Post by ogeezer on Feb 27, 2007 8:23:57 GMT -6
With water becoming a highly contested commodity these days, it is certain the day will come when water, whether from a individual waterwell or a city service, will be proportioned out by family size and actual need using a consumption finance plan.
Already we have seen in places where droughts are taking its toll on the replenishment of aquifers or surface reservoirs, citizens are being forced to follow bans on usage for watering lawns, washing cars, filling kid's swimming pools, and even raising vegetables. The Federal government is already require that cammodes operate on outputs of 1.5-gallons are less. And some officials are doing their darndest to legislate manditory in house use restrictions on bathing, tub or shower use, and implementation of waste treatment using incineration rather than sewage treatments which use a lot of water.
Rainwater harvesting has gained attention in recent years, though it is nothing new. Rainwater serves as the primary water source for many worldwide. Having grown up on a family farm where a household cistern was the main water source, its easy to envision that probably sooner than later, capturing rain for uses other than consumption will make a comeback.
In recent years, the technology for rainwater systems has improved, and there are an increasing number of suppliers serving Texas. A complete system includes a collection surface, such as a guttered roof, a cistern, a filtration system, a pump and, if the water is to be used for drinking or cooking or cleaning dishes and clothes, a disinfection process will be employed.
Out of the Ogeezer's farm, we built such a system into our home place, not in the space usually reserved for a basement or storm/root cellar, put adjacent to our house utilizing a series of above and below holding vessels (that's tank-like containers to you non-engineers) to capture and hold captured rainwater.
Some might believe the cost of such systems don't warrant their use, with water from well or city main being as cheap as it is. Prehaps, it might seem that way. But considering the rising costs for municipal water or the increasing costs of electricity necessary to bring well water to the surface, coupled with the cost differential one pays for the amount grocery vegetables and fruits needed to replace raising home-growns - the initial costs are recouped very quickly.
Some skeptics contend not enough water can be collected make the whole rainwater catch system worthwhile. Well, that depends on where the skeptic lives, how big his collector is, how much rainfall his locale receives, and what the water is being used for.
Around here, on average more than an adequate supply of rain falls annually, even without figuring in periods of hot, dry conditions or even tropical storm gulley washers. Already this year, the WJS reports over 8.5 inches of rain as fallen when typically by this time, 4.5 inches was expected. On an annual basis, Wharton County receives slightly over 42 inches of rainfall per year (more when tropical storms hit the region OR less when dry spells occur).
Now, 8-1/2 inches of rain doesn't sound like much. However, depending upon the size of your collector, it could be a lot. And the best collector we have is the roof on top of our house. And like some things, in this case, size does matter.
Sizing your collector isn't done by figuring roof area. No! Collector size is determined by the horizontal surface area, also known as the Drip area, which is the overall dimensions of the house plus amount of overhang (cornice) area to where the water drips onto the ground below.
For the sake of computing rain catch volume, let's assume the drip area in square feet (SF) is 2000. That's 2000 SF. Now, using the 8.5 inches of rainfall Wharton has received already this year, including a normal 5% lose to collector seepage and evaporation, the collector has a volume capacity of 1345.83 cubic feet (CF) and when multiplied by the volume of water in 1 CF (which is 7.48 gallons).
That's over 10,000 gallons of water that fell on the house, and which rainoff to places unknown without benefiting the homeowner one iota. In Wharton and El Campo, 10,000 gallons of water from the municipality would cost you $21+.
Based on the avg monthly rainfall of 3.5-inches, for the same size collector above, the homeowner would collect slightly over 4,000 gallons of water. More than enough to water the veggie garden, fruit trees, shrubs, bucket wash every car in the family, and fill a birdbath every day during the month while everybody else in the neighborhood is tied down to water conservation mandates.
So, if water is as important to you as it should be, maybe you ought to consider setting up some kind of collection and storage system to take advantage of what Mother Nature is giving you. Maybe not on as grand scale as we have on our homeplace but fitting your own personal needs even if all you collect is a half-wooden rainbarrel full for watering your petunias or washing your hair.
Already we have seen in places where droughts are taking its toll on the replenishment of aquifers or surface reservoirs, citizens are being forced to follow bans on usage for watering lawns, washing cars, filling kid's swimming pools, and even raising vegetables. The Federal government is already require that cammodes operate on outputs of 1.5-gallons are less. And some officials are doing their darndest to legislate manditory in house use restrictions on bathing, tub or shower use, and implementation of waste treatment using incineration rather than sewage treatments which use a lot of water.
Rainwater harvesting has gained attention in recent years, though it is nothing new. Rainwater serves as the primary water source for many worldwide. Having grown up on a family farm where a household cistern was the main water source, its easy to envision that probably sooner than later, capturing rain for uses other than consumption will make a comeback.
In recent years, the technology for rainwater systems has improved, and there are an increasing number of suppliers serving Texas. A complete system includes a collection surface, such as a guttered roof, a cistern, a filtration system, a pump and, if the water is to be used for drinking or cooking or cleaning dishes and clothes, a disinfection process will be employed.
Out of the Ogeezer's farm, we built such a system into our home place, not in the space usually reserved for a basement or storm/root cellar, put adjacent to our house utilizing a series of above and below holding vessels (that's tank-like containers to you non-engineers) to capture and hold captured rainwater.
Some might believe the cost of such systems don't warrant their use, with water from well or city main being as cheap as it is. Prehaps, it might seem that way. But considering the rising costs for municipal water or the increasing costs of electricity necessary to bring well water to the surface, coupled with the cost differential one pays for the amount grocery vegetables and fruits needed to replace raising home-growns - the initial costs are recouped very quickly.
Some skeptics contend not enough water can be collected make the whole rainwater catch system worthwhile. Well, that depends on where the skeptic lives, how big his collector is, how much rainfall his locale receives, and what the water is being used for.
Around here, on average more than an adequate supply of rain falls annually, even without figuring in periods of hot, dry conditions or even tropical storm gulley washers. Already this year, the WJS reports over 8.5 inches of rain as fallen when typically by this time, 4.5 inches was expected. On an annual basis, Wharton County receives slightly over 42 inches of rainfall per year (more when tropical storms hit the region OR less when dry spells occur).
Now, 8-1/2 inches of rain doesn't sound like much. However, depending upon the size of your collector, it could be a lot. And the best collector we have is the roof on top of our house. And like some things, in this case, size does matter.
Sizing your collector isn't done by figuring roof area. No! Collector size is determined by the horizontal surface area, also known as the Drip area, which is the overall dimensions of the house plus amount of overhang (cornice) area to where the water drips onto the ground below.
For the sake of computing rain catch volume, let's assume the drip area in square feet (SF) is 2000. That's 2000 SF. Now, using the 8.5 inches of rainfall Wharton has received already this year, including a normal 5% lose to collector seepage and evaporation, the collector has a volume capacity of 1345.83 cubic feet (CF) and when multiplied by the volume of water in 1 CF (which is 7.48 gallons).
That's over 10,000 gallons of water that fell on the house, and which rainoff to places unknown without benefiting the homeowner one iota. In Wharton and El Campo, 10,000 gallons of water from the municipality would cost you $21+.
Based on the avg monthly rainfall of 3.5-inches, for the same size collector above, the homeowner would collect slightly over 4,000 gallons of water. More than enough to water the veggie garden, fruit trees, shrubs, bucket wash every car in the family, and fill a birdbath every day during the month while everybody else in the neighborhood is tied down to water conservation mandates.
So, if water is as important to you as it should be, maybe you ought to consider setting up some kind of collection and storage system to take advantage of what Mother Nature is giving you. Maybe not on as grand scale as we have on our homeplace but fitting your own personal needs even if all you collect is a half-wooden rainbarrel full for watering your petunias or washing your hair.