Rain Water Harvesting - Make Your Own For WFP Use

Harvesting rainwater has been a common theme on the UK forums & some suggest it's even better than production rain water used for water fed pole work. It seems to somehow have more power! A couple of pieces caught my eye this month, it seems that the world is catching on. More information can be found here & here. Even Jeff Brimble stated: "Yes one day we will understand why, natural rain is "softer" and different to water made from reverse osmosis (RO). Its good for our green footprint and the customers love the idea."

If you are not used to taking water to your job site, how about shaving time off your work? Connect up to your van or truck instead of looking for water sources & know that that your pre-collected water is good to go for your WFP, without continual testing for tds. Below are a couple of pieces that may just get you started before graduating on to bigger tanks. There are a variety of resources on the web - a previous blog here, contains some good links.

The videos at the foot of the page will give you even more ideas, an additional pump could push your water through filters if you needed, straight into your water tank installed in your van or truck. Gravity alone could also do the same job & pass it through DI resin with your water already being much softer than normal tap water. Many report readings of 0.00 - 0.10 from a downpour. Just remember to use your divertor into your collection system after the roof has had a good wash.

Also see here & here.

Rain Barrel Sale Encourages Environmental Altruism: The Naperville Park District and Conservation Foundation collaborate in honor of Earth Day. What's mosquito proof, saves you money and helps the environment? To commemorate Earth Day on April 22, the Naperville Park District has partnered with the Conservation Foundation to offer 55-gallon rain barrels at a discounted price to those who order by April 13.

"The average 1,000-square-foot roof sheds approximately 623 gallons of water during a one-inch rainfall," said Peggy Pelkonen, project manager for the Naperville Park District. Multiply that number by thousands of homes in any given area and the amount of rainwater entering our sewer system is staggering. But it isn't just water swelling our ponds and streams. It's the chemicals we apply to our lawns and gardens, pet waste from our yards, oil in our streets and driveways and all forms of debris that find their way into these waterways, compromising the quality and safety of our water. 

Harvesting that water with rain barrels provides an inexpensive way for homeowners to not only keep money in their pockets but to help on an environmental level. No part is too small, particularly when it comes to protecting an invaluable natural resource. "People are starting to understand the importance of rain barrels," Pelkonen said. "Keeping water from entering the sewer system is an easy way for people to contribute to using our natural resources in an efficient way." She adds that since the press release went out announcing the program last week, 67 rain barrels have been reserved and many more requests are expected before the inaugural program ends.

Approximately 40 percent of household water usage during the summer months is for the benefit of lawns and plants in the home landscape, according to the Conservation Foundation. By adding a few rain barrels to downspouts, homeowners can cut their water dependency. Unlike treated tap water, rainwater is chlorine free and loaded with minerals that are vital to plant health and perfect for more delicate plants. The naturally softened water is ideal for washing cars, watering houseplants, window washing, cleaning outdoor furniture and decreasing demand for water during the hottest times of the year. This all spells savings on the monthly water bill. And as water costs rise, it's one more incentive to think a little greener.

Rain barrels are available in three colors - terracotta, grey and black. For those conservationists who wish to draw attention to it, the barrels are paintable, says Pelkonen. Rain barrels are available for $70 and can be pre-ordered online at www.napervilleparks.org, by phone at (630) 848-5000 or in person at the Park District Administration Building at 320 W. Jackson Avenue. The barrels will be available for pick-up on Saturday, April 16 from 9 a.m. until noon at the administration building.

The rain barrel program is one of several initiatives of the park district as it moves toward a more sustainable environment that promotes awareness and preserves the integrity of our natural resources. Among them the installation of two pervious parking lots, bioswales for the filtration of storm water, shoreline stabilization of retention basins using native plants and construction of a cistern to harvest and contain rain water at Knoch Knolls Park for the irrigation of ball fields. "[Water conservation] is painless, easy and it helps so much," Pelkonen said. "It's just so important to replenish our water table."

Rain as a Resource: How to Build a Rain Barrel - Editor's note: It is legal to harvest rainwater from roofs in San Juan Capistrano as long as the water is kept in a container that keeps mosquitos out. (Please check your local law - regarding capturing rainwater, in some States it is illegal).

After weeks of sunny weather, we're reminded that it's still winter in Southern California. There's rain in the forecast for this weekend, which means it's still worth your while to build a rainwater harvesting cistern, or rain barrel. Harvesting rainwater reduces storm water runoff, putting less stress on our public water infrastructure. It also provides high-quality irrigation water for your garden, lowering your water bill.

Devote an hour or two of your time in the next few days to build this rain barrel and you'll be ready to "harvest" this weekend. Here's what you'll need:

• one 55-gallon food-grade barrel (These are available at feed stores or online.)
• one bulkhead set (Ask for it at your local aquarium supply.)
• one brass garden faucet (Available at your local hardware store.)
• one piece of mesh or window screen
• one PVC elbow fitting, optional (Available at your local hardware store.)
• silicone adhesive for sealing

Directions:

• Purchase a clean, 55-gallon food-grade plastic barrel. Do not reuse a used barrel or one you retrieved from the dump.
• Cut a hole the size of your downspout into the top of the barrel or lid. A hole or saber saw will do the trick.
• Using the silicone adhesive, affix a piece of mesh or window screen over the hole in the lid to prevent debris or critters from falling in. If you need it, you can attach a 45-degree elbow to the end of your downspout to reach your barrel.
• Unscrew the bulkhead and place the threaded stem against the outside barrel about 4 to 6 inches above the ground.
• Trace around the stem and cut out the traced hole.
• Place one of the rubber gaskets on the stem and push it through the hole so that the base stem and rubber gasket are still on the inside of the barrel. The stem should fit snugly.
• Slide the second gasket onto the stem that is now protruding out from the barrel. Next, screw the washer onto the stem.
• Tighten it down against the gasket, but avoid overtightening. You can now thread the brass garden faucet into the bulkhead and affix a hose.
• Apply silicone adhesive to the areas around the bulkhead that you think water might still leak from.
• Position the barrel under your downspout and do a rain dance!

NOTE: The bulkhead thread size will determine what size faucet can be inserted. Faucets have thread sizes that can be made larger or small with adapter pieces found in hardware stores.

How much rain can you catch? According to the rainwater harvesting rule of thumb, you can collect 600 gallons of water per inch of rain falling on a 1,000-square foot catchment area. In this case, the catchment area would be your roof, and your rain gutters would siphon that volume into your barrel. Again, you're using a 55-gallon barrel here, so you'll fill up on a light or moderate rainfall event.

Is your roof bigger than 1,000 square feet? Use this simple calculation to find out your maximum roof runoff in gallons. Take the square footage of your roof and multiply by feet of rain expected for the event (convert from inches by dividing by 12), then multiply by 7.48 gallons per feet cubed to figure out your harvest potential.

Window Cleaning News

The future of work is green:Politicians claim we can beat the recession and save the planet in one fell swoop by creating 'green-collar' jobs. But what exactly are they, asks Leo Hickman. Steven Proudfoot, whose company Asset Skills advises the government on the training requirements of sectors such as construction, says that one of the boom areas is facilities management. "It is one of the fastest-growing and most recession-resistant sectors in the country," he says. "Buildings need maintaining, servicing and managing - catering, window-cleaning, grass cutting, boiler maintenance. Ever-tightening regulations mean that we now have tough energy and waste targets, and staff have to be trained and employed to help companies meet them."

Spend and Thrift: My next big investment? A professional window cleaner. We tried to clean the windows once, and the water went through the louvres and soaked my entire sofa with dirty water. I still haven’t gotten over it. My point (and I do have one) is that now, more than ever, instead of just not spending money, I am spending money more consciously. It’s been a pattern that has evolved over the past year, and at this point, it goes something like this:
Support local businesses for your everyday needs. Hand out your business card whenever possible, post it on bulletin boards, and give a few to friends and clients to hand out as well. Give people the opportunity to support a local business. Hire local professionals to get a job done right, and have the satisfaction of both a finished project, and the free time to enjoy it. Don’t punish yourself in the name of saving money. Life is too short. (..More customers like this please!)

'Torrent of abuse' for pensioner from van driver: A BARNSTAPLE pensioner says she will have to stop shopping in the town unless North Devon Council apply greater scrutiny when policing disabled parking bays in Bear Street. The 74-year-old woman, who wished to remain nameless, had a bad experience while trying to park there last week and is tired of having to walk further than necessary to get to local stores. The woman suffers with heart problems and frequent pain in the left hand side of her body. She said: "I try to park in the disabled bays on Bear Street whenever I can as they are the most convenient for town. "On Wednesday last week I went into town to do some shopping but all the disabled parking spots had been taken up by trade vehicles. "One of the vans, which was owned by a local window cleaner, need only have moved a few yards to allow me to get in so I decided to have a word with the driver." After asking the driver of the van to move, she claimed she received a torrent of verbal abuse from the owner who said: "I don't care whether you're disabled, I'm parked here now." She said: "He was so rude about it, swearing and everything – I'm 74 years old, I don't deserve to be spoken to like that. "After finding somewhere else to park I called the police to complain but was told that they couldn't do anything as tradesmen were allowed to use those bays for unloading.

Window cleaner: People spend a fortune on window cleaning materials (or window cleaning men) that almost ubiquitously leave the window dirtier, or streakier, than before. All you need to use to clean windows is two tablespoons of washing soda and half a cup of vinegar to a bucket full of water. The non foaming liquid will clean away the grease and the vinegar will stop the streaks. The best piece of equipment you can get is a squeegee for washing away the excess water. (....Yep, OK - some people will never learn!)

Lake County forest district selling rain barrels: bucks or help the environment? You can do both by ordering a rain barrel from the Lake County Forest Preserve District. The 55-gallon barrels collect rainwater that can be used for household chores, such as lawn watering, car washing and window cleaning - but not for drinking. Collecting rainwater for such tasks reduces water bills and conserves water. And because the collected water is untreated, it's free of chemicals such as calcium and lime, which get into the water supply from the limestone in the ground, and chlorine, which is added to our water during the treatment process. "It's soft water," said Lynn Hepler, the forest district's outreach and youth stewardship manager. "Why pay for treated water when you don't need it?" The sale started this month. As in years past, the forest district is teaming with the Lake County Soil and Water Conservation District and the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission on the project. The barrels cost $79 each are available in two colors: terra cotta and gray. You can order a barrel online or by calling (847) 968-3321. Order forms found at the Web site also can be faxed or mailed to the forest district. They are only available by prepaid order. The deadline is April 29.

Back to the sponge. A Glasgow woman was entertaining her lover, Tam, in her top flat apartment in a high-rise block. Thinking, mistakenly, that he heard the footsteps of Senga's husband outside, Tam decided to exit the scene via a window. In his haste, he slipped and fell 50 feet to the pavement below. Senga's neighbour rushed into her friend's apartment to see what she could do to help. "Grab a sponge," instructed Senga, "and stick it in Tam's hand." Thus was a Glasgow marriage saved, as a living lover morphed into a window cleaner in free fall. Do not underestimate the role of the humble sponge in history. It has miraculous powers.

FORT LAUDERDALE - A Fort Lauderdale office building is back to normal today after firefighters removed chemical fumes. One or more window-washing workers failed to properly store ammonia-based cleaning chemicals, whose fumes then circulated on the fifth floor of the seven-story building at 1000 Corporate Drive. Workers arrived this morning, smelled the odor and complained, prompting Fort Lauderdale firefighters to arrive at 8:15 a.m., Fire Battalion Chief Jermaine Frazier said. Firefighters initially didn't know what kind of fumes were in the building, so they evacuated everyone for precaution. It turned out to be "less significant than what we thought," Frazier said.

Brian Johnson set up his business to help others start their own. Johnson opened his first shop, My Office Business Center, in Surprise in December, and a second in January. He's already got three other stores in the works all because of the quick interest in his idea. "We've seen an influx of people who used to work in corporate America or have lost their jobs and want to be entrepenuers," Johnson said. Johnson's stores help people start their own small businesses. Out of his shops, he can help people with everything they need to begin. "We can do their incorporations, their LLC," he said. "We try to give them the most value as opposed to just packing a package."So far, Johnson said he's seen a variety of business ideas come through his doors. "We've seen pet trainers, another gentleman started an auto dealing company, and one guy even started his own window cleaning business," Johnson said. Johnson's said he's enjoyed getting people going. In some cases, he's already been able to save people thousands of dollars.

Rubicon Technology, Inc. is an advanced electronic materials provider that is engaged in developing, manufacturing and selling monocrystalline sapphire and other crystalline products for light-emitting diodes (LEDs), radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), blue laser diodes, optoelectronics and other optical applications. The Company applies its proprietary crystal growth technology to produce very high-quality sapphire in a form that allows for volume production of various sizes and orientations of substrates and windows. Rubicon is a vertically-integrated manufacturer with capabilities in crystal growth, high precision core drilling, wafer slicing, surface lapping, large-diameter polishing and wafer cleaning processes, which the Company employs to convert the bulk crystal into products with the quality and precision specified by its customers. The Company is actively developing larger diameter products to support next-generation LED, RFIC and optical window applications.

Pilkington Activ™ Is Academic!: A highly unusual window replacement scheme has taken place at Leicester University. Pilkington Activ™ Blue glass has helped transform the Attenborough Tower, a 19-storey tower block built in the early 1970s on the main campus. Named after the father of Richard and David Attenborough, the tower is the tallest building in Leicester and is home to the University’s Faculty of Arts and Humanities. Distinctive in its stature, the University wanted to retain the overall appearance of the tower block and replicate the idiosyncratic windows using the most technologically advanced glazing systems. Reaching a height of 52 metres, the tower is constructed with a concrete frame, cast in-situ, and clad with pre-cast concrete panels. The building makes use of slanted aluminium-framed windows that protrude outwards at the bottom to aid draught-free ventilation throughout the tower all year round. The University’s hilltop location makes the top floor of the tower one of the best vantage points in the city, creating the perfect, stimulating environment for learning - an environment that will certainly reap the benefits of having self-cleaning glass installed. In high winds, the top of the tower can be felt to sway significantly which always caused problems when it came to cleaning and maintaining the building.
According to Tony Beall of Queniborough Aluminium Services, who manufactured and installed the new windows, the shape of the units made for a challenging task. “These are very unusual windows with a large front vision panel which slopes back onto the building leaving two triangle opening light returns either side,” he explains. “We supplied and installed over 400 of these as well as full height curtain walling to the landing, stairs and toilets. For all of these, we used argon filled insulated glass units manufactured with Pilkington Activ™ Blue glass for the external pane. One of the primary requirements in the specification was the ability of the glass to clean itself. Pilkington Activ™, the world’s first self-cleaning glass proved to be the obvious solution for the project."
The secret of Pilkington Activ™ is its special coating, which works in two stages. Firstly, the coating reacts with ultra-violet (UV) rays from natural daylight to break down organic dirt. The second part of the process commences when water hits the glass. Rainwater runs down the glass to wash loosened dirt (both organic and inorganic) away. Compared with conventional glass, the water dries very quickly reducing unsightly streaks or marks. In order to help keep the building cooler, Pilkington Activ™ Blue was specified. An attractive blue tinted glass that combines self-cleaning properties with solar control helping to maintain a comfortable environment all year round. The refurbishment of the campus building is now completed and the installation of the glass will ensure that the structure has a brand new, contemporary look and a fresh aesthetic appeal, as well as contributing to temperature control and a significant reduction in maintenance costs accrued through costly cleaning programmes!

High level window cleaner achieves ISO 9001:2000 certification: Leading high level window cleaning company J V Price has been awarded ISO 9001:2000 Certification, as provided by ISOQAR with the help of Linden Management Services. ISO 9001:2000 is an International Standard Certification in Quality Management which is applicable to all sectors of the business world. Companies that are certified under ISO 9001:2000 have improved access to local and international markets, and benefit from the following augmentations.
· International recognition through the ISO 9001:2000 syste
· The 'feelgood service factor' that customers experience when they know they are getting quality service
· The ability to submit applications for work whenever certification is a customer requirement
· The chance to implement a management system that leads to more effective processes, and assists in improving the objectives of the company.
· Recognition from the certification body that the company meets the requirements of the standard and is regularly assessed.
· The confidence that comes with knowing all processes are reviewed and improved through comprehensive audits.
"J V Price has been an exceptional young company to work for," says Geoff Burn, Director of Linden Management. "The company is an extraordinary example of what makes a company stand out from all the others." Charlie Price, Director of J V Price is pleased that the company has achieved certification, saying: "We are delighted to have achieved this accreditation as it shows customers our commitment to quality," said

Privatising Water & Illegal Rainwater Harvesting

Today, I've added food for thought to all you water fed poler's out there who are rainwater harvesting or are planning to.

Rain water harvesting in certain states of the US has become illegal. In Colorado, Rain Barrels are illegal. Yup. Please, slowly step away from the rain drops...

Rain drops there, you see, are outlawed. Colorado state law mandates that any water falling from the air is not yours. In fact, according to their site, its already been “legally allocated” — so, you don’t actually have any rights when it comes to using precipitation that falls on your property.

Here’s the exact wording: Colorado Water Law requires that precipitation fall to the ground, run off and into the river of the watershed where it fell. Because rights to water are legally allocated in this state, an individual may not capture and use water to which he/she does not have a right.

Last summer, The Colorado Springs Gazette said the following: “The rain barrel is the bong of the Colorado garden. It’s legal to sell one. It’s legal to own one. It’s just not legal to use it for its intended purpose. Meanwhile, when rain does fall, the torrential flood caused by water running off a few thousand acres of roofs, roads and parking lots erodes downstream ranches, undercuts city sewer pipes and really makes Pueblo mad. It’s gotten so bad that the city is taxing us all, to pay for $295 million in stormwater projects. So wouldn’t it make sense to save a little rain when it falls, keep it from barreling down Fountain Creek, and use it when needed? Of course it would.” And Colorado water law makes it clear, no matter how illogical, that the rain that falls on your roof doesn't belong to you. In fact, you can't even borrow it. It has to go downstream to the person who owns the water rights, who could live in Fountain or as far away as Kansas.

In Bolivia, a Bechtel subsidiary made it illegal to collect rainwater on one's own property without a permit. More and more people are learning, through experience or through burgeoning campaigns, about the inhumanity of water privatization campaigns in the Global South. The story, re-enacted across the world, never loses its sting: the IMF and World Bank pressure governments to sell off publicly-run water systems; for-profit corporations from the North step in; within weeks, water bills skyrocket to unaffordable levels. A new phenomenon has started pushing across the horizon, bringing hope to those who feared that water commodification had become the bleak, inevitable future of the developing world. Civic demonstrations in countries like Bolivia, Argentina, South Africa and Ecuador have succeeded in chasing corporations away from public water. But these protests have come at significant costs. In Bolivia, the government responded to protests against an agreement which went so far as to privatize rainwater in the province of Cochabamba with brute force and a martial lockdown. In the ensuing bedlam, a 17-year-old boy was killed when police catapulted a tear gas canister into his head. Bechtel, the company which had secured the contract for the privatization, finally chose to withdraw in the face of such strong opposition. To add insult to injury, Bechtel, which had hiked water rates an average of 50% virtually overnight, sued the Bolivian government for $25 million -- a figure far greater than what they invested.

Since privatisation took over most of the utilities in the UK, it has become very apparent that the water companies are in it for the profit rather than service the users. A new film called "H20 up for sale" is to be released, one part telling of the plight of users from Thames Water in London. With all the supposed droughts occuring in the UK & WFP usuage & window cleaners livehood threatened by the opposing water restrictions, isn't it time that this farce is stopped in its tracks? WATER IS THE NEW OIL.