Harvesting Rain From The Skies

Polish architect students Ryszard Rychlicki and Agnieszka Nowak use gutters that surround the entire building to harvest rainwater for its 500 residents.  Rychlicki and Nowak hope to reduce water use by 25%.

Using rainwater to irrigate is a way of life in Europe and other continents around the world. 

Since 1900 the total water consumption in the US has increased by 1000%. At present, an average American uses five times more water than a citizen of developing countries. Such an increase is related to among others, improved living standards. On the other hand, a national hobby of the Danes is collecting rain water for washing and watering plants. within the last ten years average use of pure water in Denmark dropped by 40% and inhabitants of the so called eco-villages use a third part of the national average.

While acknowledging the health factor of sanitation is important to Americans, we have to really work hard to increase our water efficiency of indoor plumbing and outdoor irrigation.  Using rainbarrels, cisterns, and surface water needs to become more than a hobby - it should become a way of life for our country.

H/T to WebEcoist