#27 Rainwater Harvesting
Back to the Guide to Urban Farming Table of Contents>>
Benefits of Rainwater Harvesting
Rainwater harvesting in urban environments not only saves money for urban farmers, but also has a positive environmental impact. Rainwater harvesting helps to keep stormwater, which is often filled with debris and waste, out of the sewage system, and in turn maintains the cleanliness of local water bodies. Note that rainwater should only be used for the purposes of irrigation or for cleaning equipment, but is not safe for washing produce.
Rainwater Catchment Systems
Building a rainwater catchment system can be as simple as digging swales, or as elaborate as constructing an automated rain barrel watering system. For those interested in building their own rainwater catchment system in New York State, good places to start include:
- GrowNYC in New York City provides a how-to manual and video for building your own rainwater catchment system, as well as a map, descriptions, and photos of existing catchment systems, available at http://www.grownyc.org/openspace/rainwater, and
- New York City’s Water Resources Group is a coalition of greening and community groups that installs rainwater catchment systems across the city, and maintains a blog and listserv featuring news and updates about rainwater harvesting at http://waterresourcesgroup.blogspot.com/.
Before building a rainwater catchment system, check your city’s building, construction and plumbing codes pertaining to water recycling systems. For example, the New York City Construction Code (2008) reads:
PC C101: Water recycling systems shall receive storm water captured from roofs and balconies, condensate reclamation systems, gray water discharge only of lavatories from public restrooms in commercial office buildings, and the treated effluent from an approved black water treatment system as regulated by Department of Mental Health and Hygiene. Recycled water shall be utilized only for flushing water closets and urinals, cooling tower makeup and irrigation systems that are located in the same lot as the water recycling system. Recycled water shall be considered potable. Such systems shall comply with sections C101.2 and C101.12.
Other Resources
The Save the Rain program in Onondaga County is a comprehensive stormwater management plan that provides information about and funding to the development of green infrastructure and stormwater mitigation techniques. For more information, visit http://savetherain.us/.
Back to the Guide to Urban Farming Table of Contents>>
vws7@cornell.edu category: Uncategorized
posted: 02/4/13 1:47 PM by vws7@cornell.edu
2 Comments
Recycled water shall be utilized only for flushing water closets and urinals Rainwater harvesting helps to keep stormwater,
We use a rain barrel and soaker hose to harvest rain and water our 10X10 ft. backyard garden.