Tag Archives: irrigation

Rainwater Catchment, Rainwater Harvesting Education

It’s Time to Get Serious About How We Choose to Use Water

Watering-76e7f031364af9f0a9a0e8545ae150d3The lingering and controversial California drought has unearthed some interesting views about how we prioritize how we use water. What if there was a way to conserve drinking water and STILL have enough to water our drought thirsty lawns or wash laundry – or to clean  trucks in a commercial facility?

The time has come to get serious about how we choose to use water!

Do you know that only one inch of rain can supply thousands of gallons of water for non-drinking uses?  Think in terms of lawn watering, toilet facilities and laundry for commercial and residential applications. The time has come to get serious about how we choose to use water; the reality is (especially in California) that there may not be enough for drinking one day – and sooner than you might think.

The Los Angeles Department of Water & Power has released a video that quickly points out the benefits to capturing rain water for use in irrigation.  Take a look at the video below and consider adding rainwater collection to your next residential or commercial project.

Rainwater Catchment

University Adds Rainwater Collection System for Irrigation

Environmental_science_rainwater_harvesting_event_poster_0315 (1)St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Tx has added a rainwater collection system to its campus to assist with irrigation.

A 5,050-gallon tank will collect some of approximately 240,000 gallons of rain that fall onto that area of the campus annually.  Using a small pump, the collected rainwater will be used for landscaping irrigation in that section.

An idea fueled by students, the project was pitched to  the administration.  It is the first of its kind on campus, and will become the centerpiece of St. Mary’s sustainability efforts. Similar systems could be considered elsewhere on campus.

To read more, please visit the university’s website.

 

Commercial Rainwater Harvesting, Rainwater Catchment

Water Conservation Through Rainwater Collection

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Federal Way Washdown_RainBankLLC_webThe most common use of rainwater collection is for non potable use. Irrigation, water features, wash down, toilet, and laundry are all non potable uses that can have a positive effect on water conservation. A properly designed and installed rainwater collection system will provide enough water to support these desired uses with less impact on our water supply.

Rainwater is essentially free of pollution, so it can be stored without much more than screening. Storage can be underground, above ground, metal, plastic, or fiberglass. If irrigation is the desired use, keep in mind that approximately .623 gallons per sq ft of planting, per week is required for the healthy growth of plants, therefore storage volumes can be a concern in design due to space and costs. Conveyance can be gravity if there is enough head. Head is .4 lbs per foot of elevation. A pressure pump might be necessary to achieve the desired pressure needed. Sediment filtration for a simple irrigation system should be all that is needed to ensure emitters and soaker hoses perform as expected.

Water features such as fountains can recirculate the water being used, so very little storage would be required. Sediment and carbon filtration would be needed to keep pumps and nozzles working properly. A carbon filter would be helpful to keep odor to a minimum.

Wash down facilities can use rainwater collection and save money on their water bills by using rainwater collection as the rinse water. With enough storage, a large fleet can be washed with recycled wash water and rinsed with collected rainwater. Again, sediment and carbon filtration would be the only filtration needed. Wash down of equipment, whether construction or farming, can benefit from rainwater collection.

Toilet and laundry facilities for residential and commercial applications are becoming more popular with new construction. Rather than infiltration, which is mandated, why not use that water. Simple pumping and filtration of stored water is all the treatment needed. A return on investment can be achieved within a few years.

There are a wide range of uses for rainwater collection. With a little bit of imagination you might come up with a use for rainwater collection that could save you money.