Tag Archives: infrastructure

Rainwater Catchment, Sustainability, Water Tanks

Stormwater Best Practices at StormCon

Come join RainBank Rainwater Systems and Contain Water Systems Inc. at the 16h Annual StormCon 2017,  from August 27- 31 at the beautiful Hyatt Regency in Bellevue, Washington.

StormCon is the largest stormwater trade show in the world. Meet leading experts in stormwater pollution prevention, low impact development, best practices, and management.

The StormCon conference and exposition brings together professionals from around the world to report, analyze, and understand the movement and condition of surface water.

CONTAIN Water Systems Inc. is the manufacturer of corrugated steel liquid storage tanks primarily used for the storage of water. Contain Water Systems Inc. water series tanks and accessories come with a 20 year warranty, the longest in the industry, backed by a team of certified installers around the country ready to provide a top notch installation service for your project site.

Look for the Contain Water Systems Inc. / RainBank booth on the trade show floor. We look forward to meeting you.

Contact us if you have questions about steel tanks and stormwater collection.

Environment, Infrastructure

Water Stress in the US

drops-of-water-627277_640You might not expect it can happen here in the US, but water stress is heading this way.

Water stress is defined as meaning either the demand for water exceeds its availability or poor quality restricts its use. We know that Flint, MI may have sufficient water supply, but if folks aren’t able to drink it, a water stress (and financial stress) situation exists.

As reported by MSN, “When stress occurs, according to the European Environmental Agency, the deterioration of freshwater resources soon follows and this can lead to illness. For example, a quarter of the globe’s population lacks the necessary resources to access anything more than a feces-contaminated source for their drinking water, risking diarrhea, cholera, polio, and other diseases.”

As we’ve previously written, decentralized water systems may be the best way to protect your family and business from water stress, which according to reports, will hit many areas of the United States within the next 20 years – if we don’t change the way we design and build public water systems.

Will Decentralized Water Systems Flow in the Wake of Flint Crisis? (originally published on 3/10/2016 at RainBank.info)

Matt Grocoff, a writer, speaker and recognized leader in net zero energy and living buildings asks: “What if there is a better way for Flint and other cities to harvest and deliver life-enhancing water?

We’ve talked about why decentralized water systems are important to our public safety and why rainwater collection is a simple source for decentralized water, and how it can be the answer to our aging, centralized water systems. With expected increased demand from high density development and the high cost of upgrading infrastructure to meet those demands, water is becoming a commodity.

In his February 15th post for Michigan Radio, Can Flint crisis inspire better water systems for all of us?, Grocoff goes on to say, “There is no doubt that Flint’s water crisis is an unqualified failure of democracy, but it is also a century-old failure of design and systems thinking.”

With a progressive train of thought, he asks, instead of replacing all of the pipes, how about building a better system? This practical approach has some of us scratching our heads because it makes perfect sense.

As science and technology evolve, we should adapt new practices for designing and building public water systems – for the sake of our health, longevity, sustainability and affordability.

Don’t be caught high and dry when water stress arrives in your community. Learn more about rainwater collection and how you can either replace or supplement your dependence on well or city water supply. Of course, we encourage you to follow this blog (click the box below to subscribe to notifications), or visit the American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association (ARCSA.org) for free and timely information about rainwater harvesting.

Infrastructure, Sustainability

Climate Change and Water Scarcity

ball-1055956_640At the Paris World Climate Summit held in December 2015, participants overwhelmingly agreed to work on a legally binding agreement to reduce carbon output as soon as possible. While currently non-binding, there is commitment to “do their best to reduce their carbon output”.  Global warming is expected to account for approximately 20% increase in water scarcity this century.

According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), “Climate change will have significant impact on the sustainability of water supplies in the coming decades.”

The Federal Clean Water Needs Survey identified over $100 billion in needed infrastructure in the next 20 years to address stormwater and sewage overflows.

The NRDC goes on to explain that capturing rainwater from rooftops is an effective water resource management strategy that increases supply and reduces pollution.

The unnecessary use of potable water for non-potable uses, such as outdoor landscape irrigation and indoor toilet flushing, climate change and continually increasing areas of impervious surfaces in our landscape, results in stormwater runoff carrying pollution to our rivers, lakes, and beaches. Although the problems of water supply and water pollution can be complex, practical solutions for both are available now, such as capturing and using rainwater from rooftops.

Rooftop rainwater capture is a simple, cost-effective approach for supplying water that promotes sustainable water management. Reusing rainwater, rather than allowing it to run off of paved surfaces to pick up pollutants and carry them to nearby surface waters, is a practice which provides numerous benefits:

  • Inexpensive, on-site supply of water that can be used for outdoor non-potable uses with little, if any, treatment, or for a variety of additional uses including potable supply with appropriately higher levels of treatment
  • Reduced (or no) energy and economic costs associated with treating and delivering potable water to end users because capture systems often use low-volume, non-pressurized, gravity fed systems or require only the use of a low power pump for supply
  • Reduced strain on existing water supply sources
  • Reduced runoff that would otherwise contribute to stormwater flows, a leading cause of surface water pollution and urban flooding.

Seattle has adopted “Rooftops to Rivers” strategies for controlling storm water and combined sewer overflows. Updated code and regulations can be found here.