Rainwater Harvesting article

APRIL 2014 HOUSE & HOME 17

Elite National WaterManagement, LLC342 Chestnut AvenueWest Berlin, N.J.(856) 767-4443 Bhoffman@americanwatermanagement.comAmericanWaterManagement.com.

Rainwater HarvestingReduce stormwater runoff and save money and energy

Rain contributes to traffic problems, requiresus to dress appropriately and creates stormwa-ter issues.

Modern construction and developmentis designed to shed rainfall as quickly as pos-sible. Streets are designed to direct water tocurbing which directs the water to stormwa-ter inlets for discharge into streams, rivers andoceans. Homes and buildings are designedwith gutters and downspouts which dischargethe rainwater on impervious surfaces such asdriveways, sidewalks and parking lots.

The problem is the stormwater runoff cre-ated by the way we design our buildings,homes and roadways. When rainwaterruns off impervious surfaces a toxic mix ofvehicular oils, fuel residue and other vehic-ular byproducts are washed down the drain,literally.

Rainwater runoff from our homes andbuildings carries fertilizers, animal waste andtrash into our streets which then dischargesinto our waterways.

There is a however a silver lining to rain-fall. Rainfall creates opportunity for both ac-tive and passive rainwater harvesting. Rain-water harvesting is the centuries old methodof collecting, storing and reusing rainwater.

The collected water can be used to supplementor even replace exterior potable water usagefor irrigation, washing vehicles or used on theinterior of the home for flushing toilets, wash-ing clothes, showers or even drinking water.For the purposes of this article we will focusmore on the non-potable uses for rainwater.

Active rainwater harvesting can be sim-ply accomplished. The easiest and most costeffective introduction into rainwater harvest-ing is to install a rain barrel on your home.The rain barrel is set on a firm surface undera downspout. The downspout is cut abovethe top of the rain barrel to allow the rain-water to flow into the barrel. Instead of thewater draining down the downspout to animpervious surface the rainwater is directedinto the rain barrel for reuse in the garden.

Rain barrels come in many shapes andsizes with the most common with a capaci-ty of 50 gallons.

The amount of rainwater collection po-tential can yield some astonishing numbers.One inch of rainfall on a 1,000 square footroof will shed about 623 gallons of rainwa-ter. As you can see a rain barrel doesn’t comeclose to meeting your rainwater collection po-tential. Larger rainwater harvesting systemscan be installed with filtering systems, above

grade and below grade tanks or cisterns of-fering capacities ranging from 200 to over20,000 gallons. Pumps can be installed to pro-vide pressure.

Collecting, storing and reusing rainwaternot only reduces stormwater runoff but it alsosaves money and energy. Water fees,stormwater fees and the energy required tobring water to our homes and businesses willcontinue to rise. Rainwater harvesting pro-vides a hedge against rising utility costs. Thebenefits of rainwater are many; rain is nat-urally distilled, free of chlorine and fluoride,naturally soft and full of nutrients which arebeneficial to lawns, flowers and vegetables.

There are also many ways to passivelyharvest rainwater. Installing a rain garden isa simple way to manage runoff. A downspoutis directed to the rain garden which is a shal-low depression created in the ground to cap-ture rainwater runoff. The soil is amended inthe garden to allow growth for native vege-tation plantings.

Impervious surfaces such as concrete andasphalt can be transformed into pervious sur-faces allowing rainwater to soak directlythrough the surface recharging groundwaterand aquifers. Pervious pavers and grass paverscan also create an aesthetic and functionalmethod of passively collecting rainwater.

Maybe rainwater isn’t such a nuisanceafter all.

People view rainwater as a nuisance.

by Bill Hoffman,President of Elite National Water Management

Landscaping

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