What are the characteristics of a good Rainwater Harvesting Systems?

Rainwater Harvesting is the activity of saving rain water for later use. Good rainwater harvesting systems must ensure that not a drop of rainwater is let into the sewerage or wasted as runoff.

All good rainwater harvesting systems have the following characteristics that if adopted ensure maximum efficiency:

• Completeness: To ensure that runoff from maximum collectible areas can be harvested.
• Apportioning of water: To ensure that the system is not overloaded which may lead to wastage of rain water by means of overflowing or other losses.
• Proper design: To ensure consideration of the total volume of water that will be harvested and released to flow through the soil in the area or sewerage  after use should be considered.
• Maintainability: Design should incorporate features allowing for periodic maintenance, cleaning and scaling of the structure.