Green living makeovers must include steps to conserve fresh water. Water is a natural resource that is becoming more scarce are the world population grows.? News reports of water shortages are becoming more and more common.

Scarcity of fresh water is especially common in large cities, including major metropolitan areas of developed nations. Water use restrictions are common in areas of the USA that include Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, Chicago, and other major cities.

There is one step that homeowners can take to combat the water shortages. It is relatively simple and inexpensive to implement, and it will save thousands of gallons of water annually. This simple step will also save money on water bills.

This green living step is the following: collect and use rainwater.

Rainwater is free. It just falls from the sky, and is represents water available without any cost to anyone who takes the trouble to collect it.

How do you collect rainwater? The simplest solution is to use a rain barrel. Rain barrels can be placed under the downspout that drains water from the gutters around your roof. This water is not suitable to drink, as the run-off from your roof will contain particulates and bits of dirt, and it may also contain trace amounts of chemicals leached from the shingles on your roof. But this water is perfectly suitable for watering your lawn or garden.

Every gallon collected and used this way is water you will not purchase from your local utility or water provider.

Ideally, you can set up more than one rain barrel to collect rainwater more efficiently from your roof. By positioning the barrels strategically around your house you can collect a surprising amount of water that would otherwise run-off into the street or the sewer system, ultimately winding up in the water treatment plant. But rainwater does not need to be treated, as it is good enough to use directly for home watering. A 55 gallon rain barrel can help you save about 500-1000 gallons or more of water per year (depending on how frequently it rains where you live).

Many hardward stores have rain barrels available. You can also buy purpose-built rain barrels that have have built-in spigots that allow you to more easily tap off the amount of water you need at any time take and use only the water you need at any time.

For the truly serious, rainwater can be collected in storage tank buried under your lawn. These tanks can collect and hold from a few hundred to more than 1000 gallons of water.

Consider installing rain barrels to collect roof run-off at your home. You will gain the ability to conserve thousands of gallons of water each year, helping to combat water shortages as you green your life at home.

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