Rainwater Harvesting Methods Evolve from Days Past

By Marissa Heflin

While rainwater harvesting is not new, the way people use collected water is modern, according to Mike Gannon, owner of Full Service Aquatics in Summit, N.J. Previously, people primarily used rainwater harvesting for light-duty gardening. In fact, Gannon said he remembers his grandmother owning a rain barrel with a downspout.

The rainwater collection reservoir (shown below) is located beneath the permeable pave patio (shown above). (Courtesy of Mike Garcia/Enviroscape LA Landscaping)

The complexity of rainwater harvesting systems represents a huge evolutionary change, according to James Lavery of Atlantic Water Gardens in Mantua, Ohio. People have learned how to collect and filter rainwater in better way, he said.

Billy Kniffen, vice president of ARCSA, knows the benefits and the complexities of rainwater harvesting systems firsthand. He and his wife built a house in the center of Texas country that totally depends on collected rainwater.

They have never used an alternate water source in the 10 years they’ve lived there, even during droughts, Kniffen said. Rainfall in their area is about 20-22 inches per year, and the couple has about 25,000 gallons in collection systems.

Collected rainwater can meed the water demands of smaller herds and individual animals, Kniffen said. A horse or cow can consume seven to 18 gallons of water a day, according to ARCSA.

Businesses can use rainwater harvesting in unlikely places, according to Aaron Reynolds, business manager of water management solutions at Firestone Specialty Products of Indianapolis. Examples include transforming impervious parking areas into functional drainage areas, reducing or eliminating the need for additional water source irrigation on golf courses and converting parks and fields to functional, multi-purpose green spaces.

The biggest evolutionary change, at least from the consumer’s viewpoint, might come down to aesthetics. Rainwater harvesting systems are no longer a sedentary eyesore. Collection systems now incorporate designs and other decorative features for aesthetic appeal, and users can install them above or below ground. The products also take on interesting shapes to elicit multifunctional use such as that of a park or rain bench or create a sense of additional purpose such as a pondless waterfall.

“If you’re going through the cost of creating a catchment system, you might as well have something to show for it instead of just having stored water,” said Ed Beaulieu, chief sustainability officer at Aquascape Inc. of St. Charles, Ill. “You actually can have a little decorative piece associated with it.”

Evolutionary change is unlikely to stop, said Steve Senn, president of Senn Landscaping of Eagle, Pa.

“Rainwater harvesting is going to keep changing; it has to keep changing,” he said. “Like water, the industry can get stagnant.”

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Rainwater Harvesting Methods Evolve from Days Past

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