Rainwater Harvesting, Vol 1 by Brad Lancaster

Eight Principles of Rainwater Harvesting

Begin with long and thoughtful observation: Notice what’s working and what’s not.
Start at the top of your watershed and work your way down: Collect water at the top, and then let gravity drive your water distribution downhill to meet your needs.
Start small and simple: Strategies are easier to implement and adjust when they are small. Small mistakes are easier to fix than big mistakes.
Spread and infiltrate the flow of water: Slow it, spread it, sink it. Don’t let water erosively run off your land.
Always plan an overflow route, and manage that overflow as a resource: Take advantage of heavy rains.
Maximize living and organic groundcover: Create a living sponge.
Maximize beneficial relationships and efficiency by “stacking functions”: Berms can double as raised walking paths. Plants can also cool buildings. Vegetation can also provide food for people, animals, or insects.
Continually reassess your system since it’s a “feedback loop”

Notes

Good rainwater harvesting helps prevent mosquito breeding.
Replace paved parking and driveways with pavers to reduce runoff.
Native plants are a much better choice for water conservation.
Using bio-compatible soaps allows you to use greywater to water plants.
Consider waterless compost toilets.
Plant shade trees on the east and west sides of buildings.
Before you plant trees, you must plant water. (Implement rainwater harvesting earthworks.)
Get a detailed topographic map of your land to identify watersheds and ridge lines.
1 inch of rain on 1,000 sqft of surface area can capture 600 gallons of water.
The highest quality source of water is direct rainwater capture. Use this for drinking.
Earthworks to learn: swales, berms, terraces, infiltration trenches, infiltration basin, imprinting, mulch, diversion swales, check dam, one rock dam, rock plunge pool
Cisterns will be covered in Vol 3.
Every foot of elevation provides 0.43 psi of water pressure.
Orient buildings east-west, with long walls facing south-north) to maximize winter heating and minimize summer heat.
Design roof overhangs and awnings to shade in the summer but not in the winter.
Always pair a raised path with a sunken basin to capture runoff and grow shelter and beauty for the path. Plant a tree in the basin.
Build a Zuni bowl to repair a headcut.
A wide gully is more stable than a deep gully. Stabilize with rock check dams and vegetation.
Stable floodplains are nature’s solution to flooding. Do not disturb.
Exposed roots are an indication of erosion. Find and repair.
Plant cottonwoods, sycamores, willows near water.
Waffle gardens are the opposite of raised beds, used for capturing rainwater.
In floodplain farming, grow more cold-hardy crops and use earthen walls to spread water.