Tapping free flows

Cisterns need not be big, black and ugly, as this American homeowner shows. -- MCT

Harnessing the rain is now mandatory for new homes in some states.

WHEN it pours, out come the pails. On roofs, rainwater gushes down into gutters and pipes that flow into storage tanks. And mothers order their kids to go bathe in the rain. Such scenes were the norm in Malaysia 40 years ago. Of course, everyone was frugal then and it made complete sense to harness water that is perfectly usable, and free.