Vibrant rows of red and yellow tulips stretch across a vast field under a clear sky.
Potable, Rainwater Catchment, Rainwater Harvesting Education

Potable Rainwater System in Skagit County


Close-up of a worn, metallic fountain pen nib on a black surface.Skagit County Health and Planning Departments allowed construction of a rainwater collection system as the primary source of water for construction of a new family residence. As many as 5,000 property owners may now have a solution to a wellmoratorium that has been imposed in the river basins because of instream flow rules.

Chris Webb of Herrera Environmental designed the 10,000 gallon potable system to supply the residence with enough water to support a family of four, year round without another water source. Filtration, along with ultra violetdisinfection, will treat the rainwater to a qualitystandard whichsurpasses groundwater and most well water. Water samples will be taken and sent to a lab for testing with results shared with the Skagit County Department of Health.

RainBank will work with Skagit County to help set standards for rooftop collection for potable use, with the hopes that the practice will allow property owners in the affected river basins to have a viable source of clean, safe drinking water and be able to develop their properties. Other counties in the Puget Sound region have recognized rainwater collection as asupplementary source to wells, city water, and community water sources and sole source use in conditions that a traditional source is not available.

RainBank Rainwater Systems, with 15 years experience in designing and construction of sustainable, potable rainwater collection systems iscommitted to educating the public and county officials in thebenefits of rainwatercollection.

Photo Credit: Abhinaba Basufrom Redmond, United States-Skagit Tulip Festival PanoramaUploaded byX-Weinzar

 

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.