Sunday, 16 November 2014

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #355 Collect Rain Water

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #355 Collect Rain Water

I can’t actually say I’ve never heard of anyone being charged for rainwater before, but essentially, this is (or should always be) a free resource, so why not catch some of it to reduce the amount of treated water you use. The water that is pumped to your house via kilometres of pipe is treated water, which uses other resources with which to treat and transport it to your house. Chemicals are put into dams that service vast metropolitan areas, such as fluoride and chlorine. Many more chemicals are used, the amount depending on where you live. Then there is the energy required to pump that water into the system that delivers it. This will often be using fossil fuels and therefore creating carbon emissions. You can reduce all of this by catching some rainwater in simple containers, of any size or shape. Old plastic barrels make good water catchers, but make sure you clean any container out thoroughly before storing water in it. Use the water on your garden, to fill the bird bath, wash your car, clean pathways when necessary or even to wash the dog. Thinking about ways of using collected rainwater will take the strain off the water catchment system in your area, even if only by a little bit – every one of those little bits count, and if multiple households do likewise then the results quickly multiply into large savings. And speaking of savings, you’ll save a bit of money too.

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