Rain Harvesting in Green Homes

Water is the new gold. This may be news to you, but it's a concept that has been in the making for a while. The bottled water industry, which continues to outpace the market each year, is part of the story; your water bills is another telling sign; and the ultimate telling sign is that the state of Georgia is undergoing dramatic and perhaps irreversible changes in its topography and economy, due to the extreme draught that it has been experiencing.

Rain harvesting, to the typical American urban dweller, is a new green idea. The country folk of Texas, New Mexico, Latin America and the rest of the world don't need a treatise on such notion, or an internet link to a water harvesting tank with special features. Water harvesting is back, and, as easy as it is to go at it low tech, it is a winning design entry at the Venice Biennale of 2007. The water wall is a high idea, that could go low tech if in it's final permutation can be applied to any house.

The idea of using rainwater as an insulator and the skin of the building as a reservoir for gray water use is genial. But for the purposes of forwarding sound notions of green design and living, it should be stated clearly that a rainbarrel at the end of a downspout will serve the purpose.

Entire communities can implement water conservation by harvesting rain water. One does wonder: why hasn't it been done systematically? Perhaps we could not see the need, like New Mexicans clearly see, at an average yearly rainfall of 3". In Houston, the average yearly rainfall is 50". You may ask why are we making any deal out of water conservation?

It's about the carbon footprint for those of us priviledged enough to have ample supply of water. I'm not talking about water, I'm talkign about potable water. Water that has been processed, treated, and which uses up chemicals. Potable water= Carbon footprint. Rain water=0 carbon.

For the purposes of planning your new home project, perhaps part of the greening of the project should be the reduction of use of potable water. The following are steps to take:

-Look into cisterns and above ground rain harvesting containers. These can and should be recycled containers

-Plan for these in your landscape, drainage and position of downspouts so that they can become part of the design and can handle the overflow

-Insist on having these around the site during construction for industrial use during the construction

-Discuss the capacity of the rain harvesting containers with your landscape architect and landscape irrigation contractor so as to make the reduction of potable water and the rain harvesting work.

-Increase the permeability of landscape and hardscape areas, using crushed granite, or other permeable materials

-Place a rain harvesting container by your driveway to use for mop cleaning, car washing, and other outdoor activities

It's a better world when we can be a part of green change, and make a difference in greening our community and our earth.