rainwater

Ice: A Novel
$22.00
This book was a complete an absolute was of time. I could not believe that anyone thought that it should be sold for $22.00 or $11.00 or even $3.99. It never should have made hardbook status. I have read every book ever written by Linda Howard and this must have been her first effort at writing or something and had to have been some publishing company's attempt to make some money from her fans. Although I completed the book, it was a complete and absolute waste of time. For a decent read, check out any of her works over the last few years and leave this one alone. What a disappointment.

Design for Water: Rainwater Harvesting, Stormwater Catchment, and Alternate Water Reuse
$24.95
I was hoping to learn the details of setting up a rain water harvesting system with not only this book but what I have learned by scanning the internet. This book was of little help. It turns out I knew more from sites I found on the internet (with better photos) than the information gleaned from this book.

The images in this book are of little to no help. They are all black & white (not a bad thing) and printed small and rather poorly. The points of view illustrated in most of the images beg the question - why show this? The lighting of the interior views is poor, also subtracting from their usefulness. The diagrams are very basic and some are printed far too small to be useful. Only the complete neophyte will find use from this information.

I would recommend finding this book at your library first before dropping the money on this one. I only wish my library had the book so I could have saved the money.

Rainwater Collection for the Mechanically Challenged
$19.95
Excellent explanation of how to build a rooftop rain collection system, plus great writing & illustration style. The book is both comprehensive & understandable. With only 10" of annual precipitation, we would need a gigantic collection area and storage tank. Nevertheless, I count this book among the top 100 independence books in my library. Another way to have a great independent water system is known as the "Raney well" if you have wet soils near a creek/river nearby. It is basically a reverse drainfield. It collects, instead of distributing. Because the creek water is filtered, cysts and bacteria are removed. This book explains how a reverse osmosis system works. If you have to use a creek, lake or shallow well for your water supply you might consider an RO system. It might be a better choice than a deep well if the grid goes down.

Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands (Vol. 1): Guiding Principles to Welcome Rain into Your Life And Landscape
$24.95
I met the author on a ferry and began asking questions. Brad is available for coming and teaching,talking to groups. Very interesting. His book is very worthwhile.