The Other Coast by Adrian Raeside for January 11, 2012

here in New Mexico many people who live in rural areas collect rain water from their roofs. it beats driving to town to pick up water. some people drink that water too, with bad results. the feds had promised the native americans that they would build them a water line back in the 1940s … it just started construction on it last year.

while the feds. suck it back $$$$.

“Thanks, dear. I’ll be dying now….”

Our house on the prairies has 1/4 of the basement as a water-sealed cistern. The rainwater from the roof can go directly into the basement from where it is pumped up to the kitchen with the counter mounted hand pump then boiled before drinking. Of course we don’t use it since we have good “Town water” now. Still nice to know it is there in case we revert to the bad old days!

The stuff that floats on the rain barrel is only half as bad as the stuff that sinks to the outlet.

Rain barrels are making a comeback around here – to be used for watering the yard during the continuing drought. I saved a 3yo pecan tree by running a hose from the air conditioner drain to it. I would prefer to have a graywater system, but it is too expensive to retrofit in an 80+yo house.

Which is why you cover it and use a mesh filter to make sure that animals, leaves, and other contaminants don’t get in. Sheesh!

This happened to my dad when he was a kid. Except they had been missing the cat all winter. They found him that spring. Strangely, no one got physically ill during that time.

IF you have decided to drink your collected rainwater, then you not only have to sterilize it but also should be filtering it.

The Native Americans have been abused by feds for decades. It’s ashame. We once had to use water from a well so we were grateful when it rained.

We collect rainwater from the roof—but only use it for watering plants and for the boilers.

I grew up on a farm. One day we found an almost completely decomposed rat in our cistern. Yuck.

Our city hall pushes the rainbarrel. All kinds of fancy barrels with lids, mesh screens, spouts and spigots. But then, our city hall pushes, worm composting, chickens in the back yard and wheat fields in the postage sized front yards.