Rainy Day Thoughts

If I owned a house in Hanoi, I'd figure out how to catch the rain and use it. According to the leaky plastic pot in our courtyard, today's rain dropped about 4 inches (10 cm). That's pretty typical for the "big rain" that falls here in the summer and fall. With this one four-hour storm, 1300 gallons (4900 lit.) of fresh water poured off our steel roof and down the drain. That's at least two weeks worth of water for the two of us. And, as polluted as the Hanoi sky is, it would still be cleaner than what comes from the tap. It's not that I'm worried about my $5/month water bill, it's just that it seems like it would be a better use of this valuable resource than having it flood the streets and wash into the sewage canal.

The U.S. Virgin Islands requires a rainwater collection plan for all new building permits, as do some parts of Arizona and New Mexico. About 5% of the population of Hawaii depends on rainwater. Maryland encourages collection on a small scale to slow the runoff of pollutants and lawn fertilizers into the Chesapeake Bay. Colorado recently changed their laws to allow limited collection. With the availability of fresh water becoming an increasing problem in the Middle East, the American West, India, China (of course) and a lot of other places around the globe, rainwater collection seems like a good part of the solution.

If you're interested in reading more, the Texas Water Development Board has some good information, including a downloadable how-to manual. If you just want to start thinking about a winter project for next year's garden, this Sustainable Gardening blog has a lot of information for you.