7 ms·

rainwater on roofs is certainly a solution, but it also massively increases mosquito presence if not properly set up and cared for - like, weekly. it's an exte

rainwater on roofs is certainly a solution, but it also massively increases mosquito presence if not properly set up and cared for - like, weekly. it's an externality that can't be hand-waved away as trivial when considering massive adoption of rain barrels.

singularity2001 7y ago
curious: what does properly setting up and caring for entail?
- m4x 7y ago
  This link suggests you "just" need to make sure all openings in the tank are sealed and the inlet is protected with a fine mesh grille: https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/ohp-enhealth-raintank-cnt-l~ohp-enhealth-raintank-cnt-l-5~ohp-enhealth-raintank-cnt-l-5.5 https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing....
  - carapace 7y ago
    Or toss a few guppies or goldfish in there.
    - prawn 7y ago
      That'd work in the tank (besides the fish excretions) but in a wet system, you have standing water in downpipes the diameter of a tennis ball that might get a little restrictive for fish.
- prawn 7y ago
  You'd need all intakes (e.g., downpipes from gutters) to be protected with mesh, the tank itself to have likewise, but the most painful bit is handling those intakes/overflows getting blocked by leaves/debris. My pipes get blocked by leaves even without mesh. There are a variety of angled mesh systems you can use but adding them to each down-pipe gets expensive.
munk-a 7y ago
Rainwater is a pretty terrible solution, if you needed to implement it at a large scale to deal with water supply issues then you'd easily be within a decade, and probably a few years, of absolute disaster. Rainwater collection reduces the amount of water going into the local aquifer and in sufficiently urban areas this can lead to ground instability while also depriving down-shed areas from having water access - though I'd mention that rainwater collection as a way to simplify the water infrastructure isn't a terrible idea especially in remote communities since it can remove the need to support local water extraction and some of the piping. Still, care needs to be taken to ensure water safety with rooftop collection.
- thatcat 7y ago
  Most urban areas want to minimize water running into their sewage system and wet soil is weaker than dry

singularity2001 7y ago

curious: what does properly setting up and caring for entail?

m4x 7y ago
This link suggests you "just" need to make sure all openings in the tank are sealed and the inlet is protected with a fine mesh grille: https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/ohp-enhealth-raintank-cnt-l~ohp-enhealth-raintank-cnt-l-5~ohp-enhealth-raintank-cnt-l-5.5 https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing....
- carapace 7y ago
  Or toss a few guppies or goldfish in there.
  - prawn 7y ago
    That'd work in the tank (besides the fish excretions) but in a wet system, you have standing water in downpipes the diameter of a tennis ball that might get a little restrictive for fish.
prawn 7y ago
You'd need all intakes (e.g., downpipes from gutters) to be protected with mesh, the tank itself to have likewise, but the most painful bit is handling those intakes/overflows getting blocked by leaves/debris. My pipes get blocked by leaves even without mesh. There are a variety of angled mesh systems you can use but adding them to each down-pipe gets expensive.

munk-a 7y ago

Rainwater is a pretty terrible solution, if you needed to implement it at a large scale to deal with water supply issues then you'd easily be within a decade, and probably a few years, of absolute disaster. Rainwater collection reduces the amount of water going into the local aquifer and in sufficiently urban areas this can lead to ground instability while also depriving down-shed areas from having water access - though I'd mention that rainwater collection as a way to simplify the water infrastructure isn't a terrible idea especially in remote communities since it can remove the need to support local water extraction and some of the piping. Still, care needs to be taken to ensure water safety with rooftop collection.

thatcat 7y ago
Most urban areas want to minimize water running into their sewage system and wet soil is weaker than dry