While some of these systems are very progressive and forward-thinking, some of these rainwater harvesting methods are not practical. I work everyday to bring innovation to the business of rainwater collection through my company, Innovative Water Solutions, but we also have to make sure these systems are efficient and cost-effective, especially since water is relatively cheap (in comparison with energy costs).

The Slow Water design shows an inverted parasol to collect rainwater into a dual purpose lawn chair. Well, if the actual parasol is only about 40 square feet, you would only collect 24 gallons of water per inch of rainfall. The system is shown in front of a house. If traditional collection methods were used to collect rainwater from the roof, the actual collection could be 10 to 100 times more per inch of rainfall.

Again, while I love and appreciate innovation, we have to be sensible and make sure payback periods are acceptable so that people will want to implement these green building techniques.