Monthly Archives: May 2015

Infrastructure, Rainwater Catchment

Duke Energy Pleads Guilty to Violating Clean Water Act

(AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)In a North Carolina courtroom, Thursday, Duke Energy, the country’s largest electricity provider, plead guilty to 9 criminal violations of the federal Clean Water Act.

According ABC News, “as part of a negotiated settlement with federal prosecutors, Duke agreed to pay $68 million in fines and $34 million on environmental projects and land conservation that will benefit rivers and wetlands in North Carolina and Virginia.”

Prior to the settlement, Duke spokeswoman Erin Culbert told The Associated Press that any homeowner who gets a state letter warning of a tainted well will get safe bottled water from Duke, if they request it. While denying responsibly for the problem, Culbert said Duke simply wants to provide the homeowners “peace of mind.”

RainBank has questioned the safety of our water supplies with the news about Toledo’s water supply affected by a toxic algae bloom – disturbing over one half million customers, and a coal spill in the West Virginia River that contaminated drinking water. The Keystone XL pipeline poses a potential threat of contamination to the Ogallala Aquifer in Nebraska. Additionally, it’s being discovered that wells are being contaminated with fracking chemicals.

We can see contamination events are happening more often, which affect our safe water supplies – and provide another good reason to support decentralized water and rainwater collection.

How-to, Rainwater Catchment, Residential Rainwater Collection

4 Step Rainwater Harvesting Systems

construction-370588_640RainBank Rainwater Systems is proud to announce that, beginning June 1st, we will be a dealer of WISY Products and the 4 step system.  A rainwater system designed with WISY products requires minimal maintenance and never needs replacing.

Step 1. WISY VORTEX FILTER

Before entering the tank for storage, rainwater should be both filtered and aerated.  Filtration removes large particulate matter, which frequently both carries and feeds bacteria.  Removal of this particulate matter, along with oxygenation of the water, greatly reduces the amount of harmful bacteria in the tank.  WISY pre-tank filters accomplish both of these tasks, protecting the water quality in the tank.

Step 2. WISY SMOOTHING INLET

While filtration removes most of the sediment and bacteria before rainwater enters the tank, a small quantity will settle at the bottom of the tank.  This biofilm layer is beneficial for the tank and may remove additional bacteria and metals from the water.  The WISY smoothing inlet calms rainwater as it enters the storage tank to prevent the agitation of sediment at the rainwater inlet.  The smoothing inlet also helps aerate harvested rainwater by directing water upward and outward, avoiding disruption of the beneficial biofilm layer and preserving water quality in the tank.

Step 3. WISY FLOATING FILTER

Since all harvested rainwater is filtered before entering the tank, the floating filter should never clog but will instead take water from just below the surface.  Water at this depth is of the highest quality in the tank, because any particulate that enters the tank either floats on the surface or settles to the bottom.  In RainBank designed systems, the floating filter acts more as an uptake point for the pump than a filter; thus, the floating filter should never require maintenance.

The floating filter consists of a polyethylene ball and stainless steel filter and is supplied with a standard 7 foot length of food-grade suction hose.  The nozzle connections are available in 1 1/4″ and 2″ sizes.

Step 4. WISY OVERFLOW DEVICE

To prevent backup in the system during heavy rains, the storage tank should always include an overflow protection device.  The WISY overflow device has a flapper valve, which allows water to overflow but protects water quality in the cistern with backflow prevention and vermin protection.  The overflow device also contains an angled opening to provide skimming of small buoyant debris, such as pollen, on the water surface.

Be sure to visit us again as we roll out our products and services associated to the 4 Step System. If you have questions, leave them in the comments section below, or contact us.

Infrastructure

What is Your Water Consumption Footprint?

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The average American has a water consumption footprint of 2,220 gallons per day. What’s yours?

By now, most of us are aware that California is in the midst of a marathon drought. While you may live in an area with an abundant amount of water, we must realize that it is a valuable resource, one that we cannot live without and, evidenced by the drought in California, it is a limited resource.

A recent article in Grist compares the lack of water use consumption reduction in California to the stages of grief. While Californians have been directed by the Governor to reduce water use by 25%, the real numbers only add up to an 8.6 reduction statewide, potentially triggering Stage 2 – Anger.

The point this writer found interesting was that there is a difference between telling folks to conserve and reduce water consumption, than SHOWING them how.

A good place to begin learning how to conserve water is to know how much water you and your family or business consumes daily, weekly, monthly and annually. It’s not a matter of knowing how much water flows from your faucets or goes down the drain when you do laundry. It’s about the food you eat (do you eat meat, or are you vegetarian or vegan?), the appliances you use (low flow faucets and toilets) and whether you take baths or showers.

CityLab offers a calculator which “reminds us that every bite of food, every mile we drive, and every light switch we flip relies on the wet stuff.”

Many of us underestimate how much water we actually use day-to-day, and year-to-year. A good deal of this underestimation stems from our neglect to account for water used to process our food and send electricity to our homes. Take a few minutes to see what your water footprint looks like and learn ways you can help conserve this vital, limited resource. You can choose to share your results with friends on Facebook, Twitter or by email.

We encourage you to answer the survey questions and share your results with us in the comments section below. Also share with your friends; it might encourage them to take the survey, too.