Candyman Posted April 24, 2011 Posted April 24, 2011 Rainwater Tanks & Guttering. I have travelled fairly extensively all over the Philippines, and one thing I have noticed is a severe lack of rain water tanks, and even guttering on buildings. Only the newer buildings seem to have any sort of guttering at all, and even then, the caught rainwater, is just allowed to run onto the ground, and not into a rainwater tank. Why ? In a country that has such a large proportion of the population that buys bottled water for drinking, why, when it can be had for free, just by installing gutters, and a tank ? I even asked my sister in law this very same question, and her response was : "Because cats piddle on the roofs !" My reply to her was that we had cats, and possums, and birds, that did all sorts of rude things on our roofs in Australia, and we were never shy in drinking this water, or using it for any other purpose. In fact, it is of a lot better quality than the town water supply we are connected to ! Why are there not more rainwater tanks in the Philippines ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekimswish Posted April 24, 2011 Posted April 24, 2011 You would boil the water, right?In Leyte, I think they have more rain falling than they can handle, and just wish it would leave them alone. If they tried to collect it all, they could probably start a Waterworld Theme Park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hounddriver Posted April 24, 2011 Posted April 24, 2011 (edited) Rainwater Tanks & Guttering. I have travelled fairly extensively all over the Philippines, and one thing I have noticed is a severe lack of rain water tanks, and even guttering on buildings. Only the newer buildings seem to have any sort of guttering at all, and even then, the caught rainwater, is just allowed to run onto the ground, and not into a rainwater tank. Why ? In a country that has such a large proportion of the population that buys bottled water for drinking, why, when it can be had for free, just by installing gutters, and a tank ? I even asked my sister in law this very same question, and her response was : "Because cats piddle on the roofs !" My reply to her was that we had cats, and possums, and birds, that did all sorts of rude things on our roofs in Australia, and we were never shy in drinking this water, or using it for any other purpose. In fact, it is of a lot better quality than the town water supply we are connected to ! Why are there not more rainwater tanks in the Philippines ?You are absolutely right. We used that system in some remote areas of northern Canada where the ground water is too alkaline. I have suggested it here and other expats just give me a look like I am an idiot but do not respond. The last house I rented had gutterwork that drained into an underground rainwater storage tank. The idea was to use the water to water the garden, do the laundry, or wash the car because the water was contaminated with surface water in that set up. But the ideal system could easily be designed.Note: There is no need to boil rainwater provided the collection system is clean and the air is not too polluted. Rain is natures distillation process Edited April 24, 2011 by Dave Hounddriver Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candyman Posted April 24, 2011 Author Posted April 24, 2011 I have used rainwater out of tanks in various places and times all of my life, and never ever worried about it. Most tanks out here have fine gauze sieves inserted in the top, to trap any rubbish that may wash into the tank. It is always used for drinking water here, or boiled to make tea or coffee, and never ever had any problems. Even if there were minute particles of cats piddle or bird poop, it just never has been an issue. It is far safer drinking that, than drinking from the so called 'purified' tap water that is dished up to us ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art2ro Posted April 24, 2011 Posted April 24, 2011 Your average Filipino probably will not spend money on a rain water tank or even install roof gutters, they will however spend their hard earned money on food and necessities first or spend it on a cell phone, jewelry, gambling, alcohol, drugs and women, but not necessarily in that order! But just maybe your well to do Filipinos with an extra source of income, may put one in if they are persuaded by other neighbor of theirs who is saving money from the result of such a system! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gapotwo Posted April 24, 2011 Posted April 24, 2011 All my years in se.alaska we had raincatch water tanks and when it didnt rain we would tanker in water from city source.when i moved out to noyes island we had a year around supply of ground water, but still had to pump up to tanks.so its really up to the individual ,if they want a stand up shower with good presure or are ok with packing water by the bucket for a bath.then you have the majority of squatters or untitled propertys, with very limited space and moneys to even think of their long term water supply and just live day to day.then you have the majority that would rather spend the money on flash and making yabang but not have a toilet that will flush.planning ahead takes investment money that will cut into the mahjong pot or the cockfight cash flow, IMHO. thats probably why you dont see much water collection devices around. :whistling: Tanks ej. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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