(1000) Going Green with Rainwater

It seems that Boston received more than 100cm of snow in the first week of February 2015. At the same time, here I am in Sabah experiencing the lack of rainwater in the backyard tank.

Living in a tropical climate, it is common to have close to 100 inches of rainfall per year. Yet nobody collects rainwater in the mass-produced housing in Selangor or Federal Territory in Peninsular.

Still, I find it handy to have rainwater to use for hand-washing my clothes daily. I also use the same supply for cleaning chicken droppings off my cemented back portion.

Officially, we should be having the North-East Monsoon from September until March. Yet practically, this is the first time in eight months that the water level of my 10-band tank is at band 3.

In the past months, I generally pay the minimum water charge of $5 per month. At the same time, by conserving electricity – using measures such as no air-conditioning unless absolutely necessary, cold-water baths, every appliance plug taken out when not in use, rice cooker used only 4 times per month – I managed to keep the electric bill to $16-19. For any amount less than $20, there is no need to pay. I suppose I belong to the poor category when it comes to electrical use. It fits in with my conviction of reducing my carbon footprint and recycling every bit of resource that passes through my hands.