Rain Harvesting

[washregal]

Ok - This may sound insane - but my Sewer bills are so high - considering giving back my EDU's in lieu of supplemental water to offset my water usage -

Looking for feedback on rainwater harvesting - I do NOT want to bury any tanks - Was thinking of pulling the water off the roof of my wash - Placing a large water tank on a truss in the attic of the building and gravity feeding water down into my rinse water / wash down water?

Would this not be a simple diversion of collecting rainwater from my gutters at all four corners of my building and collecting it for re-use?

If I did my math correct I should anticipate approximately 51,000 gallons of potential rain water that I can collect throughout the year -

Has anyone done this - any experience - any companies that you could recommend to me that might be able to help?

 

[robert roman]

Rule of thumb is 1” of rain can produce 500 gal of water for every 1,000 SF of collection surface area.

Rainwater contains no sodium and is soft so it does not form scale or deposits. However, as it comes in contact with the air, it dissolves naturally occurring carbon dioxide and nitrogen to form a weak acid.

Also, a rainwater catchment area like a rooftop may contain dust, droppings from birds and small animals and leaves and other debris. So, it needs to be filtered, disinfected and buffered before using it to wash cars.

The simplest harvesting system is a rain barrel with screen on top to keep bugs out and spigot at the bottom so small amounts of water can be used to water flower beds. With a more elaborate system, rainwater would pass from roof, through gutter system, into cistern/water tank and then routed to sprinklers, etc.

A harvesting system with enough capacity to supply the needs of an average house, filtered to drinking standards, would require a 5,000 gallon storage tank, sediment and ultraviolet filters and re-pressurization system.

5,000 gallon tank full of water would weight almost 21 tons. A 55 gallon barrel is 460 pounds. How strong is the truss?

Another issue is 51,000 gallons of rain you expect to collect over the year. To realize this potential, you would need the capacity to capture as well as use 100 percent of it.

So, if the tank is not sufficiently large enough and rainfall patterns erratic enough, it may not be possible to achieve 100 percent capture and use.

Assume water/sewer rate is $10 per 1,000 gal of water used. 51,000 gal of rainwater would have a value of $510.

A 240 gallon harvesting system with filtration and sterilization is about $3,000, DIY.

Who can help? Rain harvesting is a cottage industry so there are many online businesses serving the DIY market, search the web.

Locally, I would call a professional plant grower or landscaper because rain harvesting is commonplace in that industry.

 

[Dean Taylor]

http://catec.com/rain_water_reuse_for_car_washes.htm Bill, I'm simply showing them new car wash equipment related to this topic. ~ Dean

 

[pitzerwm]

I'll let Jackson decide if it stays or not, but you might want to send a few bucks to update your web site.

 

[washregal]

This is great stuff - Thank you very much - just thinking if I could supplement my rinse water and weep water in the winter months with rainwater I would be way a head of the game - I could reduce or shed my # of EDU's bringing my sewer capital costs way down...

I was thinking about placing a vented tank in the attic - one that the facility could sustain weight wise along with an overflow - that would be piped to grade. Just simple and easy -

Any thoughts as it relates to this? - Would just want this purely as supplemental - Perhaps valved so that I could build up my collection and only use this for my winder weep months.

 

[JustClean]

Usually it works like this:
If you've got water in your tank you don't have customers (as there is bad weather).

If you don't have water in your tank you have plenty of customers.

That is if your tank is so small / light to go up in your attic.