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Water Harvesting

Water makes up 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, but that doesn’t mean we have an endless supply.

In fact, we use so much water to irrigate crops, run industry and support our household cooking and cleaning needs, that some of the world’s largest lakes and rivers are starting to dry up. The mighty Colorado River and the Amu Darya in Central Asia both run dry for at least part of the year, China’s Yellow River, the Ganges and the Nile have at times all slowed down to a trickle on their journey to the sea.

Where does the water go? It irrigates our crops, cleans our dishes, fills our tubs and runs our factories. Over the past 50 years, global freshwater use has tripled. Irrigation accounts for nearly 70 percent of the water withdrawn from rivers, lakes and aquifers; industry takes 20 percent; and homes use roughly 10 percent.

So what can we do about it? Obviously we need to grow food, but perhaps we can do a better job of using what nature provides for us, without taking so much of this valuable resource from the ground. One place we might look for answers instead? The sky.

Our ancestors used rainwater harvesting for many of their irrigation and drinking water supply needs. Today, a growing number of people around the world are rediscovering how to tap into this renewable resource.

Rainwater runoff, especially the water pouring off of our rooftops, can be harvested and easily reused for drinking water, cooking and cleaning needs and even irrigation. It can be done at home or in communal systems. It’s not very expensive to set up a harvesting system, and water can be stored in tanks for long periods of time.

To read more about how to harvest rainwater, go to http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/.

To read more about this story, click here.

To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to: www.environmentalhealthnews.org, www.ourstolenfuture.org, or www.healthandenvironment.org