Can You Drink Rainwater?

Of course. People have been collecting and drinking rainwater for centuries.

Is it legal to collect rainwater at your home and drink it? Yes, but if you want to keep yourself and your guests healthy, some level of treatment is necessary. Here are the steps in a modern rainwater collection and treatment system:

1. Prefilter. Keeping the leaves and sticks out of the cistern is the most important step to keeping water safe. Any significant amount of organic material will eventually go septic and make the water stinky.

2. Cistern (tank). Keep the water cool and dark, so that algae and mosquitoes don't grow.

3. Cistern Piping. Prevent mosquitoes from leaving, and critters from entering. Bring new, freshly aerated, water in at the bottom of the tank, without stirring up any debris at the bottom.  Pump outlet piping should be a few inches off the bottom.

4. Final Treatment. We recommend a combination of carbon filtration and UV sterilization. Chlorine isn't necessary with this pair, but it can work instead of them. There are some problems with chlorine in general, and getting the right level is tricky. So we recommend carbon and UV.  A sediment filter upstream of the carbon and UV helps the carbon last longer.

Drawings and other resources are here:
http://www.georgiawatertanks.com/rainwater-harvesting-detail-drawings-cad.html

Is It Illegal to Collect Rainwater?

Short answer, NO. For any state other than Colorado, rainwater harvesting is LEGAL.

Even Colorado allows 2 - 50 gallon rain barrels.

Another example often giving is a person in Oregon who built 3 PONDS on his property without getting permits. Dam permits are required in most states, so that's not unusual.

Other than that, rainwater harvesting is permitted, even encouraged. Providing that you get the required building permits and follow building codes.

For our usual recommendations for rainwater harvesting at your home, see
http://www.georgiawatertanks.com/residential.html

Water Storage Tanks for Parking Lots

Parking Decks provide a wide range of possibilities, because we could build something underground, or use the deck as a foundation for something considered above-ground. Most of what I see is concrete, integrated into the structure itself. It's a compelling argument, to use some part of the structure that isn't suitable for anything else. 

Option 1 - Underground Fiberglass

Advantages:

Space-efficient

20 year warranty

Shortest installation period

Disadvantages:

Size limited to what can be trucked (can be ganged together)

First cost - $2-3/gallon

12 week lead time

Drawings & Specifications Library

Option 2 - Concrete

Advantages:

Space efficient

First Cost

No size restrictions

Disadvantages:

Leaks are common

Limited warranty

Example: NCR Headquarters (used area under a ramp)

Option 3 - Above-Ground Plastic

Advantages:

Lowest first cost up to 10-20,000 gallons

8 Year warranty

Shortest installation period

Repairable

Aesthetics 

Disadvantages

Size limited to 10,000 gallon (but can be ganged together)

Vertical cylinder shape

Material handling if must be replaced

Example: 1230 Peachtree St

Sizes and Drawings

Option 4 - Above Ground Corrugated Steel

Advantages:

Lowest first cost 10-20,000 gallons and larger

20 year warranty

1 week installation period

4-8 week lead time

Material handling if must be replaced (or moved)

Disadvantages:

Space inefficient - Vertical cylinder shape (use flat roof option)

Sizes

Specifications

Option 5 - Above-Ground Panel Tank

Advantages

Space efficient rectangular shape

Unique footprints possible to work around columns, etc.

1 week installation period

Disadvantages:

Higher cost - $2-3/gallon

12 week lead time

Example: Interface Headquarters

Sizing

Rainwater not Desalination

Conventional wisdom is that people use about 100 gallons per day of water. My family averages less than 50, but maybe 100 GPD includes water use embedded in things we buy or use. About 350,000,000 people live in the USA. So adding the data on rainfall from this page, the Lower 48 receive about 100x the amount of water needed. That’s pure water desalinated and transported without any man made energy. Just need to be more efficient in collecting it.

That’s where rainwater harvesting comes in. Most every single-family home could collect enough water to meet the needs of the residents, especially when combined with graywater treatment and reuse. The technology is mature and reliable, and becoming more affordable every year. The process is specified in plumbing codes. The products are certified by independent third parties.

Rainwater Harvesting Grants for Nonprofits

The Community Foundation for Greater Georgia offers water (and energy) efficiency grants for nonprofits. The Grants-to-Green program has been very popular. It awards grants twice a year. For more information, click here: 

For religious organizations, Georgia Interfaith Power & Light, gipl.org, offers energy efficiency grants, but not for water. Yet! Please contact and encourage them here!

They also offer rainbarrel workshops. For more information, click here.  Here's hoping that they don't use translucent rain barrels anymore!

Rainwater Harvesting for Community Gardens

Another community garden is ready for the rain! We do some installations ourselves, but our goal is to teach contractors how to add rainwater harvesting to their portfolio of services.

Like many of these community gardens, this school takes water from a single downspout. A 4" pipe brings rainwater to an above-ground tank, which has a basket-style prefilter. Yes these require cleaning, but they are most popular. A typical rainstorm will fill the tank.

This project didn't use a pump, but most do.

Drought Returns to Georgia

This the current condition in Georgia. We are again in a Level 1 Drought as of September 2016. The area under Moderate Drought or higher has doubled from 20% of the state last year this time, to 40%. No additional watering restrictions have been added so far.

What should I do?

We all want nice green lawns, but grass is the most easily replaced part of the landscaping. It's more important to protect trees and shrubs. However, the condition of the grass is a good indication of the moisture available to all the landscaping, IF WE WATER EVENLY.  So when you water, cover the whole yard!

There are various methods for conserving water in irrigation: some use weather data downloaded from NOAA. Others measure sunlight intensity, temperature, humidity, and the presence of rainfall. Others use soil moisture content. We will be experimenting with this, but my preference is always a direct measure of the desired result. So, moisture sensors. However, sensor quality can be highly variable no matter what kind, especially something mass produced for consumers.

And of course, collect rainwater! If drought levels worsen, there's a real possibility of a total outdoor watering ban. How can a rainwater system help? Even the worst droughts in Georgia are a 50% reduction of rainfall. Which means that most buildings can double their effective rainfall with a rainwater system, which should be enough to protect trees and shrubs.

Please contact Georgia Water Tanks for help protecting your valuable landscaping. Our primary business is supplying equipment to contractors, with design assistance and on-site support during installation and commissioning included. If you are a property owner and are looking for an installer, we can recommend several that are experienced installers. And we are always looking to train more!