Rainwater Catchment, Residential Rainwater Collection

Seattle Home Saves Money on Water Bills

Four giant cisterns under the front porch collect and store up to 10,000 gallons of rainwater, used as the home’s primary water source. “Water gets purified by a series of filters and UV treatment and is used throughout the house,” says homeowner Andri Kofmehl. “When the tanks run low, the house can be supplied with utility water.” (Steve Ringman/The Seattle Times)

According to an article in The Seattle Times, a West Seattle family “live in Seattle’s second Built Green Emerald Star home, a supremely certified, super-sustainable showcase of so many features…”

The home, constructed by net-zero specialists TC Legend Homes, was built to the organization’s highest standard by TC Legend Homes and was featured on the 2018 Northwest Green Home Tour this past April.

With a design from RainBank Rainwater Systems, the home also features on-site cisterns that can hold 10,000 gallons of rainwater. According to Built Green program manager Leah Missik, “with a net-zero home plus a 70 percent reduction in water use, you can factor in you’re probably going to get money back from Seattle City Light for electricity, and you will save significantly on your water and sewage bills, and the upfront costs are mitigated.”

Homeowner Veena Prasad says “There’s a sense that going green sounds great, but people feel it’s too expensive or too much work. We need that extra push; sometimes that inspiration helps. When people see someone like us can do this — you don’t have to be a rich, retired executive; it’s something the middle class can aspire to. If we can do our bit to help inspire, we’re happy to do that.”

As we mentioned in our recent blog post titled Net-Zero Home Wins With RainBank Design, sustainable homes don’t necessarily have to cost more, plus can give you a higher return on your investment.

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.