Washington receives an average of 38.4 inches of precipitation per year—the highest among all the states in the western half of the country. While we’re far from short on rainfall, collecting and reusing rainwater still has its benefits. It helps mitigate flooding in low-lying areas and gives homes an independent water supply for gardens and domestic use.
Harvesting Rainwater at Home
If you’re putting together a basic rainwater harvesting system, you’ll need four components:
● a collection area
● a conveyance system
● water storage
● filtration
Your roof, gutters, and downspouts give you two of the four key components. Adding a tank will give you storage, and installing downspout screens and a strainer basket at the tank inlet will complete the system.
While this setup is technically complete and will allow you collect rainwater, it can be improved drastically with the addition of gutter protection. A rain gutter guard in Spokane WA, and the surrounding area, will act as a first barrier, allowing you to collect water as cleanly as possible upstream. This is called pre-filtration.
Why Bother with Pre-Filtration?
Pre-filtration helps keep your rainwater catchment system healthy. It improves water quality and prevents clogging and sediment buildup. It also helps the rest of your filtration components to function more efficiently, and it cuts down the amount of maintenance the system would otherwise require.
How much material you filter out matters a lot in a rainwater harvesting system because any sediment that ends up in the tank will start to decompose, increasing the concentration of contaminants in the water. It will also throw off the water’s pH balance, making it unsuitable for some applications.
If you’re interested in setting up your own rainwater catchment system, give Spokane Rain Gutter Inc. a call. We’re the best in the business when it comes to Spokane WA rain gutter guard systems and are an authorized dealer of Gutter Helmet. Get in touch with us through our website to schedule a free consultation today!
