Saturday, March 29, 2008

Rainwater Harvesting Skematics

Site Plan & Cross Section of Residential Rainwater Harvesting Skematic


Skematic Bold Line Designs by Derek Anderson

Site Plan & Cross Section by Travis Helm

I decided to create a site plan and cross sectional drawing to illustrate how the building and its lot can harvest rainwater in partnership.

Here is the process of a rainwater recycling system:

  • Roof catcment area receives rainfall, and then flows into gutters
  • Gutters are sloped toward a downspout, where it is transfered down to the perimeter drain
  • This perimeter drain will convey the water usually to the street sewer, but with a retention/harvesting system the water is directed to an underground storage tank, where it is filtered from debris and ready for re-use.
  • The storage tank incorporates a submersible pump, where it will pump the rainwater into the house for pressurized non-potable uses such as toilets, dishwashers, washing machines, or irrigation.

The rain barrel used on the east side is similar, but uses gravity feed as its pressurization. Overflow from the storage tank and rain barrel can be easily be piped to an adjacent garden for irrigation. The water used for the gardens can infiltrate back into ground naturally.

Making use of rainwater is very important for communities facing either a water shortage or the problem of congested storm sewers looking for relief. With rainwater harvesting, both of these issues can be resolved.

About 40% of domestic water use in the summer is used for watering lawns, this water is chlorinated and treated so it is suitable enough for people to drink. This can easily be eliminated with use of rainwater to water lawns instead, because it does not need the extra sterilization.

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6 comments:

Morgan Turland said...

The graphic looks really great Derek! A good all around outline of the exact process and steps in how rainwater can be directed.

March 30, 2008 at 8:42 AM
Nicole Baker said...

I really like the layout of your blog :) Everything is clear and explained well. Here are some links that maybe helpful with your project:

http://www.amazon.ca/Design-Water-Rainwater-Harvesting-Stormwater/dp/0865715807

http://www.arch.mcgill.ca/prof/bourke/arch672/fall2002/precip.htm

March 31, 2008 at 8:39 AM
Dale Parkes said...

Excellent work Derek!
Be sure to give yourself and Travis credit for the drawings. It is best if you state this directly under each one so there is no confusion.
For some reason the site plan does not get bigger when you click on it. Hopefully you can fix this.
I found another book at home about rainwater collection. I will bring it in so that you can have a look.

March 31, 2008 at 9:21 AM
Travis Helm said...

Well done buddy. I had that same sort of problem with one of my pics not getting bigger when you click on it. I'll give you a hand later, and we can figure that out.

As for the schematics, They look really good. Nice House.

March 31, 2008 at 9:25 AM
Shevaun O'Connor said...

Hi Derek
I love this idea, and think it should be a mandatory part of all buildings and subdivs. I have a video that shows a simple and effective way for homwowners to build their own rainwater retention system, its called "building with awareness". If you would like to see it just let me know.
What are you analyzing? How much water Kamloops could save if we switched to rainwater usage? Or how the water table would be affected?
Do you know if there are there any companies that provide this service to people? Maybe that would be a good niche market, especially in deserts.

April 1, 2008 at 5:17 PM
Dustin Remillard said...

Here is a site i found on some rainwater harvesting

http://www.harvesth2o.com/

April 4, 2008 at 2:10 PM

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Planning Outline

EDDT 231
Applied Research Project Outline

Project:
Determining what measures can be taken to keep storm water retained on-site, how it can be recycled back into the building envelope and show how they apply to a specific building site.

Methods:
1.) State why storm water retention should be implemented. Naturalize the land again; help improve eco-system, healthier subdivisions.

2.) Talk about the meaning of retention for a building site. Problems a building site may have in conveying storm run-off. Significance of retention.

3.) Apply a design to a residential/commercial building site. Show the design and specifications of storm water retention recycling systems on elevation, floor plan, and building site drawings.

4.) Explain the change of design standards for municipalities. Over-capacity storm sewers, re-charging ground water, reducing amount of runoff into streams.

5.) Give a background on the measures used to help retention. Show statistics based on several projects throughout North America. Green roofs, roof rainwater storage units, rain gardens.

6.) Talk to engineers at work about their experience on design storm water retention systems for subdivisions and try to implement a design to a specific site.

7.) Read government reports on green roofs and their retention capabilities. Find effectiveness of cisterns, rain gardens. Look at comparison of roof storage tanks specs.

8.) Can alternate storm water management that is applied be effective, appealing, cost efficient? Cost/Benefit of retention based design vs. conventional storm sewers.

Special Problems:
1.) Environmental impacts of conventional storm sewers. Damage to streams and the habitat of wildlife depending on those streams is a major concern. Pollutants can enter the storm system with little or no treatment and into the streams.

2.) Cost of storm water retention systems. Does it cost more than conventional systems? Less? Do the benefits of a retention friendly system outweigh the cost? Should cost even be an issue?

3.) Are retention measures effective? Show statistics of several projects throughout North America using retention systems and prove how they work. Draw a comparison between conventional sewers and retention systems.

4.) Where in North America will recycled storm retention systems be beneficial? Coastal regions, with large amounts of rainfall. Can these systems work in semi-arid regions, like Kamloops?

5.) How often do materials used in recycling practices need replacing? Do they wear down easily/need maintenance?

6.) Which methods of retention recycling are more effective? Does it matter on a given design? Can these methods be combined for a given project?

7.) How is greywater treated back into the building? What can this water be used for? What chemicals are used to clean the water?

Also:
1.) What scale of size should retention systems be to? Should rooftop storage tanks, rain gardens, and green roofs all be used in a single building?

2.) Performance of roof storm water retention tanks. What ones work better and take up less square footage to be effective enough?

3.) Rain gardens and above ground cisterns can promote growth to mosquito larva increasing the risk of West Nile virus. What measures are taken to prevent hatching? Sprinklers, additives to water?

4.) How can storm water retention recycled systems be integrated with other green technologies? Create hydro-electric energy with storm run-off?

5.) Calculating storm run-off flow. Manning’s equation or computer modeling techniques used in engineering offices to find out how much run-off will enter sewers and streams. Compare conventional sewer run-off to a recycling system.

6.) Do land values increase with implementation of greener storm water retention technology? Quality of life of those living in the building increase?