Here’s a video interview about a rainwater collection system that Innovative Water Solutions installed for a client of Risinger Homes.  Matt Risinger has a terrific blog about home building and building science.  He asked me to provide some details about the rainwater collection system.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This rainwater collection system consists of two 3,000 gallon fiberglass cisterns. The rainwater is used for irrigation use only. The system collects rainwater from roughly 4,000 square feet of roof through a “wet” collection piping system. Therefore, the system will harvest about 2,500 gallons of rainwater per inch of rainfall. In central Texas, this will net about 75,000 gallons of rainwater on an annual basis.

There are many different configurations for these rainwater harvesting systems which encompasses collection efficiency, cistern aesthetics, and budget. You can learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of each type of rainwater system at our website.

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Lots of cool stuff to learn...

Come one, Come all, to the 2012 Spring Chicken Festival at the new Sustain Center in Austin, Texas.

Spring Chicken Festival will be held March 3rd, 2012 from noon to 6:30 pm at the new Sustain Center located at 443 S. Bastrop Hwy., Austin, Texas (next door to Callahan’s on 183 South – MAP). The Spring Chicken Festival is a celebration of Spring, Gardening and Backyard Poultry Keeping. The festival is a family affair so join us for this eventful day full of fun, educational sessions, kids activities, and local shopping. Educational sessions will include backyard chicken keeping, organic gardening, composting, and much more. Vendors will include purveyors of organic gardening products, chicken keeping products, and locally-made foods and art.

Visit the webpage for the Spring Chicken Festival to find out more about the event. You can download the Spring Chicken Festival flyer so that you can see the schedule of events and seminars for the festival.

Rainwater Harvesting System Demo

One of the structures at the Sustain Center will have a brand new rainwater harvesting system installation by Innovative Water Solutions. You will be able to see many of the different components that go into creating a near maintenance-free rainwater collection system. The system is comprised of a 3,000 galvanized rainwater cistern, inlet filters, first-flush diverter, and pump system that will demonstrate how the rainwater is filtered and disinfected for potable use.

New Sustainable Learning Site for Austin

The Sustain Center is an education center and cooperative demonstration project comprised of variety of local businesses displaying sustainable systems and products. Learn how you can lead a more sustainable life, be more self-reliant, and make a smaller impact on the planet. Sustain Center brings you the people, products and knowledge to make sensible decisions for your future.

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The market for water conservation techologies is growing!!!

A new report titled “Rainwater Harvesting in the US: A 2010 Industry Analysis” is now available. The rainwater harvesting industry in the US is a small industry and has never been analyzed to the detail available in the report. Other countries such as Australia, Germany, and England have much larger rainwater collection system industries and these markets have been analyzed before.

This report details the rainwater harvesting industry in the US through careful analysis of rainwater industry groups and interviews with key manufacturers, vendors, and installers. There are many key take-aways that hint to a very robust industry that is growing, particularly within the past few years.

First-ever Report about the US Rainwater Market

This is to my knowledge the first-ever analysis report produced about the US rainwater catchment industry and market. The report illustrates the sustained growth of the rainwater harvesting market in recent years.

The best part is that this report was produced by individuals who are intimate with the rainwater harvesting industry. Doug Pushard has run HarvestH2o website for many years and helps to highlight various news stories pertinent to the rainwater industry. Jason Kerigan has worked with Rain Harvesting Pty. Ltd., a rainwater harvesting system component manufacturer in Australia. He is now running his own international marketing consultancy business.

They collected primary data from a survey of rainwater harvesting system installers throughout the US and also conducted informal interviews with a number of rainwater collection equipment suppliers and key stakeholders to validate the findings. Data was also collected from the Internet and other associations serving the manufacturers and suppliers.

Innovative Water Solutions provided data for this report. We have definitely seen an increase in interest in rainwater collection over the years. This has provided a steady growth pattern for us. We have also seen an increase of rainwater catchment systems used in commercial buildings primarily due to green building rating systems such as LEED and the economic rationale of these larger systems.

The Full Report is 50+ pages but they also have a 25 page Summary Report available for businesses and individuals that are interested in the overall market growth, but not necessarily the detailed information included in the Full Report. The Summary Report is available for $95 and the Full Report is available for $295.

The authors have made available the Table of Contents for the Summary Report and the Full Report for your review. You can also review the List of Graphs and Tables in the Full Report.

You can find out more about the report and purchase the report here.

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Frontier Model cistern specially priced for 2012

There are many different types of cisterns available for rainwater collection systems, each one with its pros and cons. We install many different cisterns since each job has different circumstances such as budget, available room for the cistern, and cistern installation access requirements. In addition, there are price efficiencies that make certain sizes of cisterns more “attractive” for a homeowner’s budget. For example, a 10,000 gallon cistern may cost around $8,000 but the 20,000 gallon cistern option may only cost around $12,000. For only $4,000 more, you get twice the size of storage volume. Of course, this decision is only available if you have the space to increase the cistern size to a larger volume.

There are many variables that go into sizing cisterns for rainwater harvesting systems. We always try to provide the most efficient option for our clients, all the while trying to provide the most aesthetically appealing option. While you can use some of the various rainwater collection calculators available online, they don’t really give you a way to calculate the best rainwater storage volume. Therefore, it’s almost an art form.

One of our tank manufacturers has created a special pricing package for one of their cistern kits. They are offering the cistern pictured above for $15,000 (installed cost). This price is currently available for customers in the central Texas area. The cistern holds 24,000 gallons and is 24′ diameter with a side height of 7′-3″ and a peak roof height of 10′-0″. This particular cistern requires a concrete foundation for warranty purposes. The installed price includes 2″ and 4″ flanges, liner, shipping to site, and assembly.

This cistern is a great option for people who want to use rainwater for potable purposes. At 24,000 gallons and 24′ in diameter, it is a large tank that definitely requires some space. This cistern has a great look especially for homeowners who what to keep a rural feel to their homestead. This particular manufacturer produces a great product that will be an asset for your home and property. This cistern special is only available while supplies last.

If you are in the central Texas area would like to schedule a consultation, please contact us. You can find out more about our rainwater harvesting system installation services at our website.

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Completed rainwater collection system as seen in the videos

More and more, people in Texas who purchase land to build their dream home in areas where there is no municipal water supply, are electing to install rainwater harvesting systems to supply their household with water. Rather than drilling a well and ending up with a well with a low flow rate and/or bad water quality, rainwater collection systems provide a pristine water source with very minimum maintenance. Reliability is something to be concerned with since you need it to rain in order to have water in the cistern, but with careful planning, we can design a system that can “weather” (pun intended) a long drought periods.

Part 1 of the videos shows the hard work that goes into installing a large collection system. You can see the difficult task of rock sawing the trenches for the collection pipes.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Part 2 shows the majority of steps in constructing a corrugated metal cistern that we commonly use for potable water systems.

Click here to view the embedded video.

You can check out more videos at the IWS Youtube Channel and subscribe to our video updates. We also have a ton of other rainwater harvesting and water conservation media resources on our website.

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Show your support for water conservation

Do you currently have a “brown” lawn due to the drought? Did you finally realize that keeping your lawn green during the Texas drought was too daunting of a task especially with water restrictions? Well, now you can justify your brown lawn and declare your support for and commitment to water conservation. The Central Texas Water Efficiency Network (CTWEN) is giving away free yard signs that show your pledge to follow your community’s outdoor watering schedule and to find ways to reduce water in your home and/or business. They invite you to join their effort to protect Central Texas water supplies.

You can pick up your free yard sign at one of 6 Central Texas locations in central and south Austin, Round Rock, San Marcos and Bastrop.

Our lawns are a good place to start discussing water conservation since outdoor watering accounts for one of the largest uses of water in our region. As much as 50% of the water used in August by City of Austin water utility customers is for outdoor irrigation. ¹

Get your sign today and set an example for your neighbors.

CTWEN is a newly-formed coalition of municipalities, water providers and water conservation advocates in the Central Texas region. Their purpose is to share water conservation information and promote water efficiency education, legislation, programs, and technologies in order to regionally have an impact on water supplies and use.

Like CTWEN on Facebook to keep up with current water efficiency news for Central Texas. While you are at it, Like Innovative Water Solutions as well. We try to keep you informed AND entertained.

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Promote water conservation by helping H2OScore

With population growth and uncertain future weather patterns, water conservation is becoming a much larger issue in our communities. Therefore, water conservation efforts need all the help they can get. A student-led social entrepreneurship venture based at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin has started up and they are trying an innovative idea to get people to understand their water usage patterns better. Project H2OScore is designed to promote water sustainability and empower water users through the innovative use of data and community-building web and social media applications. The project is led by Dr. McGee Young, a professor at Marquette University and David Snopek, a programmer with a background in entrepreneurship.

What is an “H2OScore”?

H2OScore is a way to deploy data about water that empowers communities and individuals to commit to sustainability without resorting to drastic rationing, dramatic price increases, or other invasive regulatory options. They hope to do this by getting water use data from cities and communities across the United States through Freedom of Information Act requests. They take this data and then translate it into their database. From their website, you will be able to enter your address and number of people in your household and they will calculate your H2O Score. You will then be able to see a true picture of your water usage patterns.

They’ve recently launched a fundraising campaign to help add 100 new cities to their database before the end of the year. They recently contacted me to help promote their efforts on my blog. There are only a few days left in this campaign. Hopefully they will open another crowd-raising campaign because this is a great idea to help promote the understanding of just how much water you use in your household. Every little bit helps and they give awesome perks to you, even if you only contribute $5.

Here’s a video that explains their idea better.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Here are the Friday Fab 5 links for the week of October 31, 2011. This week is a special video edition of the Fab 5 Links.

1. Fun and Games

Recently, the winning short films of the Intelligent Use of Water™ Film Competition (IUOW) were announced. The film competition is held annually by Rain Bird. The following film was the 2011 Jury Award winner. It depicts a young British couple engaged in a long-distance phone call “role play game” (wink, wink) that is perpetually interrupted by the woman’s subconscious anxieties over water issues.

2. Just Don’t Flush It

Another winner from this year’s IUOW Film Competition, the following film was 2011 Audience Choice Award winner. It is a Boy Band parody about the “If it’s yellow, let it mellow” mantra.

3. The journey of a drinking water drop

Here’s another award winning short film about water. This wonderful stop motion film about the journey of a drinking water drop won the 2011 Water Movie Challenge of the International Water Week, held in Amsterdam.

4. Keeping our River drug-free

Pharmaceuticals in our water systems is becoming a much larger topic for our society and water engineers. Most of these pharmaceuticals are getting into our local rivers through our own personal waste streams. In addition to this source, they also get into our local rivers due to people flushing unwanted or unused pharmaceuticals down the toilet. To help reduce this practice, Potomac Riverkeepers recently held a National Prescription Drug Take Back event to safely dispose of these prescription drugs. This is a great idea that other cities should implement.

5. Capturing rainwater with trees

Great video that illustrates how trees can help our local environment and communities by soaking up rainwater and filtering it before heading to the aquifer. Presented by TreePeople, it shows how reconnecting trees to our city’s watersheds is one of the fastest ways to create lasting jobs while rebuilding local economies and preparing our communities to thrive and survive increasing threats of severe weather.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJqUEv_DwMA

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It's tough to accurately measure gravity flow through a pipe

Wastewater averaging… ah, a favorite topic of any cocktail party! What is that… you’ve never heard of wastewater averaging? Well, sit right back and let me tell how you can hack your wastewater averaging period and save money the rest of the year.

What is wastewater averaging?

Wastewater averaging is the practice of estimating the amount of wastewater discharged from your home into the city’s sanitary sewer system. It is essentially a cap on the volume of wastewater you will be billed for each month for the next year. This practice goes by a variety of names including average winter consumption, wastewater winter averaging, winter averaging, winter quarterly average, or winter period average.

Check with your local utility company to see how they handle your wastewater charges. Some utilities don’t want to mess with all these calculations, so they charge a flat, monthly wastewater fee.

Your water utility uses a wastewater average because they can’t measure the actual amount of wastewater discharged from your home. Potable water coming into your house is measured with a water meter since the water is pressurized, but wastewater flows out of your home by gravity. It is not easy to measure gravity water flow through a pipe. Therefore, the next best way to measure the wastewater discharge is to use your water meter to measure your monthly water use and then estimate the amount of wastewater that could be returning to the city sewers.

Shouldn’t water flow IN be equal to water flow OUT?

Well, in the winter time, it generally does, but during the rest of the year, it doesn’t since you could be using water outdoors. The water you sprinkle on your lawn doesn’t go to the city sewers. Therefore, the wastewater averaging period typically happens during the winter months when there should be little to no outdoor water use.

Typically, a multiple month average during the late fall and winter months is used rather than picking one month during the year. This averaging is more fair just in case you have a higher water use during a single month. For example, the City of Austin uses the water use from 3 consecutive monthly billing cycles between mid-November to mid-March. From these 3 months, the City of Austin will average the water meter readings and this will become the monthly wastewater charge for all of the other months during the year. If you use more water than your wastewater average, then it is assumed that this additional water has been used outdoors and will not be returned back to the city’s sewers for processing and treatment. Therefore, you are not charged for this water usage on your wastewater bill. Conversely, if you use less water during a month than your wastewater average, then your wastewater charge should equal only the actual amount of water used that month.

Why is this so important?

Generally, the cost of wastewater is higher than the cost of potable water. Due to the nature of wastewater, you can imagine it would be more expensive to treat before being released back into environment. Currently, the City of Austin charges $1.17 per 1000 gallons of potable water used in the 0 to 2000 gallon cohort while they charge $3.79 per 1000 gallons of wastewater used in the 0 to 2000 gallon cohort. For citizens of Austin this means that they can actually get 3 times more savings by conserving wastewater than they do by conserving potable water.  In order to achieve these savings throughout the year though, you have to reduce your water use during your wastewater averaging period.

Conserving water in the winter = Saving money all year long

Using less water during the wastewater averaging period will result in a corresponding lower wastewater bill throughout the entire year.  Here are ten ways to reduce your winter time water use and consequently your monthly wastewater bill:

1. Conserve water in traditional ways – I don’t want to go into all the typical water conservation tips and habits here but you should definitely stick to them. You can find many lists of ways to conserve water online.

2. Fix all leaky fixtures – This one is a mundane tip but leaks are a major culprit of unintentional water use in our homes.

3. Shower at your gym – Not only will this conserve water at your home but it could also get your New Year’s resolution to lose weight started early.

4. Use your workplace bathroom to do your business – Pretty self-explanatory. Less flushes at home, less water used!! You can also practice, “If it’s yellow, let it mellow, if it’s brown, flush it down.” to flush less.

5. Launder your clothes at a laundromat rather than at your house – You can also wash your clothes less or wear them multiple times before laundering.

6. Don’t wash your car at home – This one is easy.

7. Turn off your irrigation system – Your landscaping probably won’t need water during the winter months since the plants will be dormant.

8. Insulate hot water pipes – Since the cold weather is coming, this is a perfect time to insulate any exposed hot water pipes for more immediate hot water at the faucet. You’ll save some energy as well.

9. Don’t host a party or have family stay over the holidays – This one may be tough but you can see how hosting a lot of people at your house during the holidays could spike your water usage. This is a perfect time to say this – “Don’t be a Scrooge” though just to save a few dollars!

10. Don’t move into a new house at the early part of the year – You could get straddled with the previous homeowner’s high water usage. Saving money from wastewater has to be high on your priority list to make this tip useful but I wanted to throw it out there. In addition, this could work both ways. If the previous homeowner was water conservative and you’re a water hog, then you could be saving money due to reduced monthly wastewater charges versus the actual amount of water you use.

But this is cheating the system…

Some people may consider these tips as cheating the system, but many water utilities, including Austin, Texas, actively advertise their wastewater averaging period and ways for you to conserve water during this time in order to save money throughout the year.  If the casino is losing money on a game, they wouldn’t be advertising it, right?

There you have it. Practice these tips and I guarantee you will reap savings throughout the year. If you have any other water conservation “hacking” tips, please comment below.

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We are facing huge water infrastructure investment needs.

On November 8th, 2011, Texans will visit the polls to vote on 10 Texas Constitution amendments (Sample Ballot). Two of the eight amendments are related to water issues, Proposition #2 and Proposition #8. While I feel that both amendments will help our water infrastructure and local water resources, I believe there are a few items people should know about the propositions before they vote.

Proposition #2 (SJR 4)

SJR 4 would amend the constitution to authorize the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) to issue additional general obligation bonds on a continuing basis, with the restriction that the total amount of bonds outstanding at any time does not exceed $6 billion. The use of bond proceeds authorized by passage of Proposition #2 is limited to financial assistance to political subdivisions for water, wastewater, and flood control projects. You can read a detailed bill analysis by the Senate Research Center.

The proposed amendment would appear on the ballot as follows:

The constitutional amendment providing for the issuance of additional general obligation bonds by the Texas Water Development Board in an amount not to exceed $6 billion at any time outstanding.

This amendment is necessary because it is estimated that TWDB’s current bonding authority will be exhausted in 2013. This type of constitutional amendment is nothing new. Since 1957, the legislature and voters have approved various constitutional amendments authorizing the TWDB to issue bonds for water-related projects. Most recently, the voters of Texas passed Proposition 19 in 2001 that provided the issuance of additional $2 billion worth of general obligation bonds by the TWDB.¹ Of the available $4.23 billion in financing approved in previous elections, $3.29 billion has been issued.² TWDB has an excellent record of managing these bond portfolios without any defaults in the history of its loan programs. In addition, TWDB bonds consistently receive AAA ratings and has outperformed the state’s bond ratings.

Since the state does not directly fund the projects that would qualify under this amendment, increased funding for improvements to our water and wastewater infrastructure is welcome. Funding for water infrastructure investment will always be made by cities and water suppliers, but at least the TWDB can provide loans at lower interest rates. According to the ASCE Report Card for America’s Infrastructure for Texas, Texas has $33.81 billion in water and wastewater infrastructure needs over the next 20 years. In the recent Draft Texas Water Plan 2012 prepared, the TWDB estimated $53 billion is needed in infrastructure for new water supplies over the next 40 years.  Therefore, this $6 billion is just a drop in the bucket, but at least it is a start.

Proposition #8 (SJR 16)

SJR 16 would amend the constitution by requiring the legislature to provide for taxation of open space land devoted to water stewardship purposes on the basis of its productive capacity. You can read a detailed bill analysis of SB 449 (Texas State Senate version of bill) by the House Research Organization that provides many pro and con points for the amendment.

The proposed amendment would appear on the ballot as follows:

The constitutional amendment providing for the appraisal for ad valorem tax purposes of open-space land devoted to water-stewardship purposes on the basis of its productive capacity.

Basically, Proposition #8 would add water stewardship to the open space exemptions traditionally given to farmers, ranchers, and the timber industry. Therefore, if a landowner already receives an agricultural exemption for tax valuation, then they would be eligible for the water stewardship exemption. The amendment would not broaden eligibility for an agricultural valuation, but would simply encourage landowners to manage their land to benefit Texas’ water resources.

Private landowners must show they are engaging in at least three of nine conservation activities that, according to the House Research Organization, include:

• erosion control
• habitat stewardship benefiting water quality or conservation
• restoration of native aquatic and riparian animal and plant species
• implementation of practices resulting in reduced water usage from a well that was exempt from certain permitting
• riparian and wetland habitat and buffer restoration and protection
• allowance of groundwater and surface water monitoring for data collection purposes in accordance with state water or groundwater management area planning
• invasive aquatic plant and animal control
• maintaining a water right on deposit in the Texas Water Trust under certain circumstances
• holding a water right that authorized the use of water for instream flows dedicated to environmental needs or bay and estuary inflows under certain circumstances

The amendment would require the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) to develop the implementation standards of these conservation activities. The TPWD would also have to inspect the implementation of these activities.

Proposition #8 would be revenue neutral since the landowner would need to have an ag exemption tax valuation already. Basically, this amendment would allow landowners to stop farming and implement some conservation activities to keep the same tax rate on their land. Will these conservation activities ultimately help the watershed and thus the water supply… maybe?

Since landowners who are using their land for farming purposes are already performing some of these conservation activities, I don’t see this amendment really changing much of anything. It definitely won’t hurt any current efforts to improve the quality of our state waters. Since everyone wants to help with our future water situation, I am sure this proposition will pass since it has “water-stewardship purposes” in the wording.

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