VIRGINIA RAINWATER HARVESTING MANUAL

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The Trend
Today’s rainwater harvesting systems have evolved significantly and offer
technologically advanced components. However, harvesting rooftop rainwater is more
popular in European countries like Germany and England than the United States.
Adoption is equally low in Virginia, with most adopters being rural dwellers with failing
wells with no local municipal line and large corporations wishing to conserve water and
reduce utility bills.
Harvesting rainwater has a long-term impact on the local water resources by
reducing demands for surface and groundwater withdrawals. Also, harvesting rainwater
protects the integrity of local waterways by reducing nonpoint source pollution. Including
rainwater harvesting in local and regional water supply plans offers an alternative and
sustainable water source while protecting the local environment.



Future of Rainwater Harvesting
Rainwater harvesting systems serve as an alternative decentralized water source,
especially in the age when groundwater supplies are depleting and municipal water
infrastructures are facing high replacement costs. Decentralized water sources, like
rainwater, are needed to guarantee long-term ecologically sound water supplies. The use
of decentralized rainwater harvesting systems is growing nationally and internationally,
especially in industrial countries like Asia, Europe and the US.
Creating national and international rainwater harvesting system standards can
assist in developing low maintenance, safe, and sustainable systems with minimum
ecological disturbance. International businesses have made strides in recent years in
producing high quality, sustainable rainwater harvesting components, which have
influenced the market’s expansion. However, the promise for economic gains fueled
inferior companies to produce non-sustainable, mediocre products.
Rainwater harvesting design and installation requires a network of professionals.
Component prefabrication companies, architects, engineers, craftsmen, water providers
and local authority districts all are involved in designing, installing and regulating
rainwater harvesting systems


Agricultural
Rainwater harvesting is ideal for farm animal drinking water and agricultural and
landscape irrigation, as it is salt free, easily attained, and reduces groundwater depletion
and pumping from local streams. Rainwater can be collected from rooftop surfaces of
barns, clubhouses, greenhouses and equipment storage buildings.
During summer months, Virginia often experiences quick, hard rainfalls. Such
rain events produce too much water in too short a time for the ground to absorb, resulting
in most of the rainwater being lost to runoff. Rainwater harvesting systems are capable
of collecting the rainwater from roof surfaces during such rainfalls. The heavy storm’s
rainwater can then be reapplied to the field at a suitable rate to promote water infiltration.
Frequently, livestock buildings allow rainwater from the roofs to flow into areas
occupied by animals. This situation allows rainwater from these facilities to become
contaminated by fecal matter resulting in increased manure slurry that must be managed.
If rainwater from these facilities is harvested, it can be used for watering livestock and
washing down facilities and animals. Harvesting rainwater from these facilities can
reduce the amount of waste water created as well as decreasing the demand on wells and
other water supplies.