Continuous growth of population and consequent growing need for drinking water is a global problem. Effective use of rainwater for for toilet flushing, laundry, gardening or washing thus saving about 50% of drink water. Overall, urban drainage presents a classic set of modern environmental challenges: the need for cost-effective and socially acceptable technical improvements in existing systems, the need for assessment of the impact of those systems, and the need to search for sustainable solutions. The paper describes comprehensive rainwater management approaches and contains an overview of the source control techniques as well as practical examples of rainwater use for non-potable purposes. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.