[InigoMontoya]You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.[/InigoMontoya]
The USCG LORAN station I was assigned to that was in the Bahamas was fairly self-sufficient. We had to make our own electricity and got our water (both wash and drinking) from a catchment. It worked, though during drier times of the year, “Hollywood Showers” were forbidden and “Sea Showers” were the rule. We had a crew of 14.
There’s a Jeff Foxworthy joke somewhere in “fraternal grandparents” but I’m just not up to making it.
Where I live, we probably have the most abundant fresh water of anywhere in the world… And we still have runoff tanks attached to roofs. In fact, up until recently, the city actually charged homeowners for rain that fell on their property, and getting the tanks was one way of reducing (but not eliminating) the charge.
We don’t use it for drinking water, though. Mom uses it to water her plants and her chickens.
It would seem outrageous not to do with water which fall upon your property as you see fit…until you realize everyone downstream from you are denied access to run-off.
Not just farmers for irrigation, but also those who use rivers for transport.
Water saving measures are mandatory where I live, which usually means a tank.