the tank is under ground? in Saudi Arabia people's tanks are under ground with the access port at ground level. a water truck stops by at a regular schedule and recharges the tank. is it possible to retrofit these tanks to accept rain water to reduce reliance on water trucks?

When building my new house, i incorporated flat concrete roof to catch rain and act as a roof top balcony for recreation. I also have 6 ground level storage tanks, which are all connected by underground piping, spread out around the house to more conveniently collect rainwater. The rainwater is then pumped through a pressure tower sand filter to supply water to my 3 storey house. So i am basically self sufficient. Cheers.

G'day guys you Yanks are 30 years behind us in Australia in water catchment, first flush, water filtration.

Water is recycled naturally. Ever wonder if water you are taking a drink of had ever been drank before? Maybe by someone famous, or a dinosaur or a cave man?

Hey Andrew,

In natural earth homes like cob, straw, etc. with roofs of similar material, would the rainwater become toxic in any way from flowing over the roof? And would the natural-earth roof add any minerals to the water, as it would be essentially dried mud?

Thanks for the video!

Always great!!

Do you know of any companies that would install this system in the greater Seattle area?

Leaf guards any good?

Swing by my house and hook one up that drip feeds the tiny vegetable garden next to the down spout. That's all I need.

Thanks!

I have no idea about any of this but i tried to really listen and understand. I have never seen someone write and draw so neatly. You are such an intelligent person. How did you become so extremely smart. I kinda got lost in your teaching because I was admiring all the drawings. 😂. Truly incredible

Thank you

this should be a forced rule by the goverment. so it is possible to water all summer long, if required to keep soil moist 24/7. but i guess that will never happen as the gov dosnt give a f*ck about the earth.. or people for that matter

what about the radial filter? it has been used successfully by fish farm etc

Please... "potable" is pronounced with a long O as in note.

I had a new asphalt shingle roof installed in early 2021 but have been interested in collecting rain water for watering my lawn and augmenting water use in my house (including drinking water run through my RO system). You say in your video that they need to have been in place for a few years to avoid leaching contaminants into the water, but I'm curious how long would be recommended to give a good safety margin. 4, 5, 10 years?

Very clear and easy to understand. Great video on setting up a rain water harvesting system. There will be more or a desire for this in the near future

My well water recycling plan.

Permaculture Ponds.
Hydroloop for Grey Water.
BioRock for Sewage.

I’m very impressed by your skill of writing in reverse 👏👏

activated charcoal

sustainable

I am on 100% rain water useage in my New Mexico mountain home for 9 years now. Blue gold indeed!

Andrew, can the water tank be buried? I want to hide it from my Homeowner Ass.

Thanks - helps me explain this concept to others!

Here in Seattle, we get about 40 ( one meter) of rain per year, but have a seasonal draught in the summer lasting 3-4 months.

Being a frugal person, I despise pouring water on the ground and then buying citiwater. So for twenty five years or so I have collected rainwater and used zero citiwater.

But being frugal, my rainwater collection system is simple and frugal as well. I have a 600 gallon steel tank I bought thirty years ago from a metal surplus junkyard for $30 or so. It originally contained an aircraft engine for shipping by the military! I also have six 50 gallon plastic barrels in my basement that I picked up for nothing over the years, and a bunch of five gallon plastic buckets used to store water as well. The barrels in the basement are filled with the best water collected during rainstorms and such.

I use one downspout to fill the 600 gallon tank, and two other downspouts to fill two fifty gallon plastic barrels. Water from the downspouts goes through a window screen before emptying in the tank/barrels. First flush rain is just diverted manually onto the ground, and when it is running clean, is diverted into the barrels/tank.

When full, the outdoor barrels are covered with a steel top to keep insects/sunlight out. The steel tank is covered with plywood unless it is being filled.

I bring water into the house for use in five gallon buckets. If needed, I'll pour water from one bucket into another through a bath towel to filter it. So no pumping or elaborate equipment is used or desired.

During the summer draught, I'll minimize clothes washing by sorting out towels and such that are dried and saved for washing until the rains return. Clothes drying is done on a clothesline.

A considerable amount of water is used watering a small garden.

I don't use a regular toilet, a massive water waster.

I live alone, having never married or had children. So I am free to pursue my hobbies and interests as I may choose, and using rainwater is a hobby for me.

Is this also usable in regions with freezes in winter?

Do this now so you might be "grandfathered in" when/if they try to ban rain water collection everywhere.

It’s good to save water. The only thing bothering me is watering plants with overflow when it’s raining 🤔

How much pressure would be created by raising the tank to just below critical gutter level? Then supply could run to home..perhaps, without a pump.

🙏🙏

Better idea it’s leave the rain do want anti-recessão during all the millions years, interfere without such idiots plans

You have done it. Best explained and to the point

Wow! I am amazed by the quality of both idea and presentation. This is a really nicely done work, sir.

I'm currently a sponge, this was helpful 🙂

What about all the crap they are spraying in the sky’s to control the climate? Look into weather modification and geoengineering. Sounds crazy but they are doing it. 🤔😳

Slate !

Wow!

leaf screens are garbage lol

I just found your channel and currently binge watching your videos. I do not have high background education about permaculture except for basic hydrology, but still feel your information are interesting. My question is, how do you tackle mosquito problem in the rainwater tank for people in South East Asia? And another problem in my country is because you need to pay for tap water (some region even doesn't has access to tap water), so with capital of just water-pump, people can get aquifer water for free for their house-need. This, with concrete jungle covering the surface land make the city vulnerable to flood when rain season, and drought when it is summer season.