Harvesting Rainwater: A Simple Water Saver for Park Concessioners

A rainwater tank collecting runoff from a roof. Image from the NPS's page.

Why save water

Less than one percent of the world's water is accessible fresh water. For scale, the Great Lakes hold about 20 percent of the world's surface fresh water — and since 1970, the earth has lost one-third of its freshwater ecosystems.

The National Park Service's Green Parks Plan calls for parks and their partners to reach net-zero water use in facilities and operations. Simple measures add up. At Padre Island National Seashore, a windsurfing concessioner gets most of its non-drinking water — for rinsing sand off gear and guests — from a single polyurethane drum set outside to catch the rain. Concessioners of every size can learn from it.

How to harvest rain

• The container: a rain barrel can be any container that catches rain — barrels, cisterns, buckets. The easiest, cheapest way is a large barrel under the downspout of a roof gutter, holding 40 to 75 gallons depending on its size.
• Keep it clean: use the water regularly, so bacteria have less chance to grow. Dirt from the roof and surroundings can get in: a lid, filter or screen keeps debris out and stops mosquitoes breeding, and clean gutters and downspouts mean cleaner water.
• Winter: in cold places, drain, dry and clean barrels before winter, and store unused barrels upside down to prevent damage.

What to use it for

Rainwater is usually less acidic than tap water and richer in nutrients, which makes it ideal for watering plants, indoors and out. Non-drinking water has uses in almost every operation: putting out campfires, rinsing walkways, cleaning rental equipment such as bikes, paddleboards and hiking poles, watering landscaping, and much more.

The benefits

• For the land: collecting rain eases stress on the surrounding ecosystem and local fresh water, and reduces runoff that can erode soil.
• For supplies: it lessens reliance on groundwater and municipal water.
• For the budget: using rainwater instead of city water can save significant money over time.

Resources

• The EPA's guidance on rain barrels. The agency also sponsors WaterSense, a program encouraging water efficiency.
• The Park Service's Green Parks Plan.

Sources

Based on "Water Reuse: Rain Water Harvesting," National Park Service; a work of the United States government in the public domain.