Australians Survived a 13-Year Drought by Going Low-Tech

A study finds residents of Melbourne cut their water consumption in half by capturing rainwater and storm-water runoff and using efficient toilets and washing machines.

If you think California’s four-year drought is apocalyptic, try 13 years. That’s how long southeastern Australia suffered through bone-dry times.

But it survived. When the so-called Millennium Drought ended in 2009, residents of Melbourne, Australia’s second-largest city, were using half the amount of water they had when it began.

A group of researchers from the University of California, Irvine, set out to investigate how Melbourne,  a city of 4.3 million people, dramatically cut water consumption, and whether the city’s experience might hold lessons for California and other drought-stricken regions.

The short answer? Salvation came from a $2,000 rainwater tank rather than a $6 billion desalinization plant.

As the Millennium Drought dragged on, authorities approved the construction of costly infrastructure projects similar to those now being considered in California, including that expensive desalinization plant.  But the researchers found that conservation and recycling were the keys that got Melbourne through year after rainless year, according to the study published Tuesday in the journal WIREs Water.

Melbourne residents took advantage of government rebates for home rainwater tanks to capture runoff from roofs, using it to water plants and flush toilets. The state of Victoria also changed the building code to require the tanks in all new homes. 

By 2009, about a third of homes were capturing free water from the sky and supplying 2 percent of Melbourne’s potable water.

The government also offered subsidies for purchase of water-efficient showerheads, toilets, and washing machines, which combined cut Melbourne’s water use by 4 percent a year.

Since more stormwater runoff courses through the city and flows into rivers and the ocean than residents use in a year, the government moved to capture, treat, and reuse some runoff for irrigation. The city also ramped up the use of gray water and recycled water from sewage treatment plants.

Read more here.

5 Cities That Want Your Rain Barrel

What better way to save water than putting in a rain barrel—and thanks to these cities, you’ll save money, too!

While two states (Utah and Colorado) are limiting residents' rights to harvest rainwater from their own rooftops, cities across the country are finding the benefit in rainwater use, encouraging residents to collect it and put it to work. Incentives range from free rain barrels to tax credits and reimbursement for rainwater-diversion installments, such as rain barrels, rain gardens and cisterns.

"When coupled with an educational program, rain barrels are a fantastic education and outreach program to engage citizens in storm- water issues,” says Mike Ruck, vice president of the American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association and cofounder and Chief Water Officer of rainwater-harvesting-system installer Rain Water Solutions in Raleigh, N.C. "Storm water is the leading cause of water pollution in the U.S., and getting people involved in a house-by-house approach can yield very positive results. Not to mention, rainwater is great for irrigation—no ammonia, fluoride, chlorine, et cetera.”

Here are five communities that know what's up (the rain) and are down (in a rain barrel) with putting it to work.

1. Montgomery County, Md.

The county-wide RainScapes Program has designated RainScapes Neighborhoods, which are identified as needing more intensive storm-water management. In these areas, the county is working directly with property owners to install greenroofs, permeable pavement, rain gardens, and rain barrels and cisterns. These projects help slow rainwater runoff, so the water soaks into your lawn or garden instead of going down the sewer and into our streams.

Montgomery County RainScapes Neighborhoods include Glen Echo Heights, Wheaton Woods, KenGar, Stoneybrook/Parkside, Chevy Chase, Breewood, Forest Estates, Garrett Park and Sligo Park Hills. If you own property in one of these areas, you still qualify for rebates of up to $2,500 for rain barrel and other storm-water-management installations. The Montgomery County towns of Gaithersburg and Rockville have individual programs for them, too.

Read more: http://www.urbanfarmonline.com/sustainable-living/green-living/5-cities-that-want-your-rain-barrel.aspx

Why Everyone Should Care About Rainwater Harvesting

(and How to Do It)

Rain, rain, go away? Don’t be so quick to reject the water falling from the sky. Turns out harvesting rainwater is an ancient practice with loads of modern-day benefits. Here’s the lowdown on the practice, and how to put the rain that falls on your home to good use.

What Is Rainwater Harvesting?

Quite simply, rainwater harvesting is the practice of collecting and storing rainwater (typically from the roof of a home or building) for later use. Rainwater harvesting systems range from the very simple—a rain barrel placed under the downspout of a building’s gutters—to more complex options that plug into a building’s plumbing system. The practice is popular across a wide range of demographics, from rural gardeners to people living in urban centers.

Even though rainwater harvesting has been practiced for thousands of years, it’s only beginning to inspire the formation of an organized industry. In recent decades the American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association, which promotes sustainable rainwater practices as a means of solving water and energy challenges throughout the world, has emerged as an industry leader. Despite its influence, there are currently no national standards regulating the collection and use of rainwater, although many states and municipalities have instated laws around its use.

Read more: http://www.custommade.com/blog/rainwater-harvesting/

Rainwater harvesting turns weather into resource

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

While for children, an incoming storm typically brings sighs and choruses of, “Rain, rain, go away”, for property owners and managers with rainwater harvesting systems on-site, however, regular downpours can mean a smaller water bill.

Rainwater harvesting is the ancient practice of collecting and storing rainwater for later use. Modern rainwater harvesting systems work by collecting rainwater, typically from the roofs of homes or institutional, commercial or industrial buildings, storing it in a large tank, and then utilizing a pump and pressure system to distribute the rainwater to connected plumbing fixtures. In the main, still to this day, however, rainwater harvesting is still the simple way of using a rain barrel attached to the downspout of the gutter.

In Britain it was mentioned some years ago that every newly built home was to have a rainwater harvesting system installed the water of which was then to be used for flushing toilets and washing the car, watering the garden, and such like. So far, it would appear though, this has not been implemented.

The modern rainwater harvesting systems can have elaborate treatment methods that use chlorine or ultra-violet (UV) lamps for disinfection, or simply use screens to remove debris like leaves and twigs. Ultimately, the treatment methods employed depend on what the property is using the rainwater for.

What benefits does rainwater harvesting offer property owners and tenants?

Rainwater harvesting systems allow property owners and tenants to use rainwater as a resource instead of having to remove it through roof drains, eaves troughs or parking lot catch basins.

Another benefit is that rainwater use reduces municipal water consumption, which helps cut down on a building’s water bill. It also reduces the need for municipalities to treat and pump water, a process that is both chemically and energy intensive.

Farms and rural households have engaged in rainwater harvesting for centuries but in urban centers it is relatively new.

It must also be considered that while in Britain and Canada and most other countries rainwater harvesting is legal it is not in a great many of US Federal States and in many local areas even if the state does not have a blanket ban on harvesting rainwater.

When harvesting rainwater from the roof it is best not to use it for potable use, that is to say for drinking and cooking, etc., even if the various forms of treatment are used because of materials on the roof that could be dangerous to health and which, possibly, cannot be removed by treatment.

But, even if “only” used for the other uses the savings can be immense and that means saving for your pocket and for the Planet. So, let's go an make some rain barrels and harvest some rain.

© 2013

These Butts are made for Watering

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Britain's driest start to a year for almost half a century has led to country's first drought warning being issued and fears of an imminent hosepipe ban. The lack of rain across the UK in 2010 has already forced one water company to reveal that it would need three months of rainfall to restock dwindling reservoirs. Yet despite the warnings many of are only reminded of the need to conserve water when the heat gets us into the garden. Fortunately the inclement British weather allows for this and arming yourself with a Sankey Water Butt now, will ensure that you are fully prepared for a hot summer in the garden.

Sankey, leading UK manufacturer of garden and horticultural products, has a range of water saving devices that ensure that your garden will reap the benefits of your conservation efforts throughout the approaching season.

The great British summer is almost here. After a cold wet winter, gardeners across the UK will be delighted at the prospect of enjoying the sunshine. Yet with that sunshine comes the realization that summer invariably includes a water ban. Sankey, leading UK manufacturer of garden and horticultural products, has a range of water saving devices that ensure that your garden will reap the benefits of your conservation efforts throughout the approaching season.

By the peak summer months as much as 70% of household water supply is used in the garden and this is usually when water companies are least able to meet demand. Water butts are the perfect solution. Easily connected to a guttering down-pipe with a diverter, Sankey Water Butts provide gardens with on demand rainwater. With less mineral salts and deposits than mains supply, rainwater is the finest option for tender plants. In reducing water usage and ensuring a supply of pure rainwater, gardeners can protect both pockets and precious plants.

Sankey recognizes that every gardener is individual and each garden unique. That’s why they offer a range of Water Butts that accommodate individual style, space and preference. Whether your garden is a traditional or contemporary, bijou or immense, there is a water butt perfect for that space.

From the discreet slim-line 100 litre Space Saving Water Butt to the stylish 300 litre capacity Beehive Butt, the Sankey range offers a variety of options and accessories that will ensure water saving and design merge seamlessly in your garden.

Available in a range of styles and finishes with capacities ranging from 100 - 300 Litres, the Sankey Water Butts retail from £21.99 for a Slim Space Saving Water Butt to £149.99 for the largest Rotary moulded Beehive Model.

While rainwater harvesting system and already simple rain barrels and water butts are great if there is no rain they are a little difficult to fill up by Nature's hand then.

That does not mean that we should not get them and put them up; on the contrary. We should, indeed, get all house retrofitted with full-scale rainwater harvesting systems to be used in flushing the toilets and for watering the garden, washing bicycles and cars and such like.

Part of the Fiskars group, Nottingham-based Sankey, a company of 155 years standing, is committed to identifying opportunities to use less, recycle more and support environmentally aware practices.

http://www.rsankey.com/

© 2010

Full Disclosure Statement: The GREEN (LIVING) REVIEW received no compensation for any component of this article.