Capturing Rainwater from Rooftops: An Efficient Water Resource Management Strategy

Many communities in the United States face serious threats to a safe, steady supply of water. These include a longstanding reliance on centralized water delivery systems that results in urban areas and agencies largely overlooking opportunities to integrate alternate local sources of water to meet their water supply needs; the unnecessary use of potable water for non-potable uses, such as outdoor landscape irrigation and indoor toilet flushing; climate change; and continually increasing areas of impervious surfaces in our landscape that result in stormwater runoff carrying pollution to our rivers, lakes, and beaches. Although the problems of water supply and water pollution can be complex, practical solutions for both are available now, such as capturing and using rainwater from rooftops.