The social pressure to engage in recycling as a livestock farmer is increasing. There are many different ways to contribute to this. Water reuse is one of them. Besides traditional water sources, rainwater is also being experimented with as a water source. However, you cannot simply switch to rainwater.

Rainwater as an alternative to drinking water

Livestock farmers need to ensure that their animals have enough drinking water, but these water sources often come at a cost. And when you use groundwater, it remains to be seen whether there is enough drinking water available for your animals in dry summers. With reuse in mind, rainwater as an alternative to drinking water for poultry is being scrutinised by Life Aclima. This is an EU project and is being carried out in Belgium. While there are possibilities, it also raises some questions about safe use. Rainwater costs nothing, but to make good drinking water from it does bring some challenges.

Collection and storage as clean as possible

Life Aclima named that it is important to collect and store water as clean as possible. Think of well-maintained gutters and a storage area that is cleaned regularly. By establishing this storage area underground, this ensures that the water stays cool. This will slow down the growth of bacteria, which has a positive effect on the germ count in the water. Besides rainwater harvesting and storage, clean and safe drinking water requires more than just these precautions. 

Effective treatment on rainwater

Before rainwater can actually be used as drinking water, it needs to be treated properly. Note that rainwater comes from the sky for free, but the steps to turn it into drinking water come at a cost. Rainwater can come into contact with droppings from wild birds, as well as dust from the barn and surrounding area. It is unknown what disease-causing agents are in the water, so treatment of the water is recommended. For severe contamination, another pre-treatment is recommended first, followed by filtration to remove floating contaminants from the water. Finally, you can use a disinfectant. Traditional agents such as hydrogen peroxide or ozone are still often used, but these are harmful to the environment and can cause health problems. It is therefore better to choose a sustainable alternative.

Sustainable water source, sustainable disinfection

Watter offers a sustainable disinfection solution for this rainwater. By using a saltwater solution that is electrolysed, a sustainable disinfectant is formed. This agent, with HOCl as the active ingredient, is effective against bacteria, fungi, yeasts and viruses. Our disinfectant is safe for humans, animals and the environment. An additional advantage is that you can generate our disinfectant on-site (in-situ) with our Watter system. This way, you are no longer dependent on your current supplier, you save on transport costs, have less plastic waste and save on lugging and storing jerry cans and drums of harmful chemicals.