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.
Water Tanks

Steel Water Tank Bid Requests

Seattle based RainBank Rainwater Systems, a Contain Water Systems Inc. distributor, is actively seeking bid requests for steel water tank sales and construction throughout the western region. Competitive pricing, 20 year warranty, and 15 years of experience make RainBank/Contain a smart choice for General Contractors whether for rainwater collection or fire suppression. 

Contain Water Systems steel water storage tanks are ideal for any water storage applications where the intent is to store water for commercial or residential use. Structural and seismic engineering and full installation are available in Seattle and throughout the United States. Tank packages are delivered to your site where an experienced RainBank Rainwater Systems team will assemble, test, and certify that the tank has been built to Contain Water Systems’ quality standards. As a Contain Water Systems distributor, there is no middle man, which boosts affordability.

We install what we sell, NO subcontractors with inexperienced installers. We stand behind our product and installation with an unmatched 20 year warranty. Safety is always a priority with RainBank Rainwater Systems and Contain Water Systems has met that challenge with the only ground level, through the liner access panel, eliminating confined spaced entry during construction and maintenance or inspections. Contain Water Systems tanks & accessories are designed and engineered for all water storage needs including rainwater collection, stormwater management, fire protection, irrigation, agriculture, and mining. 

Click here for a link that carries specification, sizes, and more information on Contain Water tanks.

Environment, Rainwater Harvesting Education

California Water Conservation Advised

While the California drought may have significantly improved with recent heavy rain and snowfall, it would be a stretch to declare it over. A series of Pacific rain filled storms have increased the storage in reservoirs, lakes and snowpack, but the need for continued conservation is still advised. Large, infrequent rain events do little for long term supply demands. A good deal of the event simply equates to stormwater with little effect on the aquifers. According to Richard Tinker with NOAA Climate Center, “Groundwater levels have not responded as one might expect and remain critically low… water supply is dependent on groundwater.”  Without replenishment from more frequent rainfall, reservoir levels will once again decrease. By lessening the demand from public water supplies, recoveries can retain their water for longer periods or until the next large rainstorm.

California has embraced rainwater collection since early February 2013. As of September 2016, Governor Jerry Brown signed several new bills into law that impact California water supplies, including cutting down on excessive water use and making the most of stormwater. Now is the time for California to implement additional legislation allowing expansion of rainwater collection with incentive programs and rebates. With increasing population and its increased demands on water supplies, Californians will witness water shortages again.  Richard Santos, director of Santa Clara Valley Water District sums up the need of conservation as “Water conservation is a way of life. It’s not going to change. We’re an arid region for the rest of our lives. History will repeat itself. Like all good people, we put money in the bank for those rainy days that don’t come.”

The American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association (ARCSA) has a growing presence in California with scheduled Rainwater Catchment Workshops. According to ARCSA, “With the ongoing water crisis in California, this workshop will focus on the central and southern California coast and inland communities. Residents of California are encouraged to attend to learn to capture stormwater, and rainwater while creating additional “reservoirs” to store water for future beneficial uses. You can’t use it if you don’t store it!”

Photo Credit: SF Gate – Photo: Top, Frances Low/DWR. Bottom, Walt Warneke

Environment, Rainwater Catchment

Rainwater Collection Meets Seattle Code & Saves Money

The new Seattle 2016 Stormwater and Drainage code is prompting many architects to include detention/infiltration systems into their residential designs to mitigate unwanted roof runoff. This typically incorporates roof runoff to be collected temporarily, in above ground storage, to be slowly released into an infiltration system on site. This can be a series of infiltration ditches or some type of rain garden. During the dry season, the stored water can be used for irrigation. However, a problem with this theory is that storage for this type of system is usually inadequate in volume to accommodate much irrigation during the dry periods. Rule of thumb for irrigation requirements are .623 gallons per square foot of planting area per week, or 1″ of rainfall for the healthy growth of plants. This can add up rather quickly; 1,000 square feet of planting requires 623 gallons per week, 2,500 gallons for 1 month or 7,500 gallons for the typical 3 month dry season.

The outcome of this is that a good deal of money is spent to get rid of a good resource with little benefit –  other than compliance with the code. Cisterns and infiltration designs, engineering and implementation can be costly.

RainBank Rainwater Systems takes a more holistic approach to the stormwater code by using rainwater collection for domestic use. With a smaller amount of storage, rainwater can be collected and used for toilet flushing and laundry facility. Almost half of residential water consumption is for these two purposes. That’s right — 48%, per the American Water Works Association. During the rainy season, demand is met by a continued source replenishing the storage. During the dry season, the storage provides enough water to meet these demands. The cost of this type of system is comparable to the coasts of a detention/infiltration system, while reducing your water bill as much as 48% annually.

Rainwater system storage can be underground, where detention tanks cannot. The visual impact and space requirements are reduced, costs are reduced with a return on investment, environmental impacts are reduced, and conservation of city water is enhanced.

RainBank Rainwater Systems will work with your architect, drainage engineer, and contractor to meet the challenge of drainage requirements for your new residential construction. Our designs and installs have been helping meet these challenges for more than 15 years throughout Washington State. RainBank’s team has the experience to turn the requirement of drainage codes into an asset for the customer and the environment.

Contact us now to turn a potentially costly requirement into a win for your project and for the environment.