RAINWATER HARVESTING

Going beyond the rain barrel

Benefits of rainwater harvesting

1 inch of rain on a 1,000 ft2 roof yields 620 gallons of collected rainwater
Decreases use of municipal or well water also saves energy Helps in stormwater management

How much of a difference can it make?

For a family in a 1,500 sf house, rainwater harvesting can supply about 20% of household demand or 39,000 gallons of water annually

This percentage can be GREATLY increased with water-saving fixtures

How much of a difference can it make?

Between 2000 and 2007, the number of housing units in VA increased by 0.36 million units. If all of these units had rainwater harvesting systems, they could supply 14 billion gallons of harvested rainwater annually, enough for all of the water used by the city of Virginia Beach

http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-_box_head_nbr=GCT-T9-R&-ds_name=PEP_2007_EST&-format=US-9Sh

Making a difference beyond water conservation

Rainwater harvesting also decreases overland flow, in turn decreasing the delivery of non-point source pollutants to surface waters

F. Lamiot, July 2005, available Wikimedia commons

Making a difference beyond water conservation

If all of the new housing units had rainwater harvesting systems, nutrient runoff could be reduced by:
38

kg of Total Phosphorus per day 290 kg of Total Nitrogen per day

* based on average TP and TN concentration in residential runoff from Schueler, 1987

Putting it in context with point source discharges

Twenty-five significant point source discharges in the Rappahannock River Basin are identified with allowed total nutrient allocations. The possible reduction in Total N and Total P from rainwater harvesting systems on all new housing units equals: 66% of the TP 38% of the TN
allowed from the point source discharges.
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgibin/legp504.exe?000+reg+9VAC25-720-70

Making a difference beyond water conservation

3%

of national energy consumption goes to water and wastewater services(56 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) 45 million tons of greenhouse gases
http://www.epa.gov/waterinfrastructure/bettermanagement_energy.html# basicone

Making a difference beyond water conservation

1 kWh of energy is needed to treat and transport 667 gallons of municipal drinking water 1 kWh of energy can pump 960 gallons of rainwater For a single house, rainwater harvesting can save 18 kWh per year

IF ALL OF THE NEW HOUSING UNITS USED RAINWATER HARVESTING, IT WOULD HAVE THE CARBON EQUIVALENT OF TAKING 843 CARS OFF THE ROAD
EACH CAR REPRESENTS 7 CARS

Possible uses of rainwater

Outdoor uses Indoor non-potable uses
Toilet flushing Laundry Cooling Drinking Bathing Cooking, etc.

Indoor potable uses

Who regulates the use of rainwater?

EPA? Department of Health? Department of Conservation and Recreation? State Water Control Board? Department of Environmental Quality? Local plumbing inspector? USDA?

Human health

Environmental impact

Yes to all!

Building code

How to encourage rainwater harvesting

Legislative:

Require rainwater harvesting systems Remove barriers to rainwater harvesting systems

Clearly define appropriate uses Define applicability for stormwater Define system requirements

Market-based:

Increasing water rates Stormwater fees

Payback analysis
100 Percent of demand met by rainwater

Office building

90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 0 100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000

Location: Loudoun County, VA Roof area: 98,000 sf

Rainwater use: Toilets/urinals GPD: 10,800

80,000 gallon tank supplies about 1.8 million gallons of water per year

Tank size ( thousands of gallons)

Yearly savings = $3,409 based on current water rates

System costs approximately $150,000

Payback analysis
600,000 500,000 Liferime system payback ($) 400,000

5% annual water rate increase Static water rate

300,000
200,000 100,000 0

0 -100,000
-200,000

10

20

30

40

50

60

Years

Other ways to improve payback

Stormwater

fees Offsetting capital costs by reducing traditional stormwater practices Innovative design

Is rainwater harvesting worth promoting?

For the office building in Loudoun, the 80,000 gallon tank would reduce runoff from the roof by 75% Nitrogen and phosphorus equivalent of almost 100 pounds of fertilizer per year Over 1,000 pounds of sediment per year

http://www.stormwatercenter.net/

Case Study: Residential

Charlottesville, Virginia

Case Study: Residential

3,400 gallon underground storage Subsurface irrigation

Case Study: Residential

Franklin County, Virginia

Case Study: Residential

3,400 gallon underground storage Water used for irrigation Prevented water runoff into the lake

Case Study: Multi-family

Charlottesville, Virginia

1500 gallon aboveground storage Case Study: Multi-family

Urban farm irrigation

Case Study: Commercial

Downtown Roanoke, Virginia

Case Study: Commercial

Case Study: Commercial

10,000 sq.ft. roof line Case Study: Commercial

5,000 gallon storage Water used to flush toilets LEED Certified Project

Case Study: Industrial

Roanoke County, Virginia

Case Study: Industrial

Less environmental impact post construction 120,000 gallon storage Water used to wash inmates clothes LEED Certified Project

Case Study: Industrial

Case Study: Industrial

Radford, Virginia

Converted detention pond to retention pond Before: used 20,000 gallons/day of potable water for cooling towers Water used for cooling towers & irrigation

Case Study: Industrial

Case Study: Commercial

Case Study: Commercial

10,000 gallons of storage UV light filtration system Harvested rainwater used for fire suppression and to wash vehicles and flush toilets