Tag Archives: drought

Residential Rainwater Collection

How Can Urban Homes Benefit From Rainwater Collection?

RBRWC9241510Just like rural homeowners, urban households can benefit from rainwater collection. Unlike rural homes, most city homes have less space available for storage. Slim line water tanks and underground storage options allow those who live in an urban environment to collect, store, and use rainwater for a number of purposes.

You do not need a lot of capacity of storage for supplemental use of rainwater. For every inch of rainfall, a thousand square feet of surface will yield 623 gallons of water. A 2,000 square foot roof in Seattle will yield over 44,000 gallons of water annually. Even with only 3,000 gallons of storage, winter use can be as much as 100% or can be stored for summer irrigation demands. See chart below  – an average 2,000 square foot roof yields over 44, 000 gallons with only 3,000 gallons of storage capacity based on 120 gallons of daily demand.  (click the image for larger view)

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Rainwater is a clean source of water that needs very little treatment for irrigation, toilet flushing, or laundry facilities. Further treatment with UV disinfection allows for whole house demands including drinking water. With more demands on our water districts due to drought conditions, every drop helps. Why not benefit from this natural resource, rather than send it down the curbside drain?

Environment, Rainwater Catchment

Welcome to Washington’s Rainy Season

Seattle Downtown After RainOctober 1 is the official start of the rainy season in Washington State and even though annual rainfall met expectations, another dry, warm winter is predicted for the region. This means that the snowpack – the summer rain bank (see what I did there?) will be missing in action for another year.

According to the Department of Ecology’s drought page, “despite recent rains and some boost for stream flows, extreme drought still covers two-thirds of Washington state.”

Now would be a good time to come up with a personal drought contingency plan, since Mother Nature isn’t going to provide relief any time soon. Washington state’s drought plan, released in 1992, refers to fish and timber harvesting, but makes no mention of rain harvesting.

When planning a rainwater collection system, you must account for the amount and intensity of the average rainfall in your area. That information is usually available at the county level, but can also be captured via National Oceanographic and Atmospheric, Administration (NOAA) and the National Climatic Data Center.

For a small system, you can head to your local hardware store, purchase a rain barrel, hook it up and, at the very least, can collect water for your garden.

For a whole house, or commercial system, work with a pro that knows how to design and install the most thoughtful system, which is customized to your specific needs. Ask questions; provide information about your roof size and materials, family size, whether you want to capture water for drinking, irrigation or laundry, etc.

When you work with an accredited professional rainwater harvesting installer and designer, the outcome will be a system to meet your water needs for years to come – and it will add value to your home or business.

Infrastructure, Residential Rainwater Collection

Can Structures be Spared from Wildfires?

The summer of 2015 was one of the costliest and deadliest for the U.S. Forest Service. Spending around $200 million per week, the service battled drought-driven wildfires across the country during this time. According to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Oregon and Washington were among the hardest hit states, with hundreds of thousands of acres burned, human and animal lives lost, homes and businesses decimated.

Here is a reminder about how steel tanks might mitigate loss in a wildfire situation:

wildfire-568617_640Fire is a frightening concept, but an unfortunate reality.

In rural areas, away from municipal resources, a water tank used strictly for fire suppression may be the only way to protect your family, farm, house, or business.

An exterior wildfire suppression system includes an array of sprinklers supplied by a water source. If there is no natural water source, a water storage tank designated as the source of water supply can make the difference in protection. Sprinklers attached to the roof and around the perimeter of the building are meant to saturate and create humidity. The idea is to soak the property’s vegetation and roof of the home.

The amount of time a system will run depends on amount of water available. A system with 30,000 gallons of storage can prodsteel tanksuce 30 gallons a minute for 16.6 hrs. If used with a wetting agent, the solution will stay intact for a longer period. Having a source of water designated for fire protection can be an investment that could save your home.

RainBank Rainwater Systems has been installing corrugated steel water tanks for over 15 years and recognizes the benefit of onsite water storage for wildfire protection. The National Fire Protection Association provides codes and standards for fire protection that are available for free for online viewing.

Through its Fire Adapted Communities Program, the NFPA offers information and specific actions you can take, to lower your risk in the event of a wildfire. Take a look to learn about how you can protect your home and your community from the devastation of wildfires.

This is a throwback Thursday post from RainBank, originally published on August 24, 2015  under the title Protect Your Home and Business from Wildfires