Rain Water Harvesting (Water Questionnaire #2)

Rain Water Harvesting
Originally uploaded by Earthworm.

Earthworm continues, "I'm quite proud of my handsome water barrels. They were used to pack cherries for import from Chile. I bought them off a young man in San Jose who had a whole backyard full of all kinds of barrels. He got them from a local processing plant that makes cherries for ice cream sundaes for instance. He was advertising on Craig's list. I found him by googling plastic barrels and my city. Then I bought plastic hose bibs with lock-nuts. Plastic expands and contracts at the same rate as the barrels so doesn't leak. I think brass ones would last longer though; just add washers and seal with silicone. The hardest part was linking the two barrels together. I just couldn't find the right parts and I'm not sure what I used will work. It would be better to order the barrel linking kit too."

1. Do you know of anyone, ANYWHERE, who is harvesting rainwater for human consumption, agricultural or household use?

Water Tank by the Cabana

Watertank by the Cabana
Originally uploaded by keithmarlow.

Here's an excellent illustrated explanation of a rainwater harvesting and purifiication system. Oh, and this map published by encarta/msn may give you an idea of the historic rainfall for areas in the world that you may be unfamiliar with.

Water Tank Piping (Water Questionnaire #4)

Water Tank piping #1
Originally uploaded by keithmarlow.

The world's water is a very precious commodity indeed! Dare we imagine a time when the parched earth is unable to absorb the torrential rains? What happens when the aquifers are not recharged enough to supply our increasing population need for water, potable water? What effect does water falling from the sky and running across the land into the sea have?

This is some of what I found in the selected news from Google News search:

Commission considering desalination plant bid: PM
ABC Online, Australia - Apr 2, 2007
Prime Minister John Howard says the National Water Commission is considering the South Australian Government's application to fund a water desalination ...

Water torture as investment runs dry The Australian, Australia - 10 hours ago Leakages cost 1 million cubic metres of water a day - the output of seven desalination plants - the minister said. Even after putting contracts out to

Western US tackles drought Environmental Data Interactive, UK - 3 hours ago California, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico are investing in desalination and construction of reservoirs on a massive scale as climate change promises even ...

Malta highly vulnerable to climate change Maltamedia Daily News, Malta - 8 hours ago Because the rising sea is poisoning their ground water with salt, the authorities in Malta are investing in desalination to make the sea water drinkable.

Drinking the invisible hand Salon - 5 hours ago Algeria, for example, is spending billions of dollars on desalination plants, "after suffering acute water shortages five years ago. ...

New York Times

The Climate Divide: Reports From Four Fronts In The War On Warming Free Internet Press, NY - Apr 3, 2007 His institute has been tracking trends like the burst of new desalination plants in wealthy places running short of water.

JORDAN LAUNCHES NUKE PROJECT Middle East Newsline, Canada - 13 hours ago ... said the ministry was drafting a timetable for the project. He said Jordan would employ nuclear energy for electricity and water desalination.

No Longer Waiting For Rain, US West Takes Action AND, South Africa - 17 hours ago In Yuma, Arizona, federal officials have restarted an idled desalination plant, long seen as a white elephant from a bygone era, partly in the hope of ...

$30 million-plus boost to power Gold Coast desalination plant Media Newswire (press release), NY - Mar 29, 2007 The design and route for the second stage of the project, from the Currumbin substation to the desalination plant at Tugun, is being finalised. ...

Playfuls.com

State: no more water from Everglades to quench thirsty population Tampa Bay's 10, FL - 21 hours ago Officials say utilities would have to begin reusing water on a larger scale and may have to look at desalination techniques.

1. Do you know of any water desalination projects underway in Portugal?
2. Do you think desalination is a viable industry in Portugal? Why or why not?

Rainbarrel (Water Questionnaire #3)

Rainbarrel
Originally uploaded by cleanairgardening.

You may find this Drought Monitor of interest.

1. Do you think there is any merit in the practice of harvesting rainwater?
2. Do you know of anyone doing this in Portugal? If so who? and where?

Watersaver Add-on (Water Questionnaire #1)

Watersaver Add-on
Originally uploaded by Earthworm.

Earthworm took this picture, and she says: It looks a bit like a scrotum. This mail order device from www.gardenwatersaver.com diverts the water from the downspout to anywhere you want it to go, usually into a rainbarrel. You don't have to move it when the barrel is full because it is designed to divert water back down the spout, so you don't have to have an overflow valve on your barrel. You can also get a metal one from another company. I think I went with this one because it seemed simpler to install and matched the downspout. The advantage of the device is that you can hide the barrels some distance away. This is important because otherwise the barrels would be in front of my office window blocking my view."

1. Do you collect rain water?
2. Under what circumstances would you consider doing this?