There have been many droughts in Vancouver Island’s history. A University of Victoria study of tree ring data found that some were worse than anything in modern records, but also predicted a mega-drought is coming. This year’s wet Spring may make a difference, but there have been reports of wells running dry every summer since 2014. Consequently, increasing numbers of people throughout the Gulf Islands, Vancouver Island, Quadra and Cortes Islands have turned to rainwater harvesting.
No treatment is needed when this water is used for flushing toilets, watering lawns or gardens, and it dramatically reduces water consumption from wells.
According to the Strathcona Regional District, “about 70% of total water consumption happens outdoors in the summer time, mostly due to sprinkler use on lawns. Sprinkler or soaker hose use on other landscaping can also contribute to the high summer demand.”
Kristen Schofield-Sweet and John Shook did not know anything about this when they adopted a rainwater catchment system for their home, 31 years ago. The Cortes Island couple were in the midst of digging a well and encountered complications. Looking up at the falling rain, they asked each other, “Why aren’t we just using the water that’s here?”
They built three concrete cisterns, which have more than provided their needs. The water is always cold and, because it is gravity fed, power outages are not a problem. They did not even need the largest cistern during the drought last year.
The house my wife and I purchased in Squirrel Cove has a water cistern in the back of the yard, as well as rainbarrels to catch the runoff from the roof. We have been using this system every year, as soon as our well shows signs of running low. The only thing we draw from the well, during the summer, is drinking water. So far, the well has never run dry. Last fall we added a 1200 litre storage tank down by well.
Jude McCormick, from Quadra ICAN’s water security team, said Quadra Island residents are using rainwater for their gardens and as reservoirs in case of a fire.
She also mentioned a neighbour in Granite Bay who is dependent on rainwater for all their water needs except drinking water.
“There’s one person living there now, but she waters her garden from that.”
Bernie Amell and his wife use rainwater, filtered and UV’d, for all of their water needs.
“We use composting toilets, which much affects things. We are able to get 30 liters per day per person, as a water use, which meant we made it through that drought with a fair reserve of water still in our tanks,” he said.
The Quadra ICAN water security team has been selling 250 gallon water storage containers to Quadra residents at cost, and is helping people set them up.
Rain barrels can be purchased at most large hardware stores.
According to the City of Campbell River, “A typical two-hour rain shower will provide enough water to fill a rain barrel a couple of times.”
Kris Wellstein, from the Water security team, introduced Cortes Currents to two Heriot Bay residents whose rainwater catchment systems carried them through the drought last year.
“I just don’t feel good about using well water to water my garden. We have so much water for part of the year, it seems absolutely ridiculous to be using well water if we can store what’s coming out of the sky the rest of the year. I use it mostly for my food production garden, but somewhat from my ornamentals too, so that we’re not removing more water from the aquifer, “ said, Kathryn Manry.
Jason Overend has been using a catchment system for five years.
“It was hot last year, so we were a little worried about our water, but we never ran out,” he said.
Top image credit: Raindrops by Santosh Kumar via Flickr (CC BY SA, 2.0 License)
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