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.
Infrastructure

Lead in Seattle Water

Seattle Public Utilities asked residents to run their water for two minutes before drinking over concerns of lead exposure.

SPU is testing water that MAY have their supply line connection to the house service line using gooseneck fitting. As of Friday, SPU estimates 2,000 older homes may have this gooseneck fitting, with Tacoma estimated at 1,700. Both Utilities have been testing and mapping throughout the weekend.

It shows a "gooseneck" lead fitting that connected galvanized steel pipe to the main water line in older homes.
It shows a “gooseneck” lead fitting that connected galvanized steel pipe to the main water line in older homes.

This gooseneck lead fitting is the sort connecting water mains to pipes leading into older homes. In Seattle, it’s typically in homes built before 1930, and only some of those. (Chris Gleason/Tacoma Public Utilities)

According to SPU, “Seattle drinking water sources do not contain lead. However, lead can leach into water from plumbing and materials built with lead-based solder, brass fixtures, or some types of zinc coatings used on galvanized pipes and fittings.”

NSF/ANSI 372 has an updated definition of the “no lead” ruling allowing a weighted average of 0.25 % lead in fittings, pipe, and solder – a far cry from 8.0% in the past. Galvanized pipe and plumbing has not been used for potable water supplies for decades. However, copper plumbing and its solder was not held to the above standards until January 2014. Copper plumbing or brass fittings used before this standard may cause an elevated level of contamination above the allowed EPA drinking water standards for lead. You can have your water tested for levels from a certified lab in your area; a list of certified labs can be obtained by the Department of Ecology.

RainBank’s’ post Is Decentralized Water and Sewer Systems the Answer to Puget Sound Region’s Infrastructure, dated July 2014, talks about the effects of this growth, demand and aging infrastructure and how it will impact our water and sewer systems economically.

As time will tell, more concerns will arise with our centralized water system. Costs to upgrade, renovate and repair will be high. Rainwater collection as a source of domestic water will become more mainstream – as already seen in Seattle and other cities throughout the US in the past few years. Proper filtration and plumbing techniques can be implemented for the homeowner to protect a household from lead leaching because older materials were used in the past. RainBank Rainwater Systems designs these systems for both those who wish to collect rainwater for domestic use and those who remain dependent on city water supplies.

Environment, Rainwater Catchment

Can Seattle Area Residents Opt Out of City Water?

gift-505591_640Saving money and helping the environment are two good reasons why many Seattle residents choose to opt out of city water usage. Whether the application is for potable (drinking) or non potable use, like irrigation, supplementary tanks with even a small amount of storage can help drop water bills by as much as 80%.

Collect 624 gallons of water from 1 inch of rain with only 1,000 sq ft of roof area.

That’s water that you can use for irrigation, toilet flushing, laundry, or even whole house potable (drinking) use. That’s right! 624 gallons. If you have a 1,500 square foot roof area in the Seattle area, this equates to 33,642 gallons of available water. Water that you don’t need to pay for. You can save money on your water, and sewage bill and, over time, pay for your system with that savings. Depending on the application of the captured rainwater, you can supplement your usage through a simple collection system for irrigation or by plumbing in your toilets and laundry facilities. Or, if you choose to have a whole house system designed and installed by a professional, you can eliminate your municipal water usage altogether and have city water as only a back up supply.

Water quality of collected rainwater after filtration and UV disinfection is above that of a municipal water supply, as long as the system is designed, installed and maintained properly. Annual costs of maintenance is much less than your current water bill and is easy to do. Periodic cleaning of your gutters and screening devices along with filter changes a few times a year and replacement of the UV bulb once a year is all there is to it.

A decentralized private water system eliminates the possible threats to your drinking water from environmental concerns, water advisories, price increases, additives such as chlorine and fluorides and possible rationing, such as in California. You are in control of the quality of your water and its use.

Not a new concept, in the past few years, rainwater collection has become wildly popular as a safe source of water for households and businesses in Washington State. As with any industry, know your pro. An ARCSA accredited professional and ARCSA’s NW Regional Representative, RainBank’s Ken Blair has been designing and installing systems for 15 years. The team at RainBank is bolstered by an on staff engineer and plumber. When planning your system, consider RainBank Rainwater Systems to be your one-stop choice for design, water tank and component sales, installation and consultation.

This article was originally published under the title Rainwater Harvesting Lets Seattle Area Residents Opt Out of City Water at RainBank.info

Rainwater Catchment, Residential Rainwater Collection

Seattle Solution: Buried Water Tanks

Buried water storage tanks 3RainBank Rainwater Systems designed and installed a potable rainwater collection system for a remodel in Seattle City limits. The customer wanted to supplement city water usage with “as much storage as possible”, but had very limited space and aesthetics were a main concern. The solution came with two 5,000 gallon buried water tanks in the middle of a very small backyard.

Buried tanksAlways appreciating a challenge, RainBank dug right in with its awesome excavator, Shane, who managed to export over 120 square yards of soil off site, set the dead men anchors, and nestle the two fiberglass tanks in place with the touch of a feather. The buried tanks were strapped to the dead men (anchoring) and connected together with a 4″ crossover valve. He then backfilled 80% with 5/8″ drain rock while Chad, RainBank’s engineer, took careful deflection readings to be sure the fiberglass tanks were not being distorted during the process.

20150720_145650-2Our plumber, Tracy did a great job of use of space on this project. Using 4’x 20′ canisters with sediment, carbon, and 1 micron sediment for cyst removal, followed by a class “A” UV, the filtration train provides potable whole house demand. The system was designed to be easily maintained so the homeowner can be his own purveyor of clean, safe, reliable water. With the amount of collection area, annual rainfall and frequency, this two person occupancy should be able to meet 100% of its household use, but also have city water as a backup, just in case.

Many thanks to our customer for sending us this email note. “A big thank you to you for giving us our water system.  We are enjoying our “free” water immensely.”