This post is part of the series How to Build a Simple Rainwater Collection System.
A first-flush diverter helps keep your rainwater harvesting system clean by enabling the removal of dust, other debris, and any fecal matter that collects on your roof and in your gutters between rainfalls, so it is flushed out at the very beginning of the water collection process.
The cleaner your water is as it goes into your system, the cleaner your water will be when you use it. Studies have shown a tremendous drop in fecal bacteria levels when the roof is flushed before water enters the tank. Bacteria also like to live in decaying leaves and other organic matter that collects at the bottom of the tank. A first-flush diverter “washes” the roof, so there is less rubbish on the tank’s bottom.
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Officials at Seattle Public Utilities say they will need to raise rates about 30 percent over the next six years. “Over the past decade, the utility’s rates have gone up 96 percent, while the rate of inflation in the Seattle Tacoma area has risen 25.6 percent.”
RainBank Rainwater Systems has been designing and building rainwater harvesting systems in the greater Puget Sound area for over 10 years and is an 
Ken taught a little history of rainwater collection, some science on the natural cycle of rain and a bit of math so the children could calculate how much rainwater they could collect from their home roofs. Each class will make rain gauges so they can monitor how much rain is available to fill their storage tank that RainBank installed last year for their garden-to-lunch program. “I think the children took away the need for them to conserve our resources and I am confident that they will go home and teach their parents. It was a great bunch of kids and I look forward to doing more of this”, adds Ken.