• Home
  • How To Calculate Rainwater Catchment and Volume

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Sizing a Catchment Area:

The size of the catchment area or roof will determine how much rainwater you can harvest. The area is based on the "footprint" of the roof, which can be calculated by finding the area of the building and adding the area of the roofs overhang.

The collection efficiency of a roof is based on factors such as evaporation loss from prevailing winds, tree cover, type of roofing, etc. A well designed rainwater harvesting system can capture 75-85% of total rainfall.

Catchment Area (sq.ft) X Rainfall Depth (in.) X 0.623 (Conversion Factor) = Harvested Water (Gal)

See how much it has rained in Victoria BC here: Victoria Weather
See how much it has rained in Courtenay BC here: Courtenay Weather

Learn more about Rainwater Harvesting here:
What is Rainwater Harvesting?