Category Archives: Sustainability

Rainwater Catchment, Sustainability

Rainwater for Vehicle Washdown

A five-year old rainwater harvesting system built for the city of Guelph, Ontario, Canada  received an award for saving enough drinking water to fill four Olympic-sized swimming pools – by using captured rain for vehicle washdown.

The Water’s Next national awards program honors the achievements and ideas of individuals and companies that successfully work to change water in Canada.

Award categories include:

Business Leader: Person in the private sector that has demonstrated significant leadership and innovation in the water sector.

Academic Leader: Person in the academic sector that has demonstrated significant leadership, innovation, and scientific excellence in the water sector.

Non-Government Leader: Person in the non-government sector that has demonstrated significant leadership, innovation, and influence in the water sector.

Government (includes municipalities, agencies, watershed authorities, and First Nations government) Person in the public sector that has demonstrated significant leadership, innovation, and influence in the public sector, towards the benefit of Canada’s water resources.

Young Professionals: Individual under the age of 30 working in the water sector who has demonstrated exemplary leadership, innovation, and growth potential.

An additional benefit of using rainwater to clean city buses is that the captured rainwater is softer than groundwater, therefore, less cleaning products are needed, which saves money for the city.

“We rely on a groundwater supply in Guelph, and we need to be smart about how we use water—at home, at work and at our City facilities,” said Emily Stahl, manager of technical services for the City’s Water Services department. “It makes sense to match the water supply provided with the use, and naturally soft rainwater is better for washing buses, and cars at home too.”

Click here to read more about Guelph’s water advocacy award.

RainBank designs and installs systems for potable and non-potable usage, including vehicle washdown, laundry and toilet facilities.

Contact us today to discuss a system for your home or business.

Rainwater Catchment, Sustainability

The Greenest Residence in the Country

Seattle based RainBank Rainwater Systems is a proud participant in the construction of the greenest residence in the country.

Heron Hall, designed by Jason McLennan, included rainwater collection as its sole source of water for his residence.

RainBank Rainwater systems installed a 15,000 gallon Contain Water Tank, along with filtration and ultra violet disinfection for potable household use. Much of the vetting of materials were already part of RainBank’s design theory and were easily appointed for this project.

“Tracy and Jason F. McLennan discovered their front door in a corner at Earthwise Architectural Salvage in Seattle. Before serving as a department-store display, it was hand-carved in Afghanistan. “People were a little shorter then,” says Jason. “I’m 6-2. I had to build a pedestal for it.” Eventually, that pedestal will hold a quote: “All that can save us is a sustained awakening of the human heart.” (Steve Ringman/The Seattle Times)”

RainBank Rainwater Systems is pleased to be part of this worthy educational project.

Click here to read more about the resources used, as published in the Seattle Times.

Sustainability

Underground Containment at USC

In a move toward more sustainable practices, a new village on the campus of University of Southern California (USC) will host an underground rainwater collection and containment system.

According to an article in the Daily Trojan, “Water conservation at the new Village is an important lesson beyond the lecture hall,” said Vishnu Ratnam, an engineering graduate student. “It’s a good example to look at how you can put what you’ve learned to good use.”

The 15 acre property will have six underground wells and will be able to capture 200,000 gallons of water. The system will capture stormwater before it enters the Los Angeles River or the ocean, conserving water and promoting sustainability.

RainBank has designed and installed underground systems, which work particularly well in urban areas where space is at a premium. Click here to read more about a RainBank underground system.