Rainwater harvesting on the road?

[Ticklebellly]

Clean collection surface + clean container = the best water on this planet.

I have a couple of large green frogs living in the downpipes going to the house tank.   The frogs have assured me they do not pee in the pool and no hanky panky occurs while in the downpipes.

As long a people want to drink their collected water, a first flush diverter is sufficient.   A bit of possum poo and frog pee in the water tickles up the immune system as a positive spin off to drinking collected rainwater.

 

[RVTravel]

Frogs may have parasites

 

[Ticklebellly]

Not my frogs, they are organically certified.

 

[Dingfelder]

Heard someone says some years ago that fresh rain water is "live" water.    I can taste the difference and especially love a cup of tea made with freshly collected rain water.   Also notice that the home garden seems to do much better when watered with fresh rain water.

I read somewhere that the nitrogen pulled out of the atmosphere by rainwater makes it equivalent to a light dose of nitrogenous fertilizer.

 

[BelgianPup]

I wonder how much nitrogen we absorb when we inhale it from the air, which is 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen.

 

[RVTravel]

https://rainwaterharvesting.tamu.edu/in-home-use/

They offer guidelines in its publication Harvesting, Storing and Treating Rainwater for Domestic Use.

 

[tx2sturgis]

https://rainwaterharvesting.tamu.edu/in-home-use/

They offer guidelines in its publication Harvesting, Storing and Treating Rainwater for Domestic Use.

Thanks for that link, there are some informative documents linked from that site. 

But the jist of it is that rainwater should be harvested, treated, stored, filtered, and used responsibly, especially if it is used for cooking or drinking.

Clean collection surface + clean container = the best water on this planet.

Please, stop the fear-mongering.

Almost sounds like a religion. Hey if it works for you, that's great. Many of us prefer to have safe drinking water, so we are willing to employ a few extra measures to make sure.

It's not 'fear-mongering', any more than recomending a fire extinguisher and a spare tire are 'fear-mongering'.

I'm not saying that drinking a freshly collected cupfull of rainwater or snow-melt will kill you, but harvesting, storing, and consuming it in large quantities without a few precautions, might not be the best idea.

 

[flying kurbmaster]

I can see a lot of water falling out of my gutters which are quite substantial on my Kurbmsaster, I saw spouts that people put on their Rv s for this reason at RV supply shops. One of these days I may try to do this with a section of hose from the gutters into a container. Personally I would trust this water as long as the roof was clean.

 

[maki2]

Also, not legal to do in some areas... The state of Colorado owns every single drop of rain that falls from the sky. It is required to go to the soil and can not be collected, even on your own property.

Just tell them you will be sure to pee on a bush instead of in the toilet.

 

[maki2]

Interesting that Oregon is mentioned as a place that it's illegal to collect rainwater--my sister's new construction in Portland requires all gutters/downspouts to be directed to a 4' diameter x 5' deep rainwater catchment system.  It would be super easy to build in a couple of inline tanks for emergency toilet-flushing use (after final inspection of course!!) but she's not too keen on the idea...

The Oregon rule has to do with not causing flooding for the neighbors due to run off from your property.  It can be very tricky to live in a significant rainfall urban area on a property that is downhill from a big house. There are court battles over these things in the Pacific NW. That is not a bad law, it protects others from harm.

 

[BelgianPup]

The big newsworthy item from Oregon was not about a guy who collected water for his household, but was damming small rivers and creating lakes large enough for boats.

Too much of anything, including love, oxygen or water, can cause problems.

I really don't think that collecting rainwater off a clean tarp into a clean, food-grade 5-gallon bucket is going to draw an attack of the Illegal Water Brigade.

 

[Seminole Wind]

I wonder how much nitrogen we absorb when we inhale it from the air, which is  78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen.

this is off topic, but your answer is basically none. the 78% nitrogen in the air is in a non reactive non bio available form. the bio available nitrogen in some rain water is often attributed to lightning and to a lessor extant other storm based atmospheric conditions that break down the stable molecules into useable nitrogen for plants. much like nitrogen fixing bacteria living in the soil, most notably in association with plant roots like clover/peas/alfalfa

 

[MrNoodly]

During monsoons...

During monsoon season I go where they don't have monsoon season. Less mud, less mold, etc.

 

[eDJ_]

Rain is probably inevitable anywhere you go.  LOL.   I've always been a DIY blue plastic tarp awning user myself. Hey, cheap RV living....right ?    I think most of us have seen those awnings turn into a swimming pool in a downpour.  

It's how I got the idea to improvise a drain  port in mine so that I could run a flexible plastic hose out and away from my Van.  I cemented some innertube rubber squares on both sides of the spot I wanted to make the drain hole.  Then cut the hole to cement a flanged plastic nipple into from the top.  The plastic hose pipe I found at a flea market was for a shop vac and about 8 ft long.  It fits onto the nipple nice and tight with no trouble.  

If I want to collect water I can tie the hose to one of the corner poles and guys for a sloping drain and catch water in one of the two 5 gallon Jerry's I carry.  When the hose is not in use it stows inside the spare tire mounted on the back door under the tire cover.

My awnings have been mostly for shade from the sun.  Most of us have seen rigs like this.  But wait till it rains and see how the awning catches water. 

 

[Gr8ful]

Here's a link to a Biosand water filter Rotary made probably millions & donated thruout the world. I once figured 1" of rain was about 5000 gallons off the hanger roof. It's pouring now & we had 3" of snow on the ground sat am. I gotta get out of this place.
https://www.google.com/search?q=rot...wKHaqxAM0Q9QEwAXoECAkQBA#imgrc=cZGFCrq7xwGIIM: