As human beings we no longer value rain, and allow it to be washed away in drains, streams and rivers. We make little or no attempt to control it. When we get too much, we have localised flooding. Too little, and we face water restrictions and shortages, including hosepipe bans and of rationing. And things are set to get worse thanks to global warming and climate change.
Rainwater Harvesting
Rainwater harvesting is the ability to collect rain and store it in large underground water tanks, and then feed it back into the house for a variety of uses, including bathing, flushing toilets, washing clothes, washing dishes, cleaning the car and watering the garden. Depending on the annual rainfall in your region, this can have a dramatic and positive impact on the amount of mains water you need, which in turn helps to reduce your carbon footprint and is good for the environment.
Greywater Recycling
Even more environmentally friendly is the act of capturing most of you household waste water for reuse. All your bathing, clothes and dish wash water can be captured and fed back for use in watering the garden or cleaning the car. And, as much of this water will have originally been recovered from the rain, this is recycling at its best.
The ultimate green recycling process.
Captured rain - Used within household - Recaptured - Used in the garden.
Agriculture, Farming, Schools & Industry
Within the agricultural industry and farming in particular, there is great scope for employing water recovery systems, both from an environmental viewpoint and cost perspective, and this is particularly of value within the dairy and milk production industries. Schools too can do a lot to reduce their carbon footprint, as can any business or industry that utilises water as part of the production process.
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