Rainwater harvesting is the accumulating and storing of rainwater for reuse before it reaches the aquifer.

It has been used to provide drinking water, water for livestock, water for irrigation, as well as other typical uses. Rainwater collected from the roofs of houses and local institutions can make an important contribution to the availability of drinking water.

Groundwater recharge Advantages in urban areas

Rainwater harvesting can ensure an independent water supply during water restrictions, though somewhat dependent on end-use and maintenance, is usually of acceptable quality for household needs and renewable at acceptable volumes, despite climate change forecast.It produces beneficial effects by reducing peak storm water runoff and processing costs. In municipalities with systems, reducing storm runoff is especially important, because excess runoff during heavy storms leads to the discharge of raw sewage when treatment plant capacity cannot handle the combined flow. Rainwater harvesting systems are simple to install and operate. Running costs are negligible, and they provide water at the point of consumption. Rainwater harvesting in urban communities has been made possible by various companies. Their tanks provide an attractive yet effective solution to rainwater catchment. Sometimes a practice is adopted of directing collected rainwater deep inside the ground through pipes or shafts. Such a practice will carry surface pollutants to the ground water and thus pollute it. The best practice is to store water in ponds, lakes and other unlined surface reservoirs so that the water gets filtered through before entering the ground.

Quality
As rainwater may be contaminated due to pollutants like microscopic germs etc., it is often not considered suitable for drinking without treatment. However, there are many examples of rainwater being used for all purposes including drinking following suitable treatment. Rainwater harvested from roofs can contain human, animal and bird faeces, mosses and lichens, windblown dust, particulates from urban pollution, pesticides, and inorganic ions from the sea (Ca, Mg, Na, K, Cl, SO4), and dissolved gases (CO2, NOx, SOx). High levels of pesticide have been found in rainwater the concentration of these and other contaminants are reduced significantly by diverting the initial flow of water to waste as described above. The water may need to be analysed properly, and used in a way appropriate to its safety. In the Gansu province for example, harvested rainwater is boiled in parabolic solar cookers before being used for drinking. disinfect water before consumption.
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In Brazil alum and chlorine is added to

So-called "appropriate technology" methods, such as solar

water disinfection, provide low-cost disinfection options for treatment of stored rainwater for drinking. [edit]System

sizing

It is important that the system is sized to meet the water demand throughout the dry season. In general, the size of the storage tank should be big enough to meet the daily water requirement throughout the dry season. In addition, the size of the catchment area or roof should be large enough to fill the tank.