Snow Water Harvesting

Snow-water Harvesting?

I read with interest your feature article on Rainwater Harvesting (EBN

Vol. 6, No. 5) and found it very concise, complete and full of good information. One area not covered in the article or in the research I have read to date on the topic is the harvesting of snow melt during the winter months.

In Salt Lake City, I have been collecting snow melt as well as rainwater since 1994 in wooden and food- grade plastic 50- to 60-gallon barrels—approximately 500 gallons (1,900 l) total capacity—and experience that significant amounts of water could be collected during the winter, especially if I had an underground cistern.

From the article, it appears that water harvesting is only being used in mild climates that don’t experience winters with good accumulations of snow.

I would be interested in knowing if there is also data on snow melt, since if information were available, it could open up other geographical areas of the United States to water harvesting where combining the two would make it economically and practically viable.

Wes Groesbeck

Environmental Resources, Inc.

Salt Lake City, Utah