With extensive rainfall occurring in North Texas this past week, and more predicted for next week, it’s a good time to add rainwater harvesting to your water conservation measures. Rainwater harvesting can range from catching rain in a bucket set outside to setting up a system that regularly funnels rainfall as it comes off the roof of a home into a rain barrel.
There are many tutorials online for DIY rainwater harvesting, including the free “Beginner’s Guide to Rainwater Harvesting” posted earlier this summer by Texas A&M AgriLife. AgriLife experts say that for every inch of rain that falls, around 0.62 gallons of water can be captured per square foot of roof (in other words, a 1,000 square-foot roof can produce as much as 620 gallons of water for harvest with 1 inch of rain!).
Keep in mind that harvested rainwater is not suitable for drinking but can be used for tasks such as watering plants and washing cars. Also, systems that capture 400 gallons of water or less must be registered with the City at no charge. Larger systems require a permit.
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