Category Archives: Sustainability

Rainwater Harvesting Education, Sustainability

Standards Set for Stormwater Collection

a-small-waterfall-143194_640 Standards. They are the benchmarks we use to help us make decisions about the food we eat, the cars we purchase, the schools we choose and the water we use.

The American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association (ARCSA) and the American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE) have jointly developed a Stormwater Harvesting Standard, which received American National Standards (ANSI) approval.

This new standard offers direction on how to safely apply stormwater collection for direct end-use applications.

“The American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE) is pleased to announce that ARCSA/ASPE/ANSI 78-2015: Stormwater Harvesting System Design for Direct End-Use Applications was approved as an American National Standard by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) on August 3, 2015”

The standard is set to offer a secure alternate to utility-provided water and to elevate stormwater use to decrease reliance on the aging infrastructure afflicting many municipal water systems.

“Use of the standard will ensure that consumers are not at risk from poor design, installation, maintenance, or illegal work and that the stormwater catchment system will assist in maintaining and enhancing the quality of the environment while assisting compliance with the intent of relevant regulations and government officials.”

Read more about the standard here.

RainBank is proud to be a lifetime member of ARCSA and applauds its ongoing efforts to set and maintain standards for rainwater harvesting.

Infrastructure, Sustainability

Washington State Drought Update

drought responseThe Yakima Valley is experiencing drought conditions not seen since the 1870s.

Water rights that were among the earliest in the Territory of Washington, to be used for irrigation, have been shut off in tributaries of the Yakima River due to extreme drought conditions.

Flows in Cowiche Creek and the Teanaway River are so dire that 129 irrigators with rights conferred as far back as 1873 must stop watering their orchards, hay and alfalfa crops on some 2,153 acres. Read more about the Washington Drought here: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/drought/

Federal Drought Declaration

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated 18 counties in Washington State as natural disaster areas because of the statewide drought.  Farmers in these counties will now be eligible for low interest emergency loans to help defray crop and business losses incurred because of the drought.  Eligible counties are:  Adams, Benton, Columbia, Douglas, Franklin, Garfield, Grant, King, Klickitat, Kittitas, Lewis, Lincoln, Okanogan, Pierce, Skamania, Walla Walla, Whitman and Yakima.

2015 Drought Disaster Updates

This map shows designations due to drought across the country under USDA’s amended rule. Any county declared a primary (red) or contiguous (orange) disaster county makes producers in that county eligible for certain emergency aid. For a text list of counties designated disaster areas, click here.

On May 15th, Governor Inslee declared a statewide drought in Washington, with the legislature allocating $16 million in funds. Some of those funds are to go towards education.

Washington State Department of Ecology recognizes and promotes Rainwater Collection as part of the solution. To read more about how to conserve water, read he article “Water Smart, not Water short” 5 ways to Secure water for Washington’s  Future.

Teanaway River photo courtesy of Department of Ecology

Infrastructure, Sustainability

Going from Gray to Green

graywaterIn one northern California community, an area ravaged by a four year drought, residents are watering their lawns using gray water – water that has been recycled.

The community of El Dorado Hills has one of the oldest water recycling programs in the state – reusing water for any purpose that doesn’t require a potable standard.

‘”All your shower water, all your toilet water, dishwater, everything that goes down your sinks, comes to this facility and we clean it up,” El Dorado Wastewater Treatment Plant Supervisor of Operations Alan Planje said.

A bonus is that customers save about 35% on their water bills. But another extremely important benefit comes from the fact that the community saves 4.5 million gallons of drinking water per day, by not wasting it on watering lawns.

“It is part of the culture, when homes are built in El Dorado Hills, they come with plumbing for recycled water,” El Dorado Irrigation District Manger of Wastewater/Recycled Water Margaret Washko said.

Dual plumbing systems are built into each home in the community, one for potable water and a purple pipe system for the gray water to water lawns and even the golf course.

To read and hear more about this story, visit http://www.news10.net/story/news/local/eldorado-hills/2015/07/15/el-dorado-hills-keeps-green-lawns-with-gray-water/30165413/

Photo credit: El Dorado Irrigation District