Water Capture & Water Storage

Water is one of the miracles of life! 80% of the surface of our planet is covered by water and the human body is made up by roughly the same amount. Water is a super compound, essential for our survival and integral to life. Let’s look at the role of water in sustainable living.

Water Catchment Storage & Filtration

There is no higher quality source of water available to us than rainwater. Unlike water captured in dams, which requires an extensive treatment process to ensure a quality fit for human consumption, rainwater that is collected on roofs and stored appropriately, represents a sustainable source of water ideal for use inside and outside the home.

By using rainwater for toilet flushing, laundry and garden use alone, it can reduce mains water requirements of a typical household by 70 %. If hot water systems are supplied with rainwater, this reduction can be as high as 85%!

Half the water we use ends up as waste-water! A typical household uses over 650 litres of water every day. This equates to around 240,000 litres (or 5 average sized swimming pools) each year! Up to half the water supplied to a household ends up as waste-water.

By reducing the amount of water you use, you reduce running costs and spend less on water, energy and detergent bills and help sustain our water resources.

The main uses of water at an average home are:

• flushing toilets (20% or 54,000 litres per year)
• showers, bathing and the bathroom (20% or 54,000 litres per year)
• washing clothes (15% or 40,500 litres per year)
• dishwashing and the kitchen (10% or 27,000 litres per year)
• watering the garden including other outside uses (35% or 94,500 litres per year).

www.rainharvesting.com.au

www.bigsiteofamazingfacts.com

Acid Rain

When humans burn fossil fuels, sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) are released into the atmosphere. These chemical gases react with water, oxygen, and other substances to form mild solutions of sulfuric and nitric acid. This is known as acid rain and when it reaches the Earth, it flows across the surface in run off water, enters water systems, and sinks into the soil.

www.rainharvesting.com.au

Average Amounts Of Water Used In Household Activities

• Toilet flush - single system 10 litres.
• Dual single flush 5 litres & full flush 10 litres.
• Bath 100 litres & shower (10 minutes) 200 litres.
• Dishwasher load 50 litres & washing machine load 150 litres.
• Brushing teeth with tap running 5 litres.
• Drinking, cooking, cleaning per person per day 10 litres.
• Garden sprinkler per hour 1000 litres.
• Garden dripper per hour 4 litres.
• Car washing with hose 200 litres.
• Hosing driveway 100 litres.

At Earth Sanctuary, we try and catch as much rainwater as possible. We installed guttering around all our roofing and connected - 2 x 25,000 and 2 x 8,000 litre water tanks to store water. We then installed an electric pump to direct the water where we needed it. If you’re lucky to have great quality rainwater like we have, then you won’t need filtration. But for other water sources, we have used a wonderful technology known as Aquaspace which is a filter system designed by NASA that eliminates toxins from water.

The Facts

1. The umbrella was originally invented to protect people from the hot sun.

2. Rain drops can fall at speeds of about 35 km an hour.

3. Rain starts off as ice or snow crystals at cloud level.

4. Light rain is classified as being no more then 0.254 cm of rain an hour.

5. Heavy rain is classified as being more then 0.762 cm of rain an hour.

6. Louisiana is the wettest state in the U.S. which records an annual rainfall of 310.24 cm.

7. Rain drops range in size from 0.058 cm to about 0.078 cm.

8. Rain drops do not fall in a tear drop shape, they originally fall in the shape of a flat oval.

9. Rain that freezes before it hits the ground is known as frozen rain.

10. Rain is recycled water that evaporated from our world’s lakes, rivers, oceans, seas etc.

www.infobarrel.com

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QUIZ 5: Water Storage, Catchment & Filtration

Water is everywhere! In fact we are all made of mostly water. Water is one of the most essential resources on Earth. That’s why so many cultures greatly respect and even worship the life giving qualities of water. It’s time in this next quiz to explore what you know about the responsible use of water. Remember, most of the answers can be found in the previous section but some questions may require you to dig deeper. So, consider the internet, go to the library or ask a friend. Right, let’s dive in!

1. List 5 ways in which water is used in and around the house?

2. How can you save water with: the toilet, washing the dishes, watering the garden and having showers?

3. What is the percentage of fresh drinking water compared to the total amount of water on Earth?

4. If the average single flush toilet uses 10 liters per flush, calculate how much water you use in one year?

5. Calculate how much this would be if you had a family of 5 people.

6. What can rainwater be used for in and around the house?

7. How can rainwater be collected?

8. What is grey water?

9. How will saving water benefit you & our planet?

10. What is the melting point of ice? a) 0 deg. b) 12 deg. c) 32 deg. or d) 100 deg.

11. The process of adding chlorine to drinking water is known as? a) chlorination, b) elimination, c) microbe, d) termination, or e) vaporization.

12. Steam is the _______ form of water? a) gaseous , b) solid, c) liquid or d) impure.

13. Most of the pure, drinkable water of the earth is in the form of? a) icebergs /vapor and clouds, b) spring and river water, or c) water in the oceans.

14. Water at room temperature is a? a) liquid, b) solid, c) gas or d) plasma.

15. The process of conversion of water vapor to water on the surface of a cold glass tumbler is known as? a) condensation, b) evaporation, c) boiling or d) vaporization.

16. Water which is absolutely pure and free from any impurity is known as? a) distilled water, b) mineral water, c) spring water or d) boiled water.