The potential of rainwater harvesting in the Philippines

An African laborer once said, “God must think we’re crazy. We let the rain fall off our roofs onto our soil, it washes the soil away and flows to the bottom of the hill. We then climb down the hill and carry it back up to drink.”

Every sense of it rings true.

We shape hills and mountains, divert rivers, and lay infrastructure underground just to bring water to our faucets.  Why not catch it directly from its nearest source?  The sky.

Herein comes the importance of rainwater catchment systems in our homes and other strategic locations.  These facilities have the potential to alleviate some problems besetting the country including perennial flooding especially in low-lying areas, and access to water especially for the poor.

Our sewage system needs a major overhaul if we are to prevent flooding.  This would cost millions.  The better alternative, or probably the only option, is to prevent water from falling to the ground.

At a bird’s eye view, one can see a topography marked by roofs of the hundreds of thousands of residential, industrial, and commercial structures in Metro Manila.  If each one of these structures have a rainwater harvesting system (RHS) installed, millions of liters of rainwater can be stored for our usage, preventing its seepage in to our clogged sewage systems, thus, preventing inundation to the streets.

The installation of RHS on some, if not all, structures in the metro and around the country may seem absurd but that is an idea that we want to pursue.  We want to instill in our citizens the value of water as well as the land that provides it.  Many private companies and non-profit organizations are already in the RHS business because of its myriad of benefits to the community.  In Europe, there are now more than 50,000 individuals working in the RHS industry, which is expected to grow 200 percent in the next three years.

In our country, it may sound ludicrous to store water that is around us, which is sometimes even becoming a problem because we have too much of it.  But we are no strangers to drought.  Just last year we have experienced one of the worst rainfall shortages in decades, which may also be pointed to the food crisis that we experience at this time.

Let’s take a serious look at this.  Studies here and abroad lay proof to the unparalleled socio-economic and environmental benefits of rainwater harvesting.

With resource from the International Rainwater Catchment Systems Association.

Photos from www.glbcc.com and practicalaction.org.