Monday, April 21, 2014

Collecting Rainwater

Realizing collecting rainwater in some states is illegal, I almost feel the need to "whisper" the information contained in this article, rather than commit it to print, but so far in my state, collecting rainwater is not illegal.  It's probably only a matter of time before the EPA will be legislating federal law, so do what you can now to get "grandfathered," if that's even still possible in this country!  I still find it troublesome that our government feels so exalted as to claim authority and make legislation about rain.

I have a well, and I have barrels under my gutters.  It seems like simple math, either way.  The ten barrels I have when full, hold 650 gallons of water, total.  I use that water to water my livestock and garden.  If I didn't collect that water, I'd be pumping it from the well, which would mean using water from the table beneath the ground, and paying for electricity to pump it; but my water use would be the same.  In collecting rainwater, I'm not hoarding it, it still goes back into the ground!  Not to mention, in collecting rainwater, I'm not drawing on the water table, therefore doing my part to sustain and conserve the underground table.

It is really hard to wrap my mind around how many gallons of water actually fall from the sky when it rains.  It doesn't take an eighth of an inch of rain to fill all my rain barrels, so with one inch of rainfall, over 87.5% of the water still goes directly into the earth or into rivers, streams etc. in watershed.  One inch of rainfall on ten acres amounts to 271,500 gallons of water.  The amount of water I collect is 650 gallons, regardless of rainfall.  Anything over 1/8 of an inch of rain never sees the inside of a barrel.  Guttering is only applied to the buildings, so everything that falls on the open field is undisturbed.  While the EPA and Department of Conservation would have us all believe otherwise, most folks who do collect rainwater, do so with the specific intent of putting it back into the earth.  The fact that it will be placed on a garden or given to livestock first, seems to be the real issue for a power grab.

There are 43,560 square feet in an acre, so there are 435,600 square feet in ten acres.  Of the 435,600 square feet, only 2160 square feet of the place contains a building with gutters and rain barrels.  I realize on small town lots with behemoth mcmansions this practice would be prohibitive, but many of those folks aren't terribly interested in gardening, anyway.  Back to the math on the preservation.  435,600 - 2160 = 433,440 untouched square feet of land to catch open rainfall.  Meanwhile in one inch of rainfall, the open land nets:  271,500 - 650 = 270,850 directly, with the rest to follow indirectly.  The only time my barrels caught a full 650 gallons was when the guttering was first installed, and the beginning of seasonal spring and fall rains.  The grand total of collected rainwater per inch of rain amounts to less than 0.25%, that is less than 1/4 of one percent.  Meanwhile there is 5/8 of a gallon of water on every open square foot of the place.  Without the rain barrels there would be percentage difference of 2/1000 or 0.002%.   Without the house, Tabernacle, and chicken houses, the rainfall to the open land would still be within the same measurable percentage . . . and we all have to live somewhere.

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, says YHWH of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.  a prophet of Holy Scripture

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