Is it time we took rainwater harvesting seriously?
THE huge demands put on water supply due to the recent drought has put water harvesting back on everyone’s agenda. It’s a topic few of us ever take seriously given the high amount of rainfall we get for most of the year. But this has proven to be misleading.
Rainwater harvesting is something that can be achieved on a small or grand scale. From the domestic home owner, to the commercial and agricultural sectors – we all need to consider some type of water harvesting. Demand for water is estimated to rise by over 50 percent by 2030, while a person in Ireland will use on average over 15 litres of water per day. When you consider that thousands of litres of rainwater are wasted every year from the roofs of sheds, houses and buildings it begs the question ‘should we be doing more?’
The recent fine weather suggests that we should most definitely be doing more to take the pressure off the public supply. Water for domestic use is one thing, but if you have a garden or like to wash your car every week, than some kind of remedial action needs to be implemented. Attach water butts to down pipes around your home and shed; collect water and store in large plastic drums or tanks for when a dry spell hits. Something as simple and as low cost as this can make a huge difference.
There are companies nationwide who can take the idea of rainwater harvesting a step further depending on cost and scale of use. If you’re into gardening in a big way, or have livestock, then you should consider having underground tanks installed. They will store a sufficient amount of water with its own overflow system built-in.
Rainwater is a primary source of water supply and the recent heatwave has exposed the crisis when secondary sources of water in rivers and lakes comes under pressure to meet public demand. We can make a collective contribution to water conservation by engaging in what are minor individual choices. Recent weather conditions demand that we at least explore water conservation options.