All posts by Ken Blair

A rainwater collection systems designer and consultant, Ken has designed and installed residential and commercial systems, primarily in the northwest United States for more than 10 years and, in 2014, began consulting and managing builds in other states. Ken is an accredited ARCSA Professional Designer / Installer and Life Member, the Northwest Regional ARCSA representative and advisor to its education committee and is available to speak about Rainwater Collection Systems design and builds. Ken is a United States Navy veteran, having served on active duty during the Vietnam War era. A career entrepreneur, Ken created a new business focus with a commercial dive company in Hawaii in the mid 1980′s to respond to and clean up oil spills, oil spill equipment training, service and maintenance for the oil co-op service industry. Ken is passionate about having a positive impact on the environment and is also a founding director of BANK-ON-RAIN (2011-2014), whose mission is to create grassroots solutions for rainwater collection for consumption and agriculture in developing areas of the planet.

Can Rainwater Provide Clean, Safe Drinking Water?

Can Rainwater Provide Clean, Safe Drinking Water?Here in the Seattle area we are fortunate to have enough rainfall to sustain a rainwater collection system year-round. Whether a rainwater catchment system is designed to supplement city water usage, or a larger system designed at the sole source of water for your home, a rainwater collection system will save money on water bills and provide good clean drinking water for your home.

Do you know that with 36 inches of annual rainfall a year, an average home with 2,000 sq ft of roof can produce over 44,000 gallons of water?

In rural areas of the Pacific Northwest, where there is enough room for larger amounts of storage, rainwater storage of 10,000 gallons or more can be constructed to get a household through the summer months.

Can Rainwater Provide Clean, Safe Drinking Water?In urban areas, or within Seattle city limits where space is more of an issue, smaller volumes of storage can be used with buried water tanks or slim line design water storage tanks. As little as 3,000 gallons of storage can supplement a house as much as 70 to 80%.

With more concerns of water quality from our municipal water supplies, rainwater can provide clean, safe drinking water for your family. Rainwater, unlike surface water is relatively free of contaminants to start with. With proper storage, filtration, and treatment, clean, safe drinking water  can be achieved for your household for years to come at a cost that is affordable.

RainBank Rainwater Catchment Systems has been providing designs and installation of sustainable water systems for more than 10 years in Washington State and is now designing and installing systems in the Seattle area.

“Drop On Leaf” courtesy of winnond / www.freedigitalphotos.net

Rainwater Collection for Commercial Use is Catching On in Seattle

Kirkland Public Safety progressRainBank Rainwater Catchment Systems is currently building two 5300 gallon water storage tanks for Kirkland Public Safety building. The collected water will be used for irrigation for the newly remodeled building.

Kirkland Public Safety progress

 

 

Rainwater collection for commercial use is catching on in Seattle!

Stay tuned – RainBank has many more commercial rainwater harvesting projects on track for this summer in the Seattle area.

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What is the Best Storage Tank for my Rainwater Catchment System?

What is the Best Storage Tank for my Rainwater Catchment SystemThis is Part 4 in the series “How to Build a Rainwater Collection System”.  Click to see parts one, two and three

What is the best storage tank for my rainwater catchment system?

Rainwater from your roof needs to be stored for future use and there are many types and manufacturers of water storage tanks. Above ground plastic tanks are a economical way to store rainwater. Most potable plastic water tanks are made from Polyethylene and it is recommended that they be “tumble molted”.

What is the Best Storage Tank for my Rainwater Catchment System2Sizes vary from a simple 50 gallon rain barrel all the way up to 10,000 gallons. All should have a UV protection warranty for at least 8 years. Dark colors are recommended to alleviate light penetration which can cause algae growth. Multiple tanks can be manifolded together to achieve the volume of storage needed. Keep in mind that plumbing should be under ground for frost protection.

There are vertical cylinder plastic water tanks if you have a large area for storage. Slim line design plastic water tanks are best suited for urban settings where space is an issue. There are box type plastic water tanks for storage under decks.

All rainwater storage tanks should be NSF approved for drinking water, should you decide to go potable now or in the future. There is a tank that will fit every application.

In the next installment of this series, we will discuss steel tanks with poly liners.