Rainwater harvesting systems can be as simple as directing gutters to a lidded garbage can or as complex as a concrete cistern, roof washer and filtration system. But whatever your application, rest assured that you'll be getting some of the purest — and cheapest — water around.
Rainwater can be used for potable water (drinking, cooking, bathing) or no potable uses such as landscape irrigation, livestock watering and washing. Collecting and using rainwater has numerous benefits, ranging from improved water quality to reduced stress on underground aquifers.
"All water is rainwater," rainwater systems enthusiast and author Richard Heinichen is fond of saying. And indeed, he's right: All our water, whether sucked from an aquifer, river or well, or harvested from a rooftop, once was cloud-borne.