 For three years, our only water source was rainwater. We never ran out, ran low, or ran dry. We collected roughly 1,000 gallons every time it rained. We had plenty of water, even during a record drought in our area. For years, we kept data on our water usage, checking meters that are installed at the toilets and primary water intake. That data, sadly, is missing right now. What I do remember, though, is that roughly half our water went down the toilet. Flush toilets consume a lot of water. I also remember that our rainwater was so acidic that it burned a hole through our hot water tank and the house flooded. We had a huge rainwater treatment program: sand filter, carbon filter, particle filter, and UV light, all required in order to make our rainwater potable. Rainwater treatment was expensive to operate, time consuming to maintain, and required the use of a lot of virgin plastic materials like filters and cartridges. We switched to a shallow well in 2007 and are very happy with the decision. Once we made the switch, we had our water tested through a free program run by the local cooperative extension. Not surprisingly, our pH is 6.2, which is very acidic. In 2009 we had our second water heater burst due to acidic water, and made the decision to install an acid neutralizer. If we had it to do all over again, we would plumb the toilets to flush with rainwater and use a shallow well for everything else. Of course, our city requires that all open water (even the water in the toilet bowl) be potable water, so plumbing toilets with rainwater is easier said than done. We still collect rainwater off our roof, even though the roof is now a green-roof (planted with seedum varieties). We use the rainwater for our gardens, fruit orchard, and chickens. We collect more rainwater than we know what to do with. |