Rainwater Harvesting:
Rainwater Harvesting has been used for
thousands of years to collect seasonal rainwater for future
use. The most common usage is agricultural irrigation and
residential potable water. There are many benefits of rainwater
harvesting – some of these include:
• A self-sufficient water supply
• High-quality soft water that is low in mineral content
• Less expensive than other water sources
• Possible economic advantages such as rebates from
government bodies for a reduction in use and dependency
on municipal water
Components of Rainwater
Harvesting:
When collecting rainwater for potable rainwater systems,
the order in which components are installed are:
1. Catchment area – the surface upon
which the rainwater falls usually a roof
2. Conveyance – channels and pipes
that transport the water from the catchment area to the
storage area
3. In-line basic type filter – leaf
screens to catch tree debris
4. Roof-washer/first flush diverter –
systems that stop pollutants from the catchment area entering
the Water Tank or Cistern Tank System
5. Water Tank or Cistern Tank System –
where collected rainwater is stored.
6. Purification: filtering equipment, distillation
and additives to settle, filter and disinfect the collected
rainwater
SafeRain – First
Flush Water Diverter
SafeRain is a first flush water diverter using flow-rate
( FLOW-RATE DIVERSION
) as the means of diversion as opposed to the container
method that traps the first flush of water in a holding
container at some point before the tank.
SafeRain units are attached to the pipe that feeds the collected
rainwater to the water tank or cistern tank. At the ‘normal’
setting SafeRain will divert approximately 100 litres and
has a range of 0-2000 litres (100mm pipes contain 8 litres/metre).
Above-ground feeder
pipes:
SafeRain Horizontal
first flush water diverter valve is designed to be installed
at the overhead pipes feeding a water tank or cistern tank.
SafeRain Vertical
first flush water diverter valve is designed to be installed
at the down-pipe where piping is “L” shaped
feeding a water tank or cistern tank.
Below-ground feeder
pipes:
If your feeder pipes are below-ground, stagnant water (
Earthgarden article
) lying in underground pipes can putrefy due to condensation
and light rain washing dust and other pollutants from the
roof down into the lowest point in the system.
When rain starts the tainted water is the first to move
followed by the sludge. As the rainfall increases water
moves faster through the pipe(s) pushing the sludge through
to your tank SafeRain Reverse-Flow
first flush water diverter valve is designed to be installed
at the riser feeding the water tank or cistern tank and
will dump this initial water away from the tank until the
preset flow rate point is reached.
