Rain Gardens – Harvesting The Rain

   Catching and using the water from rainstorms is a procedure as old as the wind but one that seems to be gaining some new enthusiasts. There are even websites dedicated to saving the rain. Some rain gardens have a network of pipes that carry water from downspouts to distant parts of the landscape. Others have various ways to capture the rain from the roof and store it for later use. I would think this will work better in climates that have at least occasional rain through the spring, summer and fall. The main problem is that most of the World’s dry spaces that would benefit from this have distinct rainy and dry seasons.

For example where we live, except for the rare thunderstorm, it does not rain from April to November. To store enough water to make a difference here, you would have to have an Olympic swimming pool sized storage tank under ground to pump out of all summer. If you live where it can rain at any time of the year, then things like rain barrels are a viable option. In dry climates, saving the rain from the wet season just does not seem to work on the individual consumer level. But then again, I suppose our system of capturing winter moisture in lakes and reservoir and then releasing it for use in the summer is a form of rain harvesting. Unfortunately the dams often used for this are big impediments to healthy salmon populations here in the Northwest U.S.