A rainwater harvesting system captures stormwater runoff, often from a rooftop, and stores the water for later use. By using harvested rainwater for purposes that don’t require treated drinking water, we reduce the demand on municipal water supplies and increase the sustainability of drinking water supplies.
Rainwater Harvesting
Fact Sheets
- Design of Rainwater Harvesting Systems in Oklahoma, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, Oklahoma State University
- Rainwater Harvesting Systems for Montana, Montana State University Extension
- Rainwater Harvesting System Design, Consulting-Specifying Engineer Magazine
- Rainwater Harvesting for Livestock, Texas Cooperative Extension
- Choosing a Pump for Rainwater Harvesting, North Carolina State University
- Build Your Own Rain Barrel, Washington State University
- Instructions for Building a Rain Barrel, North Carolina State Cooperative Extension
Bulletins, Journal Articles, and Handbooks
- Texas Manual on Rainwater Harvesting, Texas Water Resources Board
- Rainwater Harvesting 101, Grow NYC
- Rainwater Harvesting: Technical Brief, Practical Action: Technology Challenging Poverty, USA Engineers Without Borders
- Virginia Rainwater Harvesting Manual, The Cabell Brand Center
- Ontario Guidelines for Rainwater Harvesting Systems, Ontario Rainwater Harvesting Task Group
- Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure Municipal Handbook–Rainwater Harvesting Policies, US EPA
- Listing of Statutes and Regulations Pertaining to Rainwater Harvesting, Harvesth2o.com
- Powerpoint describing design of large-scale rainwater collection systems, Green Building Expo presentation by Steve Williams from Building Greener, LLC
Rainwater Harvesting Component Resources
Catchment Area
- Rainwater Harvesting for Landscape Irrigation: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly side of Roof Runoff, harvestH2O.com
- Water Quality of Rooftop Runoff, North Carolina State University
- Effect of Roof Material on Water Quality for Rainwater Harvesting Systems, Mendez et al., 2010, Texas Water Resources Board
Conveyance System
- Conveyance – Simple or Complex, harvestH2O.com
- The optimum sizing of gutters for domestic rainwater harvesting, University of Warwick
Storage Tanks and Cisterns
- Comparing Rainwater Storage Options, harvestH2O.com
- Rainwater Cisterns: Design, Construction, and Water Treatment, PennState Extension, Water Quality
- SamSamWater Rainwater Harvesting Tool, Easily determine the optimum size of your rainwater harvesting reservoir, SamSamWater
Distribution System
- Determining the Optimum Solar Water Pumping System for Domestic Use, Livestock Watering or Irrigation, Agricultural Resources Service
Water Quality Improvements
- Water Quality and the First-flush Effect in Roof-based Rainwater Harvesting, Jessica Lay, Oklahoma State University Master’s Thesis
- Evaluation of Contaminant Mixing in Rainwater Harvesting First Flush Diverters, Justin Mechell, Texas A&M Master’s Thesis
- Sustainability of Rainwater Harvesting System in terms of Water Quality, Rahman et al, 2014, The Scientific World Journal
- Assessment of Rainwater Quality from Rainwater Harvesting Systems in Ontario, Canada, Journal of Water Supply Research and Technology
Precipitation and Water Use
- When to water vegetables, How much water is enough?, The Old Farmer’s Almanac
Rainwater Harvesting in Oklahoma
- OSU Botanical Gardens, Stillwater
- Rainwater Harvesting System
- Sand Cistern
- Xeriscape Demonstration Garden, Edmond
- Brannin Residence, Tulsa
- Grogg’s Green Barn, Tulsa
- Pickard Residence, Tulsa
- Restore Hope Ministries, Tulsa
- Ross Residence, Tulsa
- Tulsa Zoo, Tulsa
- VanHanken Residence, Tulsa
- Warren Clinic Bishops Building, Tulsa
Local Distributors
- Elite Tank: Tanks, Roof washers, First diverters
- Lorenz’s OK Seeds, LLC: Tanks
- Plastic-mart: Tanks
*Has a distributor in Shawnee, OK - Lowes: Tanks
- Home Depot: Tanks
- Walmart: Tanks (note, this is not meant to be an exclusive list. If you are an Oklahoma company and would like to be added to this list, email Jason Vogel)
