Customer Reviews

Rainwater harvesting Review by Rhieta

Review

I am 73 years old, I have been collecting rainwater from my roof in old clean garbage pails (but some leaked!). When they were flowing over, my elderly friend moved them so that I could replace it with another large empty container. I collected roof water from two spots filling milk and juice containers with the rainwater and in a good year had enough water for nearly a whole summer. I used the stored water rain water for all my patio plants and young ground plants plus edible greens and young tomato plants. After the first rains wash the roof and I store it for my patio non-edibles, I next collect cleaner rain for my younger edible plants. Older established plants take more water then I could handle so I need to deep water a few times in the summer. I also collect rinse water in a dish basin for the ornamental plants. I am sure that If I had a rainwater harvesting system, I could water my plants and likely could water my orange and persimmon and native cherry trees all year. Unfortunately I am very low income and cannot afford the workshops and the labor although I would pay for parts. Now I find it is too much work. Will there ever be a program to assist people in obtaining or building roof rainwater harvesters? Thanks for listening, Judy Garris (Posted on 26/02/2012)

This is the definitive book about collecting rainwater from your roof. Review by Patrick Whitefield, author of the Earth Care Manual, review in Permaculture magazine

Review

This is the definitive book about collecting rainwater from your roof. Although it is primarily intended for Southern countries, and most of the examples come from Asia and Africa, it contains all the hard information you need to design a system here in Europe. The book has the stamp of authentic practical experience. One of the authors has been designing and constructing rainwater systems for 20 years, and the book is full of those little details which only come from experience and which can make all the difference between success and failure. It's well written, and the parts which are not relevant to us here make an interesting read. Whether you want to go off the mains altogether or just supplement your mains supply, read this book before you make any decision. (Posted on 08/07/2010)