Tag Archives: Seattle

Potable, Residential Rainwater Collection

Singing in the Rain With Potable Water

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Potable System Seattle under constructionPotable water collection has Seattle residents singing in the rain.

It’s a tight fit in this backyard, but RainBank Rainwater Systems always anticipates and appreciates the opportunity to rise to a water collection challenge! A bonus is, given the drought conditions, that this Seattle customer will soon have drinking water, supplied by rain.

Under the watchful eye of RainBank’s staff, the first of two 5,000 gallon, potable water tanks are put into place by Extreme Excavation.

The system will provide this Seattle residence with quality potable water for whole-house use and should be collecting water by end of next week.

RainBank Rainwater Systems continues providing its customers with top of the line installs in the Seattle area offering design built potable rainwater harvesting systems.

Remember to click the box below to be notified of new blog posts by email. We respect your privacy and will continue to offer valuable information for you to learn about water collection systems for drinking, laundry and toilet flushing – for commercial as well as residential projects.

Infrastructure, Sustainability

More Cuts to Seattle Water Usage

Seattle area consumers were asked to cut water usage another 10% after a 25% voluntary reduction was met last month.

According to the Seattle Times, “If conditions worsen, officials for each water system will decide whether to move to a third stage of shortage planning: requiring customers to cut their water use.”  

RainBank customers have benefitted from this past weekend’s rainfall by collecting the rain. A RainBank customer who had a 15,000 gallon irrigation system installed 4 years ago just wrote an email to us saying he just ran out of water last week. With a 3,000 sq. ft. roof and a 2″ rainfall over the weekend, this consumer and his family are right back to having 3,738 gallons – just like that.  A new customer in Bellevue with 2,000 sq. ft. of roof just collected his first 2,492 gallons from this weekend’s rainfall and is on the way to filling a 12,000 gallon storage tank that will be used for toilet flushing, laundry facility, and irrigation.

Customers on Vashon Island have reported that their tanks were just about empty and now they have enough water for another month. Customers all over the Puget Sound region who have had rainwater collection systems installed by RainBank Rainwater Systems are “singing in the rain”.

Whether you want rainwater collection for irrigation, toilet flushing, laundry facility, wash down, or whole household potable use, there is a system design that will fit your needs. RainBank Rainwater Systems has installed more rainwater storage systems than any other in Washington State. With 15 years’ experience, RainBank has the expertise to get the job done right. RainBank’s personnel are ARCSA accredited, which requires ongoing, continuing education. RainBank is a progressive, full service company offering design, construction, and maintenance of the systems we install.

The outlook for next summer is much the same as this summer. With population growth, failing infrastructure, and more demand on our local water supplies, you can count on shortages again. Wildfires will pose a threat again next summer in Eastern Washington. Being ready to meet these challenges with stored water may just save your home.

RainBank Rainwater Systems builds CorGal steel water tanks in all sizes for residential and commercial applications. RainBank also installs above ground and below ground poly water tanks for potable and non potable use. Some customers have rainwater collection as their sole source of water including the first sole source for a single family residence in Skagit County.

Contact us, or give us a call at 360-298-4719. We will help meet your water storage needs.

Infrastructure, Rainwater Catchment

Is Seattle Implementing Rainwater Collection in Stormwater Management Program?

Is Seattle implementing Rainwater Collection as part of its Stormwater Management Program (SWMP)?

Rainwater Harvesting Lets Seattle Area Residents Opt Out of City WaterSWMP applies to the municipal separate storm sewers owned and operated by the city. SWMP address the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) and is permitted by ecology. Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) is the lead city department responsible for implementing permit coordination in SWMP.

“The City of Seattle is required to develop, implement and enforce a program to prevent and control the impact of stormwater runoff from new development, redevelopment and construction site activities.” (SWMP Jan. 2015)

Part of the “minimum performance requirements” of SWMP is to “incorporate and require Low Impact Development (LID) principles and its Best Management Practices (BMPs).” The Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) is part of the stormwater code and requires that any new construction, commercial or residential, infiltrate runoff. SPU’s “Rainwise Program” offers education to the general public on infiltration of stormwater and rebates of implementation as long as requirements are met.

The city of Seattle Health Department allows rainwater collection for non-potable and potable use.

Unfortunately SWMP does very little to encourage rainwater collection, even though it is promoted by Ecology. The Rainwise Program addresses infiltration, not use of a rainwater system, while rainwater collection and its use offers more advantages than simply infiltrating. The use of collected rainwater for toilet flushing, laundry, and when properly filtered and disinfected, potable use, not only helps mitigate roof runoff, but helps supplement our water supplies.

The demands of our water supplies nationwide are becoming strained and will continue as population growth continues. Costs of expanding and upgrading current water infrastructure will cost billions locally in the next 20 years, while a more proactive approach of a supplemental, decentralized water system addresses both issues of stormwater and water demands while keeping costs down.

While Seattle is addressing stormwater runoff, they are missing the boat on rainwater collection promotion. More information and comments to Seattle City Council links are provided below.

For More Information