It makes sense financially and environmentally. Rain falling on urban and suburban terrains is largely lost as run-off to rivers, lakes, and oceans. This lost water results in water shortages in many communities.
Smart, environmentally-aware designers, architects and builders will provide cutting edge solutions by incorporating rainwater harvesting into their projects to reduce their effects on the environment and to address restrictions on municipal water use.

Rainwater Harvesting (Collection and Re-use)

Quickly becoming a “must-have” in many metropolitan areas in the United States, rainwater collection and re-use is now considered a central theme in water conservation. This centuries-old concept has experienced a dramatic resurgence in recent years in India, Western Europe, Australia, and now the United States.

What has been lacking until recently are modern materials, engineering, and technology to integrate the collection of rainwater into commercial and domestic water systems. Rainwater Recovery Inc. has taken the lead in designing and implementing rainwater harvesting systems ranging from small-scale, manually operated systems to large-volume storage systems fully integrated into a facility's outdoor or non-potable water use infrastructure.

Stormwater Management and Below-Ground Recharge

The paradigm for handling stormwater in the U.S. and other parts of the world is shifting. In the past, the goal of most urban and suburban construction has been the efficient movement of rainwater away from structures into stormwater drains or infrastructure, to carry it off to regional rivers, lakes and the ocean. Out of sight, out of mind.

Since most brooks and rivers carry away all the water that enters them, storm water flowing to these water bodies never re-enters the local watershed and aquifers. And, even worse, runoff water is often polluted and has a higher temperature than naturally introduced water. This can have serious environmental results.

With groundwater supplies becoming depleted in many communities, the focus has shifted to re-introducing water into the ground locally, where it helps replenish the aquifers ultimately used for water supplies.
Rainwater Recovery Inc. integrates state-of-the-art drywell technology to reintroduce collected rainwater into the ground locally, where it would have gone naturally if pavement and other waterproof barriers were not in the way.

Advances in drywell technology now allow for space- and excavation-efficient recharge to reduce groundwater supply depletion — while helping to mitigate local flooding, storm sewer overflows, and use of open space for retention basins.

Applications of this technology to residential and commercial development offer improved return on investment through better land use as well as helping meet stringent stormwater management regulations. For many communities looking at development proposals in environmentally sensitive areas, this technology is a winnIng for governmental bodies as well as commercial enterprises in the development industry.

Interdependencies of Water Conservation, Drinking Water, and Development

Pressures to limit outdoor watering stem primarily from one problem: depletion or over-use of regional groundwater supplies (aquifers). This is because outdoor watering can demand 3 to 10 times the water volume that is consumed inside a home during watering seasons.
With the expansion of metropolitan area populations, more and more open space is converted to residential and commercial development. This increases demand on local water supplies while reducing areas that once contributed to the regeneration of water supplies through recharge.

Mission: It is of utmost importance to use all water in the best way possible. One of the ways is to use the water that falls from heaven. Most of the time this water just makes rivers in the streets, waters the grass and sometimes it damages homes, but all this rain water can be put to a more practical use. Understand how rain water cn be collected, how it can be treated so that it would be safe for human consumption. Think about the different types of countries and how we cn get everyone to do this? If your country is already trying to do this great, but we need the whole world to get involved and everyone in your country, too.

Questions:

1. Where does your country get the water the people need?
2. Is there a shortage of water-? If so, how bad is it?
3. How can water be caught and used again?
4. What has your country done to conserve water?
5. Understand the concept of catching rain water well, so,
   that your delegation can think of ways all the countries can work together to do this.

References:

• http://www.ecotec2000.de/espanol/water1.htm
• http://www.rainwaterrecovery.com/harvesting.html