Why schools should install rain water tanks

Rainwater tanks at schools, especially in water scarce countries like South Africa, should be a far more common sight – there are so many great reasons to install rain water tanks at schools.

School building rooftops are ideal rainwater harvesting surfaces. Most schools have long classrooms, halls and administrative buildings that have a very large surface area for collecting rainwater. In South Africa, school buildings are often roofed with corrugated iron – one of the best surfaces for collecting rainwater.

Schools usually have spacious grounds. Space is usually not a problem for most schools which would allow a large number of large water tanks (10000 litre, 15000 litre or even 20000 litre water tanks) to be placed along the buildings. School buildings are also usually characterised by relatively high rooftops – this allows for standard vertical water tanks to be installed and still be under the guttering (many residential buildings need small water tanks or low profile water tanks in order to fit under the rooftops).

Some schools are not connected to municipal water. Some rural schools in South Africa do not have clean, reliable water supplies; rainwater harvesting on a large scale could make a school water self-sufficient .

Rainwater can be used for sports field irrigation. Harvested rainwater could be used for irrigating sports fields instead of paying for municipal water (or having no irrigation at all). Rainwater has been shown to be superior to municipal water when it comes to watering plants – the plants are healthier and grow quicker when irrigated with rainwater.

Rainwater tanks can save money. There are many schools in South Africa that are cash-strapped and receive inadequate funding from government. Rainwater harvesting could cut water bills drastically, allowing the spare money to be spent on other essentials, improving the learners’ environment.

Rainwater harvesting education. Rain water tanks are highly visible and their function can easily be experienced practically by young learners. Water conservation is not well practiced in South Africa which is unacceptable in a country with such scarce water resources. Water tanks installed at schools would therefore be a great way to instil good water conservation habits and the students are likely to take this knowledge back to their families too. Students can even become involved with the installation of the water tanks, giving them valuable practical skills.

Rainwater harvesting systems range from simple rain barrels to more sophisticated integrated systems with above ground or underground water tanks – the budget will determine the size and quantity of water tanks. In the long term, rainwater harvesting systems are a worthwhile capital, educational and social investment for schools in South Africa.

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