In the Caribbean harvesting of rainwater is a common way of obtaining water for a variety of uses because fresh water is a scarce resource. at http://philshanna04.bravesites.com/entries/technology/harvesting-system-rain-safely

1. Harvesting System - Rain Safely
In the Caribbeanharvestingof rainwaterisa commonwayof obtainingwaterfora varietyof uses
because freshwaterisa scarce resource.Inthe continental US,the DistributingHarvest of rainwater
isbecomingmore importantinareaswithdroughtconditionsorbecause of an increasinginterestin
environmental damage thatcanbe causedby storm waterrun off.Incities,where opengroundis
limited,rainwaterissimplyflushedtothe stormsewerswhere itentersriversandlakescarryingthe
oils,debrisandbacteriafromthe city.Usingrainwatermeansthat the equivalentvolume of water
doesnothave to be take fromsurface or ground sourcesandtreated.Thissaves moneyandenergy.
Greenbuildingstandardsencourage the use of rainwaterharvestingandmore buildingsare tryingto
capture and use rainwater.Typical usesof rainwaterincludetoiletflushingandlandscape irrigation.
The collectedwaterisnormallynot useddirectly,butistreatedtomake itsaferand aesthetically
appealingtothe buildingoccupants.Watercollectedfromaroof,forexample,cancontaindirt,bird
droppingsandroofingmaterials.Thiscancontaminate the waterwithpathogensandorganic
compoundsthatmightmake the water unsafe,colorthe wateror create unpleasantodors.Evenan
applicationsuchaslandscape irrigationcancreate an aerosol of waterthat couldspreadpathogens.
Legionnairesdiseasecanbe causedby waterspraycoming off buildingcoolingtowers.Soproper
treatmentof rainwaterisa prudentapproachto usingthisresource while keepingbuilding
occupantsand neighborssafe andhappy.
A rainwatertreatmentsystemshouldhave atleasttwocomponents:filtrationanddisinfection.
Filtrationisthe simplestandleastexpensive portionof the system.The filtrationsystemshould
containa strainerto preventlarge objectsfromthe collectionsurface fromenteringthe storage
tank.A finerfiltercanbe addedto remove particulatesof dirtfromthe water.Cartridge or bags
filterswouldbe goodoptionsforthe fine filterapplication.
While there are a varietyof disinfectionoptionsavailable,twogreenoptionsare UV and ozone.
UV involvesexposingthe watertoUV radiation froma submergedlamp.Itisregularlyusedto
disinfectwaterfordrinkingandwastewaterdischarge.Itiseffective againstawide range of
pathogensanddoesnotrequire the storage or additionof anychemicals.One disadvantage of UV is
that itcannot projectitsdisinfectingpowertothe tankor the distributionsystem.Onlywaterthat
passesbythe UV lampisdisinfected.If microorganismsare livingupordownstreamof the lamp
theywill be unaffected.
The other greendisinfectionoptionisozone. Ozone alsodoesnotrequire the additionorstorage of
any chemicals.The ozone isproducedfromthe oxygenfoundinair.Ozone isastrongdisinfectant
and worksagainsta wide range of pathogenslikelytobe foundinrainwater.Unlike UV,ozone
maintainsaresidual inwater.Soit notonlydisinfectsthe waterthatpassesthroughthe injection
system,butitalsomaintainsitsdisinfectingpowerinthe storage tank.Thisisbeneficialsince
bacteriaor othermicroorganismsmightadhere tothe tankwalls providingacontinuoussource of
pathogensinthe water.Besidesbeingasafetythreat,these organismscouldcreate odorinthe tank
that mightbe unpleasantforthe buildingoccupantsandneighbors.
Anotheradvantage of ozone isthatit can remove color and odorfrom the water.Insome
applicationsliketoiletflushing,buildingoccupantsmaynotappreciate the waterhavingatint or

2. discoloration.While the watermightbe safe,itmaygive the occupantsthe feelingthe waterisnot
clean.Ozone wouldeliminate thisproblem.
It ispossible tocombine ozone andUV forrainwatertreatmentat The Zimbabwe Farm Project.In
thisapproach youuse ozone to make sure nothinggrowsinthe tank and to remove colorand
potential odorproblemswiththe rainwater.The UV treatsthe waterpriorto enteringthe
distributionsystemorapplication.Usingbothsystemsprovidestwolevelsof protection.The
ThursgoodMarshall Federal BuildinginNYCisbeing builtwithanozone/UV rainwaterharvesting
systemtoprovide thishigherlevel of protection.
Rainwater harvestingisgoodforthe environmentandcan alsosave money,butitneedstobe done
ina safe andeffective manner.
If you wouldlike toknowmore aboutKickstarter campaign, DistributingHarvest visit
http://zimfarmproject.com
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