Tag Archives: runoff from impervious surfaces

Rainwater Catchment

How Can Soil Act as a Virtual Water Tank?


Hands holding a young strawberry plant with soil.Here is an interesting video I’ve watched that easily explains how trees are a major part of our water system and why planting more trees and, specifically the soil in which they exist, offer a sustainable and an affordable solution to our water quality and scarcity problems – like the drought that is affecting California.

Produced by Tree People, the contentis similar to a blog postin whichI discussed howwhen land becomes impervious, rainwater runoff occurs, forcing us to invest time and money in collecting and treating the water, rather than allowing trees and soil to do nature’s intended work.

Please take a moment, or five minutes and forty seconds,to watch the video below and leave a comment with your thoughts about how we can learn from nature and create a sustainable future.

Rainwater Catchment, Residential Rainwater Collection

Rainwater Collection Reduces Dependence on City Water in Seattle


Construction site of a modern glass building with cranes and workers.As anyone wholives in Seattle can see, there is a massive amount of rental construction happening. With the growth of the South End of Lake Union and the Ballard area, over 23,000 units are expected to be added in the next few years.

A cultural shift in water conservation with simple technology can reduce the amounts of water usage through more effective water management practices. While the “Green Storm Water Infrastructure” or GSI mandates that runoff from impervious surfaces is to be infiltrated on site, other innovative and effective technologies are crucial in reducing the need for upgrading and expansion of sewer and centralized water systems.

Think of the reduction of the amounts of water coming off our roofs into stormwater if we diverted that water to usage such as toilet flushing and laundry facility. This practice could reduce runoff by as much as 50% in high density housing complexes, while saving hundreds of thousands of dollars that would be used to meet the demand.

Bio swells and rain gardens do very little for infiltration during the rainy periods when the ground is already saturated. Rainwater collection used for toilet and laundry facility could be using that water during those months rather than having it overflow, and it would reduce the run off during those periods. The end product would be reduction of storm water runoff, less dependence on city water and its infrastructure, cost savings to the building owner and tenants, better use of our natural resource, while reducing pollutants inour waterways.

Photo: Aubrey Cohen, Seattlepi.com