Salt Spring Island Non-potable Rainwater Harvesting Guide.pdf

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SALT SPRING ISLAND
Non-Potable
Rainwater 
Harvesting
Best Practices Guide
 © 2020 
Salt Spring Island, 
British Columbia, Canada
developed by
This guide is brought to you through the efforts of the Salt Spring Island 
Watershed Protection Alliance (SSIWPA): a collaborative process committed 
to bringing together the people, information and processes required to protect 
the health of Salt Spring Island watersheds and freshwater supplies.

SSIWPA |  Salt Spring Island Non-Potable Rainwater Harvesting Best Practices Guide
Water conservation through rainwater harvesting 
to address the climate reality is an idea whose 
time has come. Safe and effective collection, 
storage and use of harvested rainwater for non-
potable purposes by residents and visitors to Salt 
Spring Island can connect people with their water 
usage and improve conservation.
Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is the collection and 
storage of rainwater for potable and non-potable 
uses. 
This guide is a best practices resource for those 
interested in building , customizing or expanding 
a RWH system. Information herein is accessible 
to residents with many different living and 
business conditions, building and property 
features. It demonstrates best practices for design, 
installation and maintenance of residential non-
potable rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems and 
uses. 
As one of the most desirable areas to live in 
Canada, Salt Spring Island is a coastal island in 
the Salish Sea that is nestled up to the eastern 
edge of Vancouver Island. Climate changes over 
the past decade have resulted in warmer, wetter 
winters and hotter, drier summers. Average 
total annual rainfall remains approximately 900 
mm per year. Changes to rainfall pattern (more 
intense, less frequent) impacts groundwater 
recharge, lake recharge, stream flow, vegetation, 
fish and animal population health, as well as 
physical sustainability features like slope stability, 
and erosion of topsoil. Salt Spring residents and 
visitors currently rely on four relatively shallow 
lakes and groundwater reserves in fractured 
bedrock systems as drinking water sources. 
At a population of 10,557 (2017) bouncing to 
20,000+ in the busy tourist season, Salt Spring 
needs water conservation solutions to address 
the changing climate, protect critical streamflow 
as well as fish and aquatic health, and to offset 
the use of treated lakewater and groundwater for 
non-potable uses. 
 
Rainwater Harvesting: A Salt Spring Solution
This Salt Spring Island Non-Potable Rainwater Harvesting Best Practices Guide presents up to date information about 
the  benefits  and  opportunities  of  rainwater  harvesting  for  non-potable  purposes.    Each  resident  and  visitor  to  Salt  
Spring Island bears a responsibility to learn and to practice sustainable approaches to the management of water — 
one of our most precious natural resources.
Increasing RWH systems on Salt Spring can:
 •Reduce peak summer demand on water systems during 

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