Monsoon season will soon be here! Besides giving us all a break from the heat, the monsoon rain also gives us a great source of clean water for our families.

How much time do you spend carrying water each day for your family? What if you could save time and work by collecting rainwater right at home?

There are clear advantages to collecting rainwater at home:

• Improved health from using clean rainwater.
• Low cost of building rainwater collection systems.
• It’s easy to manage.
• More time saved compared to hauling water from other sources.

Rooftop rainwater harvesting – If you have a tin or clay tile roof you can set up a very low-cost rainwater harvesting system. Set up gutters and pipes to collect the flow of water from the roof and divert it into plastic, clay or cement storage containers. Look at the section on “First flush diverters” for one way to collect only clean water.

Rainwater harvesting without rooftops – If you don’t have a tin or clay tile roof, then you can still set up a rainwater collection system. Using plastic sheeting is one option. You can also try using tin sheeting or cloth.

Be creative! There are no rules for construction. Think of new ideas using whatever materials you have available to catch and collect the rainwater. Sometimes you might have to experiment with different designs to discover what works best. There is just one important principle to remember:

Catch the rainwater on a clean surface before it hits the ground, and channel into a clean collection container.

It’s important to keep the water clean both before and after collection:

• Cover the water container with a screen to stop mosquitoes from breeding.
• Keep water containers out of the sunlight to prevent the growth of algae.
• Use only clean cups and containers to remove water from the storage container.
• Don’t dip your hands into the water. Use a clean cup or bucket to scoop out the water you need.
• If rainwater has been stored for a very long time it might need to be disinfected before use.
• Occasionally clean out water storage containers with soap and let them dry in the sun before using again.

Photo #1 – Very low cost rooftop rainwater harvesting using corrugated iron roof, hard plastic pipes and cement jars for storage at a home.

Photo #2 – Rainwater harvesting off the roof of a toilet using an old bottle, hard plastic pipe, corrugated iron and a brick storage tank. This concept is especially useful as it provides water for hand washing right at the door of the latrine.

Photo Caption #3 – Ultra low-cost rainwater collection system using a plastic sheet, wooden poles and plastic cans.

Adapted from an article in Tearfund – Footsteps 82.

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