Monthly Archives: November 2015

How-to, Residential Rainwater Collection

Proper Installation is Key for Rainwater Collection System

Chad InstallRainwater collection systems can be a simple as rain barrels or as complicated as whole house potable usage. Still, proper installation is imperative.

Even with the simplest design, like a rain barrel garden system, proper installation is the key to a successful system.

Screening the roof runoff before it enters your storage is essential for water quality. Organic matter entering your storage will decompose and add an odor and possible discoloration of your water. A simple downspout screen upstream of your storage should suffice for small non-potable systems. For household use systems, gutter screening, so debris does not enter downspouts and conveyance lines, achieves best results. This should be followed by prescreening or filtering for smaller particulate, which can be accomplished by a screen basket placed in a sump on top of cistern. All screening requires inspections and cleaning as needed. A vortex filter is a device that replaces a sump or tank screen, which requires less maintenance and cleaning. These devices are available in downspout application, replacing downspout screens, as well as larger vortex filters that are generally installed before cisterns or sump boxes.

Water that is drawn from the cisterns to pressurization, filtration and use is best taken from mid level in the cistern. This can be accomplished with floating suction. Water in the mid water column is the cleanest water in the cistern. Any particulate in the storage tank is either floating on the surface or sinks to the bottom. In addition, if water entering the cistern is aerated and sent out horizontally, it will not disturb the sediment at the bottom of the tank. The aeration of the water will help keep bacteria to lower levels.

Tight line from downspouts to sumps or cisterns should have a drop of 1/16″ per ft. so as to keep standing water in the pipe. The same holds true for gutters. Standing water, if not aerated and free of particulate, can begin to go sour and not only create more bacteria, but can cause an unpleasant odor. Therefore, conveyance lines should be kept away from direct sunlight, have a gentle slope, and kept clean of organic matter. This may cause more work during installation, but is well worth the time and money to do so.

Wisy products, including a vortex filter, calming device, floating suction, and overflow device will keep your water clean and particulate free for storage. Routing your conveyance lines so they are kept from UV light, sloped, with no bends greater than 45 degrees will help water entering your cisterns as clean as can be with the end use being cleaner safe water, whether it is for potable or non potable.

RainBank is a Wisy product distributor. Contact us using the form below to purchase Wisy products.

Environment, Sustainability

Will Museum Become the Place Future Generations Can Experience Rainfall?

They took all the trees
And put them in a tree museum
Then they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see ’em
Don’t it always seem to go,
That you don’t know what you’ve got
‘Til it’s gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
Big Yellow Taxi, Joni Mitchell

lock-143616_640Released in 1970, artist Joni Mitchell hit the nail on the head with this lyric from her song, Big Yellow Taxi, practically predicting the future. A recent NY Times article titled Drought Adds Wrinkle to ‘Rain Room’ Exhibit in California, reports on “Rain Room” an exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which gives visitors the experience of walking through rain without getting wet. Motion sensor cameras pause the water as people walk beneath them, “creating a Moses-parting-the-seas kind of spectacle — the exhibit here is truly novel and timely, a reminder of what is missing in the parched West these days”.

One drought-weary Californian commented on the irony, “The only rain we get is indoors, and it doesn’t hit us, said Ken Bruce, who spread his arms wide as he walked under the high-tech rain ceiling in a mostly fruitless attempt to do what people normally avoid at all costs: get wet. I wouldn’t have minded being hit by some of it”.

Museums typically showcase precious artifacts – often priceless items of historical, scientific, artistic value. Has rain become such a precious commodity that  future generations will only be able to experience it in a museum?

Potable, Rainwater Catchment

Does Rainwater Need Treatment for Drinking?

clear-water-glass_smAlthough it is fairly clean at the outset, when it comes in contact with impure surfaces, rainwater may need some treatment before drinking. A rainwater collection system designed with filtration and disinfection will get the job done.

Harmful bacteria, pathogens, and cysts removal is a must in a potable (drinking) rainwater collection disinfection train. This is typically achieved with a class “A” UV light. Flow rates are calculated to achieve the correct amount of contact time with the UV spectrum for proper disinfection. The correct class of UV for a specific application is required. A class “A” UV must be used for water that is not deemed safe to drink. A class “B” is only used for water that has already been safe to drink.

But there are other considerations for water treatment. The raw water must be relatively free of sediments, turbidity, organics and inorganics before entering the UV chamber. The UV spectrum will not be able to penetrate the water column effectively otherwise. Special consideration of environmental constituents should also be addressed for proper treatment.

Environmental concerns can include location of collection area. Where is the house located? Possible hydrocarbons from a nearby freeway would be a concern. Pesticide use from farming or city landscaping maintenance should be considered. Roof material and manufacturing process could pose a health threat and should be addressed – all of which can be corrected with proper filtration, whether it is accomplished with canister elements or back flush devices.

Rainwater is typically acidic, approximately 5.5 to 6.0 ph; nominal being 7.0 ph. The lower ph levels, while not considered harmful to humans, can have a negative effect on plumbing and fixtures. A more nominal ph level can be achieved with proper treatment.

RainBank Rainwater Systems designs and installs custom treatment systems to meet customers’ specific needs.

This Throwback Thursday post was originally published under the title Considerations for Water Treatment