Difference Between Rainwater & Regular Water

Although there are some similarities between rainwater and tap water, there are also many differences substantial to an individual's health. Rain water is very pure due to the production cycle it goes through while tap water collects contaminants due to the many substances the environment produces at ground level.

Rain Water

• Rainwater is a constant renewable resource to Earth because of its continuous production cycle. Once the water vapor leaves oceans, lakes, forests, fields, plants and animals, the cycle begins. After the water leaves those places, it becomes condensed and continues onto the next cycle of precipitation. After it becomes precipitation, it replenishes the places from where the water originated. Approximately 70 percent of the United States' annual precipitation eventually returns to the atmosphere from masses of water or through the Earth's vegetation. The remaining 30 percent of the precipitation makes its way to streams, lakes or an ocean, along with joining rain runoff and natural ground water reservoirs.

Rainwater Resource

• A good portion of rainwater ends up in the ground filters, which can be found in subsurface water-bearing rocks that act as aquifers to carry the water into lakes, streams and rivers. The precipitation that enters the streams adds about 1,200 billion gallons of water a day to the United States' stream flows. Homes, farms and factories use,approximately 400 billion gallons of that water a day.

Tap Water Origins

• Although the drinking water individuals consume comes from a variety of sources, the majority of the water comes from wells. Once the groundwater is pumped, it goes through purification steps to get rid of any contaminants it may have absorbed. Surface water that needs to be purified for drinking purposes goes through a storage process for several days, so suspended matter can be withdrawn from the water due to the increase of oxygen in the air. After the water sits in storage, then goes through purification pipelines to be further treated.

Tap Water Contaminants

• Tap water is different from rainwater due to the many contaminants found in the water supply, such as sewage, bacteria, metals, fertilizers, pesticides, gasoline, oil and prescription drugs due to these items having a presence in the environment. If individuals want to get rid of the chemical contaminants found in water, they can purchase a filter system from the store that contains a cartridge with layers of sand and charcoal to get rid of the impurities. The impurities are taken out of the water once it goes through the many layers.