Sunday, June 28, 2009

Rain Water Catchment System

Our rain water catchment tanks are now officially plumbed and ready for the rains (at least there is one thing that we are early with). Thanks to Ingrid, Nik Bertulis, and the wonderful workshop participants that attended yesterday's workshop, as well as Christina Bertea for her wonderful advice, the system is just about finished.

The five, five hundred and fifty gallon tanks are daisy chained together, the fir
st flush diverter is in, the secondary filtration system is installed, and it looks beautiful! All together the storage capacity is 2750 gallons. We still have to figure out details on the overflow, and readjust the gutters so water flows in the right directions. The system is designed to collect water from the north side of our house, which on a very low rain year should fill the tanks with a small amount left over. The tanks are mainly designed for landscaping and irrigation use, so they will fill during the winter, and be used during the summer. The overflow water will be incorporated in to the courtyard design, and more rain water catchment tanks will be built to catch the rain from the south side of the house. Stay tuned for updates on the ferocement water tank that will double as retaining wall. Thanks again to everyone who helped make this happen.