Is rainwater harvesting really worth the effort?

[BlueMarigold]

Spent the past year setting up a basic rainwater harvesting system—barrels, diverters, first-flush filter. Honestly, it’s more maintenance than I’d bargained for, but the water really helps in dry spells for the garden and emergency backup. For folks who’ve tried this long-term, has it actually paid off in terms of water savings and reliability during outages? Also curious if anyone’s run into issues storing or purifying rainwater over winter. Worth expanding, or stick with what I’ve got?

 

[BlueHarborTea]

Rainwater harvesting’s definitely more work than I expected, but it’s paid off for me when we’ve had water restrictions or outages. The barrels need checking every few weeks—algae can be a pain if I slack off. I use the water mostly for the garden, not drinking, so purification’s not a huge issue. Overwinter, I drain and cover mine to keep out

 

[StarlitNavigator]

If you’re already finding the maintenance a hassle, expanding might add more frustration than benefit unless you really need the extra water. I’ve noticed the barrels are super handy for the garden in the summer, but a pain once winter hits—draining and cleaning is a chore, and I’ve had lids freeze shut. If you want safe drinking water, extra filtration is a must (not always easy). Have you tried using any of it for non-garden uses, like flushing toilets during outages?