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Secure Your Water Supply with a Custom Rainwater Harvesting System
Part of the Sustainable Building Essentials series, Essential Rainwater Harvesting is the complete guide to designing, building, and maintaining rainwater systems for any home, acreage, or farm. Learn how to turn rainfall into a reliable, sustainable water source—even in arid or extreme climates.
What You'll Learn
- Water Security and Independence: Harvest and manage rainwater to supplement or replace municipal or well water for your home or property.
- Smart Planning and Conservation: Assess demand, optimize water use, and plan for droughts or extreme rainfall.
- Custom System Design: Determine the right gutters, conveyance, tanks, pumps, and filtration methods for your site.
- Water Quality Management: Pre-filtration, filtration, and disinfection strategies ensure safe, reliable water.
- Step-by-step Installation Guidance: Detailed, practical instructions for DIYers, tradespeople, and sustainability practitioners.
- Maintenance and Longevity: Learn methods to keep your system efficient, reliable, and long-lasting.
Written by Rob and Michelle Avis, engineers and permaculture designers with decades of experience, this guide combines practical know-how, technical rigor, and site-specific strategies for designing rainwater systems anywhere in the world.
Explore the full Sustainable Building Essentials series for illustrated, hands-on guidance on sustainable building systems, high-performance homes, and environmentally responsible construction.
Rob Avis, P.Eng and Michelle Avis, P.Eng own and operate Adaptive Habitat, a leading-edge property design firm for resilient homes, acreages, and farms. As skilled Professional Engineers with over 20 years of combined experience in project management, ecological design, and sustainable technologies, they offer a depth of practical expertise in building science and appropriate technology (solar, wind, combined heat, and power), as well as agro-ecology, ecosystem engineering, soil regeneration, onsite wastewater treatment, and rainwater harvesting. In 2008, Rob and Michelle co-founded Verge Permaculture, now an internationally recognized award-winning regenerative education company, earning praise from permaculture leaders including Geoff Lawton, Toby Hemenway, and farming superstar Joel Salatin. They share information at vergepermaculture.ca from their suburban house and yard that they've transformed into a model of cold-climate urban permaculture in Calgary, Alberta.
Dedication
Foreword
How To Use This Book
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Fundamentals
Chapter 3: Feasibility
Chapter 4: Anatomy of a Rainwater System
Chapter 5: Collection and Pre-Filtration
Chapter 6: Storage
Chapter 7: Pumps
Chapter 8: Assuring End-Use Water Quality
Conclusion: The Importance of Good Design
Appendix A: Conversion Table
Resources and References
Index
About the Authors
A Note About the Publisher