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Chlorination: The Removal
In regulated municipal water systems, the U.S. EPA Surface Water Treatment Rule (2002) requires that a minimum disinfectant residual of 0.2 milligrams per liter (or parts per million) of free chlorine be present where the water enters the distribution system and that it be detectable throughout the distribution system. The role of disinfectants in protecting public water supplies is well documented and undisputed, but the reactions of some disinfectants with some natural materials in water and with other treatment chemicals, and the subsequent formation of unwanted by-products, are of concern. Risk to human health is not clearly documented, but experiments with laboratory animals do raise warningflags and numerous studies suggest the health risks of both chlorine and chlorine by-products to humans. >> more
Taking on Water by Wendy J. Pabich
Taking on Water is an entertaining and insightful book that chronicles the  trials and tribulations of a self-proclaimed “water deva” as she strives for more knowledge about her own water usage and initiates conservation measures at home. Anyone who has looked into or consciously adopted a more sustainable lifestyle will appreciate Wendy’s quest for knowledge. While it is true that almost all of us can live more sustainably without making major sacrifices in comfort, learning to do so can be a daunting task. Choices aren’t always straightforward and information isn’t always readily available. It seems that our consumer-oriented society is ill equipped to help us decide between competing alternatives. >> more
Chlorination: The Addition
“Chlorination” involves the addition of chlorine to water for the purpose of eliminating pathogenic (diseasecausing) microorganisms. Chlorination also provides protection against (other) disagreeable tastes and odors, eliminates slime bacteria, mold and algae, removes chemical compounds that inhibit disinfection and helps remove iron and manganese from water. In 1997, the editors of LIFE Magazine stated that the filtration of drinking water plus the use of chlorine are probably the most significant public health advances of the millennium. >> more
A Great Aridness by William deBuys
 William deBuys’ A Great Aridness examines the history of drought in the American Southwest while offering a primer on the potential consequences of climate change in the future. The book explores historic droughts and their impact on long-gone civilizations, tells the stories the great rivers of the area, and examines the likely outcome of current and future drought on the major metropolitan areas in the Southwest. >> more
Is Rainwater Harvesting a Good Investment?
Is harvesting rainwater a good investment? We will explore that question in depth in this three-part series, beginning in Part One with a traditional economic payback approach.
The short answer is, yes, rainwater harvesting systems can deliver a good return on investment. In certain areas of the country and the world, catching rainwater for household use is the only cost-effective solution. In locations like central Texas, parts of Northern Mexico, and arid rocky areas where no municipal water system is available and where well drilling can be prohibitively expensive, harvesting rainwater is a smart economic and environmental choice. >> more
Tanks Can Be Beautiful
 The award-winning home of Frank Herdman and Alice Temple proves that rainwater catchment tanks can add both beauty and functionality to a home’s design. Frank and Alice fell in love years ago with their Casa Solana Santa Fe neighborhood. They bought a fixer-upper Stamm house with poor natural lighting, low ceilings, and a small, broken-up floor plan and turned it into their dream home with natural lighting and a thoroughly contemporary design. The home was recently awarded the grand prize in the Excellence in Remodeling contest sponsored the Santa Fe Homebuilders’ Association. >> more
Questions To Ask Before You Jump In
A portion of my business is inspecting and repairing systems put in by others. Additionally, as I speak to other installers around the country, I find I am not alone in this respect. A good portion of these malfunctioning systems had design or installation flaws. After the fact, it is impossible to know why these installers made poor decisions, but some fault has to be due to inadequate training. I wondered what questions a consumer should ask of potential RWH design, installation and maintenance professionals.
To that end, I reached out to John Hammerstrom, past President of the American Rainwater Catchment System Association (ARCSA) (www.acrsa.org) to provide his views on the subject. >> more
First Ever US RWH Study Released
First Ever US Rainwater Market Study Published. The report “Rainwater Harvesting in the US: A 2010 Industry Analysis” illustrates the sustained  growth of the rainwater harvesting market in recent years, even with the poor economic times. This 50+ page market study collected primary data from a survey of RWH installers throughout key states in the US and also conducted informal interviews with a number of RWH suppliers and key stakeholders to validate the findings. The authors also collected secondary data from the Internet, including the website of HarvestH2o, publicly available information from the American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association (ARCSA) website, and other associations such as those serving manufacturers and suppliers. >> more
Passive versus Active Rainwater Harvesting
There is wide spread interest in water conservation and specifically in capturing and reusing rainwater in both residential and commercial buildings to reduce costs, reduce the environmental impact of the building and lessen the load on the municipal sewer and stormwater systems in the arid southwest where droughts are a way of life.
 Harvesting rainwater from rooftops is one solutions to conserving our precious water, where it can be used instead of municipal drinking water for many non-drinking water (i.e. non-potable) applications (e.g. landscape, toilet flushing) as well as drinking water. There are two general types of rainwater catchment systems - "active" or "passive". Most professionally installed systems incorporate aspects of both to maximize the water conserved. >> more
Rainwater Harvesting System Integrated into Home Design
This rainwater harvesting (RWH) system, with an above-ground, 7,500 gallon (usable) poured-concrete cistern, used for both potable and nonpotable purposes, was designed and constructed in 2001 as an integral part of a new single-family home in Key Largo, Florida. Rain is collected from a 1,700 square-foot white Galvalume roof and gathered in six-inch copper gutters with spash shields at roof valleys for occasional heavy downpours. Copper plumbing is used throughout the house as well. The reported pH of the annual test samples taken from an inside faucet has always been greater than 7, which could be attributed to the concrete tank. That does not explain why there seems to be no substantial copper leached from the gutters, since they are upstream of the tank. It remains for others to determine why the copper levels in the rainwater of this waterfront home are insubstantial. >> more
The Importance of pH
In addition to its effects on biological and chemical processes, the variability of pH affects our decisions in domestic water usage. High-pH water often tastes bitter and may be an indication of the scaling potential of the water. Low-pH water may lead to the dissolution of pipes, particularly copper pipes. The EPA classifies pH under unregulated Secondary Drinking Water Standards and recommends a range between 6.5 and 8.5 pH units. >> more
Drought, What Drought
For those of us paying attention to the weather in Santa Fe, a question increasingly coming up these days is when are we going to see watering restrictions? Especially since this is the driest it has been in a long time. Average precipitation for Santa Fe this time of year is normally 4.81 inches, and so far we have only received 0.67 inches, or 13.9% of average. It is worse for Albuquerque, which has seen only 0.19 inches thus far this year. Most of our state is experiencing a drought, as well as Arizona and Texas. Santa Fe has not seen this little precipitation since records have been kept. We should be extremely concerned about our water situation. >> more
Water Rates
In almost any place in the United States, we simply turn on the faucet and it flows. This amazing infrastructure was built over the last century and has supplied us cheap, plentiful water for decades. Abundant water, cheap electricity and a great road system have been the backbone of our economy over the last century. However, access to cheap, plentiful water is becoming a thing of the past, not only in the Santa Fe area, but around the country and the world. In the United States, we are fortunate to have accessible clean water at any price. Over 46% of the earth’s population doesn’t, and people in developing countries walk an average of 3.7 miles to get access to water. One in eight people on the planet lack access to clean water. >> more
Water is Local
Water is easy access and this has created an ideal for communities and local agriculture. In Santa Fe, where I live, on Garcia Street and the surrounding areas used to be farms not long ago. You can still see the sign for the old Gormley's trading goods store on Canyon Road, where local farmers would drop off their produce for folks from all around the area to buy. Of course, this store of bygone times is now a high-end art gallery, and its function has been replaced by the local farmers' markets. Water is local and will remain local. It has been the foundation of the economy for past decades and will continue for decades to come. It cannot be manufactured offshore, nor can it be outsourced. It is our most precious resource and it is the base on which our local economies are built. Even so, for most of us, water remains out of sight and out of mind. >> more
Asphalt to Ecosystems
Asphalt to Ecosystems is a compelling color guidebook for designing and building natural schoolyard environments that enhance childhood learning and play experiences while providing connection with the natural world. With this book, Danks broadens our notion of what a well-designed schoolyard should be, taking readers on a journey from traditional, ordinary grassy fields and asphalt, to explore the vibrant and growing movement to "green" school grounds in the United States and around the world. This book documents exciting green schoolyard examples from almost 150 schools in 11 countries, illustrating that a great many things are possible on school grounds when they are envisioned as outdoor classrooms for hands-on learning and play. >> more
ARCSA 2010 Conference
The Texas capital shares another distinction as the indisputable crossroads of America’s growing rainwater harvesting industry. Austin is where ARCSA was founded and where its 6th annual conference happens next month. Now, with over 700 members worldwide, ARCSA remains dedicated to promoting and educating the public on the safe harvesting and use of rainwater as an alternative for treated drinking water. This year’s gathering features the largest, most jam-packed schedule to date. With keynotes by four internationally acclaimed experts, the conference will host over 40 presentations, many on topics never before addressed, and will include another 30+ exhibition booths with the most innovative and advanced products sure to advance our thriving industry. >> more
One Way To Conserve on the Ranch and Farm
Agriculture and ranching consume a substantial amount of potable and pumped water around the country, and to some extent in Northern New Mexico. In some areas of the US, farms and livestock consume up to 60% of overall water use. This water is usually either clean, highly processed potable water or well water pumped from precious underground aquifers. This is not a great use for this water given that a cheaper, better and proven alternative is readily at hand. Rainwater is FREE and sometimes very plentiful even in the arid southwest; it is no wonder its use is growing for agriculture and for ranching purposes. Not only does using rainwater save processing and/or transporting water; it also saves energy and helps the environment. >> more
The Tale of Two Cities – Billions Conserved
Albuquerque and Santa Fe have had water conservation programs for well  over a decade, and both have been very successful. Yet their approaches to saving this precious resource in the arid Southwest are different. Since 1995, Albuquerque has reduced per capita use by 36%, Santa Fe by 42%. Santa Fe’s water use is now substantially less than the US average, while Albuquerque is likely to fall below the US average soon. Both have made tremendous strides in conserving life-giving water. What lessons can we learn by comparing these cities? >> more
Safe Drinking for All through Solar Disinfection
Every 8 seconds, a child dies from water related disease around the globe. 50% of people in developing countries suffer from one or more water-related diseases. 80% of diseases in the developing countries are caused by contaminated water. Providing safe drinking water to the people has been a major challenge for Governments in developing countries. Conventional technologies used to disinfect water are: ozonation, chlorination and artificial UV radiation. Treatment to control waterborne microbial contaminants by exposure to sunlight in clear vessels that allows the combined germicidal effects of both UV radiation and heat has been developed and put into practice. >> more
Water – Another View
Pumping more water or increasing water transfer from other areas is not going to solve this problem. Increased pumping and transferring water from further locations increases the need for more power generation and this directly translates into more power plants. For those of us who love our amazing vistas and crystal clear blue skies, the solution to our water needs can’t involve polluting our skies. Clearly, we must look to other solutions to solve our water needs. >> more
Rainwater Catchment System Pump Sizing
Pumps are an integral part of almost all rainwater catchment systems; however, sizing a pump correctly is not straightforward and installers often fail to make the appropriate calculations. Much has been written on pumps for irrigation systems and for wells, but rainwater harvesting pumps can be markedly different. This series of articles is aimed at shedding light on the differences and assisting in properly sizing rainwater pumps. This first article will explain pumps and general pumping concepts >> more
Water: Why Care?
 I get a lot of blank stares when I start talking about water conservation and rainwater harvesting. Not among the folks who already do it here in Northern New Mexico, but from those who don’t. The typical response is “Why should I care? Water is cheap, and all I have to do is turn on the tap and it flows.” While it’s true that water does flow easily, it is even truer that we have yet to pay the true cost of for this precious resource and that cost will only increase in the years to come. >> more
Washington State Department of Ecology Clarifies Water Rights in Regards to Rainwater Harvesting
To the delight of the green building community and many other Washingtonians throughout the state, the Department of Ecology issued a policy statement issued on October 12th clarifying that water rights are not required for either the use of or the on-site storage of rainwater collected by a rooftop system or a guzzler (Guzzlers are devices used to catch and store rainwater and dew to provide wildlife or livestock with drinking water.) >> more
Potable Rainwater: Filtration and Purification
Rainwater harvesting is viewed by many, including the EPA, as a partial solution to the problems posed by water scarcity: droughts and desertification, erosion from runoff, over-reliance on depleted aquifers, and the costs of new irrigation, diversion, and water treatment facilities.
Harvested rainwater in the U.S. is used mostly for irrigation; however, there is a growing interest in using rainwater for drinking and other indoor uses. Over 50% of household water is used indoors; bringing rain indoors could save the expense and environmental costs of treating and transporting water.
Can rainwater be made safe to drink? Yes. How safe? As safe as your well or tap water. How do you make it safe for indoor use? By filtering and purifying it. >> more
Op Ed: The “Greenest” Roof is White and Metallic
 Among the goals of what are called “Green” roofs, vegetated roofs or roof-top gardens are reduced building energy costs and reduced urban-heat islanding. For both goals, white metals roofs are superior, particularly in the “sun belt” where cooling is a year-round task. If needed, the insulating properties of a vegetated roof can generally be provided underneath the roofing layer with radiant barriers or other insulation. But it can also be argued, particularly in the “sun belt,” that excess insulation blocks the advantageous nighttime building-cooling benefit of a metal roof. Insulation aside, this writer believes that the most important disadvantage of a vegetated roof is that it is designed to absorb water that should be collected to meet the needs of the buildings inhabitants. >> more
Ten Strategies to Promote Rainwater Harvesting
In the 1980s and early 90s, most people, especially in urban areas were unaware of what rainwater harvesting (RWH) meant and why there would be a need to collect rainwater. It took an enormous amount of effort working with and speaking to local communities, organizations and state agencies to publicize the need for and benefits of RWH. Based on my experience with RWH during the past 20+ years, I offer the following strategies that can be utilized to promote the technology in your respective state or regions. >> more
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