Setting Up Rainwater Tank with a Main Water Switch Device

Industrial progress, urbanization, increasing population on Earth are just some factors that make water demand more pronounced. Awareness of the importance of drinking water and its saving is developing around the world, and rainwater collection has become a concept of responsible behavior aimed at saving Earth’s natural resources and the environment.

Rainwater tanks are a modern solution adopted from an old concept for exploiting a naturally renewable water resource. Using these tanks, you can go about using your own water supply to water gardens, irrigate orchards, or complete other activities during dry periods or water shortages. By harvesting rainwater, it is possible to minimize freshwater consumption by over 50 percent. Rainwater harvesting systems allow you to use rainwater for many household chores, except for drinking and food preparation, which may need additional equipment on top of a rainwater tank.

Rainwater is ideal for watering plants, washing cars and doing outdoor chores, doing the laundry in washing machines, flushing toilet bowls, and showering. Additionally, rainwater is ideal for washing hair because there are no ingredients that adversely affect the hair.

To collect rainwater, the following are required:

  • An area from which rainwater would be collected. The roof of the house, from a building, cottage, or another object on which a mesh screen is set up to separate leaves, branches, and other debris.

  • A conveyance system. Rainwater is drained from the roof to the collection pipe. The water then flows down to a smaller reservoir that acts as a filter, protecting it from pebbles, sand, and other finer sediments.

  • A rainwater tank. The drainage pipe from the filter serves to connect the collected rainwater to the rainwater tank.

  • Stormwater drainage. The tank has to be built with an inlet and drain and overflow ports to allow excess water to drain when the tank is full.

Modern rainwater collection tanks are made of high-density polyethylene plastic, sheet metal, stainless steel, concrete, and fiberglass. Increasingly, underground rainwater tanks are being utilized to collect rainwater, which require greater investment but take up less space. Underground tanks make it possible to store large amounts of rainwater for a longer period of time. As underground rainwater tanks are buried in the ground where they are protected from the sun and heat, the water consequently has a correspondingly low temperature that inhibits the growth of fungi and other microorganisms.

Overhead rainwater tanks directly connected to gutters are the most widespread way of harvesting rainfall. They can be stored for up to a month, provided they are protected from the sun by covers. On the other hand, plastic and under deck rainwater tanks can be placed in the basement, as the basement has the lowest risk of freezing during the winter.

The benefits of using rainwater tanks are numerous. The following are the most common reasons why homeowners and establishments choose to get rainwater tanks:

  • Water capacity is unlimited.

  • Dependence on network water is reduced.

  • Rainwater tanks are modular, easily adjusting to any volume and space requirement.

  • Made of strong structural design and have very low maintenance requirements.

  • Preservation of the environment.

The reserves of drinkable, fresh water available to us are decreasing every day; for this reason, it is necessary to take a peek into the rich treasure trove of nature and take advantage of all its benefits. One of them is rainwater—essentially free water to collect in rainwater tanks.