Essential Rainwater Harvesting: A Guide to Home-Scale System Design (Sustainable Building Essentials Series Book 11)

Design a rainwater harvesting system for any home in any climate. Water is a crucial resource increasingly under stress. Yet rainfall, even in arid climates, can make up a sizable portion of any home, acreage, or farm's water requirements if harvested and utilized with care. The key is appropriate planning and high-quality site- and climate-specific design. Essential Rainwater Harvesting is a comprehensive manual for designing, building, and maintaining water harvesting systems for the warm and cold climates of the world. Presenting design considerations and approaches for the most common household rainwater supply scenarios ' primary, supplemental, and off-grid supply ' this step-by-step approach covers: - Considerations for full-property water security - Demand planning and conservation strategies - Supply calculations and design implications for extreme rainfall and drought - Materials selection and water quality - System and site assessment - Sizing and design of gutters, conveyance, tanks, and pumps - Pre-filtration, filtration, and disinfection options - System maintenance and upkeep This practical resource provides DIYers, trades, and rainwater practitioners with the essential tools, methods, and technical know-how to design, build, and maintain rainwater harvesting systems anywhere. Rob Avis, P.Eng and Michelle Avis, P.Eng own and operate Adaptive Habitat, a leading edge property design firm for resilient homes, acreages, and farms and Verge Permaculture, a globally recognized award-winning education business. They have over 20 years of combined experience in project management, ecological design, and sustainable technologies, which they share at vergepermaculture.ca from their suburban house and yard that they've transformed into a model of cold climate urban permaculture in Calgary, Alberta. “You owe it to your family to follow the prescriptions in this book and be prepared for droughts and shortages through rainwater harvesting.” —Jerry Yudelson, author of Dry Run: Preventing the Next Urban Water Crisis Water is a crucial resource increasingly under stress. Yet rainfall, even in arid climates, can make up a sizable portion of any home, acreage, or farm’s water requirements if harvested and utilized with care. The key is appropriate planning and high-quality site- and climate-specific design. Essential Rainwater Harvesting is a comprehensive manual for designing, building, and maintaining water harvesting systems for the warm and cold climates of the world. Presenting design considerations and approaches for the most common household rainwater supply scenarios—primary, supplemental, and off-grid supply—this step-by-step approach covers: Considerations for full-property water security Demand planning and conservation strategies Supply calculations and design implications for extreme rainfall and drought Materials selection and water quality System and site assessment Sizing and design of gutters, conveyance, tanks, and pumps Pre-filtration, filtration, and disinfection options System maintenance and upkeep This practical resource provides DIYers, trades, and rainwater practitioners with the essential tools, methods, and technical know-how to design, build, and maintain rainwater harvesting systems anywhere. “Go to it! Become a rainwater harvester! Embrace your downpipes and filtration systems! And all the while with this brilliant book stuffed into your back pocket.” —Rob Hopkins, founder of the Transition movement “Inspired to save your own rainwater for garden and home? Essential Rainwater Harvesting is bursting with personal, practical, and precise information to get gardeners saving water right now.” —Donna Balzer, author of No Guff Vegetable Gardening Design a rainwater harvesting system for any home in any climate. Water is a crucial resource increasingly under stress. Yet rainfall, even in arid climates, can make up a sizable portion of any home, acreage, or farm's water requirements if harvested and utilized with care. The key is appropriate planning and high-quality site- and climate-specific design. Essential Rainwater Harvesting is a comprehensive manual for designing, building, and maintaining water harvesting systems for the warm and cold climates of the world. Presenting design considerations and approaches for the most common household rainwater supply scenarios ' primary, supplemental, and off-grid supply ' this step-by-step approach covers: - Considerations for full-property water security - Demand planning and conservation strategies - Supply calculations and design implications for extreme rainfall and drought - Materials selection and water quality - System and site assessment - Sizing and design of gutters, conveyance, tanks, and pumps - Pre-filtration, filtration, and disinfection options - System maintenance and upkeep This practical resource provides DIYers, trades, and rainwater practitioners with the essential tools, methods, and technical know-how to design, build, and maintain rainwater harvesting systems anywhere-- Publisher's description Water is a crucial resource increasingly under stress. Yet rainfall, even in arid climates, can make up a sizable portion of any home, acreage, or farm’s water requirements if harvested and utilized with care. The key is high-quality site-specific design and sensible maintenance.Essential Rainwater Harvesting is a comprehensive manual for designing, building, and maintaining water harvesting systems for the warm and cold climates of the world. Presenting design considerations and approaches for the most common household rainwater supply scenarios – primary, supplemental, and off-grid supply – this step-by-step approach covers:* Planning for full-property water security* Guidance on navigating regulatory requirements* Templates for building your own spreadsheet-based calculation tool* Site-specific planning and spatial layout* Materials and component design and selection* System maintenance and upkeep.Incorporating the latest independent research, this practical resource provides DIYers, trades, and rainwater practitioners with the essential tools, methods, and technical know-how to design, confidently build, and maintain rainwater harvesting systems that produce quality water without necessarily needing end-of-line disinfection or sterilization. Front Cover 1 Praise 2 Title Page 6 New Society Sustainable Building Essentials Series 8 Rights Page 9 Contents 10 Dedication 12 Foreword 14 How to Use this Book 18 Chapter 1: Introduction 22 Chapter 2: Fundamentals 32 Chapter 3: Feasibility 44 Chapter 4: Anatomy of a Rainwater System 94 Chapter 5: Collection and Pre-Filtration 110 Chapter 6: Storage 132 Chapter 7: Pumps 152 Chapter 8: Assuring End-Use Water Quality 156 Conclusion: The Importance of Good Design 162 Appendix A: Conversion Table 164 Resources and References 166 Index 170 About the Authors 176 A Note About the Publisher 177 A Guide to Responsible Digital Reading 178 Essential Rainwater Harvesting covers complete home-scale rainwater harvesting system design including goal setting, system planning, site assessment, calculations, and material selection and sizing for all climates.