Skip to main content
Engineering LibreTexts

6: Other Useful Stuff

  • Page ID
    11951
  • \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

    In your quest to more deeply understand rainwater harvesting and competency toward designing and building, you will need to collect many more tools. Following are a few of those tools to help along the way, specifically: Units Related to Water and where to find More Information.

    • 6.1: Units Related to Water
      The following unit conversions are directly related to sizing and analyzing rainwater harvesting systems in terms of length, area, volume, mass, pressure, and general water conversions.
    • 6.2: More Information
      Rainwater harvesting systems continue to evolve, especially the more we share and study techniques. Also, while every effort has been made to keep this book error free, any errors found will be immediately documented. Many great books and peer-reviewed journal articles cover rainwater harvesting. Great places to look for climate data, especially precipitation data, include the USGS, NOAA, and GPCC. The majority of the projects in this book are covered in full detail in Appropedia.
    • 6.3: Economics
      Rainwater catchment systems can vary greatly in price and payback time. Some systems will pay themselves off quickly (e.g., in systems that select inexpensive materials and where clean water is expensive), some systems will take years to pay themselves off (especially in areas where materials are expensive and clean water is very inexpensive), and some systems will pay themselves off immediately where clean water is difficult to obtain.
    • 6.4: Laws
      Rainwater catchment is legal in much of the world. As drought strikes more areas, local laws are changing to often allow, and sometimes encourage or enforce, rainwater catchment. For up to date links and information see http://appropedia.org/Rainwater_laws.
    • 6.5: Disclaimer
      The purpose of this book is to inform and to encourage research, collaboration, innovation, and action while building capacity and agency. Please read critically and refer to the many sources provided in the book and on the related Appropedia links. If you use this information at home or anywhere else, exercise extreme caution and utilize the advice of others. Take appropriate precautions for your own safety and the safety of others.
    • 6.6: Cleaning
      Different rainwater harvesting systems will necessitate different levels of cleaning. For example, a system made for potable water will require more cleaning than a system made for watering plants. In addition, a dirtier location will need more cleaning than a clean location. Finally, a system with a well-designed screen and first-flush will require less storage cleaning than a system without these measures.


    This page titled 6: Other Useful Stuff is shared under a CC BY-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Lonny Grafman.

    • Was this article helpful?