|
|
LEED® Briefs have a new look!
|
We hope you have enjoyed reading Michaels Engineering LEED® Briefs. We have updated our look and added new features to
LEED® Briefs to help you easily find the information you are looking for.
Feel free to contact us with any questions or comments.
|
|
Did You Know...
|
...A 10,000 square foot
area can capture up to 200,000 gallons of water in a year (based on 32 inches
of rainfall per year in the Midwest).
...Rainwater is
naturally soft (unlike well water), contains almost no dissolved minerals or
salts, is free of chemical treatment, and is a relatively reliable source of
water. |
| Recent Update
|
 |
Michaels Engineering teams with Itron to provide evaluation of California Utility Programs.
[read more] |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
WATER EFFICIENCY: RAINWATER CAPTURE
|
 3,700 billion gallons of
water! That's the annual water deficit in the United States today.
That's more water than the state of Indiana uses in a year! The water we
take is used throughout the commercial, industrial, agricultural,
residential and recreational sectors.
In other words, Americans use 3,700 billion more gallons of
water from our aquifers and surface water
annually than is returned to them through the natural water cycle. This results
in water table and lake levels dropping every year without ever recovering
to their previous levels.
In 2000, 262 billion gallons of fresh water a
day were withdrawn from surface
water, along with 83 billion gallons per
day from aquifers. Some of these aquifer levels have
dropped significantly in recent
years. Parts of our country were so dry this year that watering
bans and even rationing had to be implemented for particularly dry
periods. We have begun to deal with decreasing supplies of
petroleum. Alternative fuels are being developed to help relieve
this situation. There is no alternative to water.
Not only does the
water deficit itself give cause for concern, but consider the energy used to
treat it, deliver it, and treat it again before discharge. An average sized city may have several large
pumps operating for most of the year to maintain adequate pressure and flow in
the water distribution system.
Water efficiency can
be incorporated into our lives in many ways.
The obvious step is to reduce the direct usage of water. Another approach is to use an existing water
source that generally ends up running through a stormwater drain - our
rainwater! As discussed in a previous LEED Brief, management of runoff is a good thing anyway, to minimize flooding and
the potential contamination associated with it.
|
|
|
RAINWATER CAPTURE
|
Opportunities for
rainwater usage exist for all types of buildings, from residential to commercial and
industrial. Average rainfall in the
Midwest is approximately 32 inches per year, which equates to approximately
200,000 gallons a year in rainwater capture potential for a 10,000 square foot
facility (roof area). In order for this
rainwater to be useful, a means of capture and storage is necessary.
Storage can be as
simple as a storage tank connected to a downspout, with the water used for
landscape irrigation. Or, rainwater
capture could be as complicated as a large underground storage system with
pumps and piping to provide water for flushing of toilets as well as landscape
irrigation. While these systems are
best suited to new construction projects, storage systems may also be
retrofitted for some existing buildings.
Cost for storage is somewhere around $1 per gallon of storage.
Depending on the
end-use of the captured rainwater, minor treatment may be necessary, which may
include aeration and/or disinfection.
Settling is likely required at a minimum to remove the debris that
accumulates during capture. Note that
rainwater is naturally soft and contains almost no dissolved minerals, making
it a relatively clean source of water when care is taken to prevent contamination during collection and storage.
|
|
|
 For more information about this topic or additional LEED® concerns, please contact Scott Siefkes at (608) 785-1900 or SFS@MichaelsEngineering.com. |
| Scott Siefkes
|
|
|
|
|
|
