TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — It's sustainable, easy to do and it could save you money: Harvesting rainwater. It has a lot of benefits for both home and business owners as well as the environment.
The good news is we don't have any restrictions or laws against harvesting rainwater in Florida, meaning anyone can do it. And it is a great way to save energy and water your plants and garden for free, especially during the hot summer months.
Rain is money falling from the sky and you can harvest your share. For homeowners, the easiest way to do that is to build or buy a large water-proof container or a 55-60 gallon pre-assembled rain barrel, which you can get at many garden centers.
"Put it next to their gutter and the water from the gutter, you put a funnel in and that drips into the cistern and they can use that for irrigation in their garden, for example," said Tessa Schreiner, the recycling and sustainability manager for Leon County's Office of Sustainability.
If you need more rainwater, there are ways to capture it on your roof but that takes more retro-fitting. Rainwater to irrigate your garden doesn't need to be filtered and, every time you use it to replace city water, you are saving energy and money. Plus the plants like it better. Nature intended rainwater to be used for irrigation.
"I think it's a great thing to do. Plants really like rainwater, that's what naturally feeds them," said Courtney Schoen, the TAPP coordinator for the City of Tallahassee. "So if you can save it and give it to your plants during dry periods then that will be really beneficial to your plants."
Leon County has a rainwater capture system at the UF/IFAS Extension building. It takes rainwater from the roof and funnels it to four giant 10,000 gallon sisturns underground. They in turn feed a large amount of the irrigation of the building, garden and landscape. So what's the next level up in rainwater harvesting?
"Gray water. That is for indoor use for toilets and washing machines and that is more engineering and definitively can be done but it takes a little more investment," Schreiner explained.
Collected rainwater also reduces flooding and decreases soil erosion by decreasing the likelihood of run offs during periods of heavy rainfall. Experts say for the average homeowner, harvesting rainwater is pretty easy and there are local resources in our area to help. If you need more information contact the City of Tallahassee's TAPP office at 850-891-8754, the UF/IFAS Leon County Extension office at (850) 606-5200, or the Leon County Office of Sustainability at 850.606.5021.
