Andrew Haigh points to an intermediate storage tank. The main water source for his family of four.

It’s the end of spring at British Columbia’s Gulf Islands and it hasn’t stopped raining for what seems like an eternity. Fields are waterlogged, roads are perpetually wet, mountains are buried in snow and rivers are gushing along. At this time of year, it’s hard to imagine ever running short of water and ever needing to store it for a sunny day. But that’s just what one growing group of people is doing. Come mid-winter, when most people on the coast are cursing more showers, a legion of rain harvesters are hoping for more.

For hundreds of years, humans have collected rainwater for drinking, gardening and other household uses. Rain barrels were placed at down spouts and ponds were dug. The practice went out of style in North America during the 1950s, after improvements in well drilling and pumping made it seem redundant and old school. Today, though, fast population growth is sucking aquifers dry, the climate is changing and there is a renewed sense of respect for the water table. The result is more people are investing in rainwater catchment systems, some strictly for the garden and others for an entire house. Neither is a move to be made lightly, but advocates say if one goes this route it doesn’t just feel better, it tastes better too.

“A lot of people feel closer to the environment and more aware of the weather when they rely on rainwater,” says Clare Fratter, a spokesperson for Islands Trust Fund. “They take more notice in how they are using water and it renews a connection to the land.”



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