Rainwater collection systems (Tucson: HOA, home, neighborhoods)

[Tamarind]

Originally Posted by Home_Kid

hah, try putting that in your backyard.

how many gallons? is it a open top tank, or fed from numerous collection points?

Not sure how many gallons but it's not open top. You can stop by there and see it I believe it's on the western side of the building. You can't miss it. They've also got smaller ones.

[Siobjuan]

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[.45acp]

Originally Posted by Ragnar

So it sounds like rainwater collection is legal in Tucson? Are there parts of the Southwest where rainwater collection is illegal? I've read recently that it is technically illegal in Colorado, but people still do it.

Dude... this is the high plains desert.

1. It doesn't rain enough or often enough to amount to squat

2. The evaporation rate is about 2" a day even in my pool.

3. The bird feeders go dry overnite.

4. Standing water is an invitation for mosquito breeding... 'n who knows what else.

Forget it! Unless the Colorado River dries up... you don't have to worry.

[Home_Kid]

i'm with .45acp on this. the best solution might be to gutter the home and put smaller barrels on the leaders (they do make nice looking barrels). the barrels have hose bib valves on the bottom so you can use a hose to water nearby potted plants (as most in the ground plants have irrigation, etc). depending on your location you might be able to collect some water from say july to sept. imho, the barrels make more of a conversation piece then year-round functional water collection tools. but again, SW AZ has little rainful, way too little for a homeowner to capture.

[Marcy1210]

Originally Posted by Ragnar

So it sounds like rainwater collection is legal in Tucson? Are there parts of the Southwest where rainwater collection is illegal? I've read recently that it is technically illegal in Colorado, but people still do it.

It is illegal in Colorado. They have probably the toughest water laws in the country. Other arid states could learn from them.

[Dewayne21]

Almost everywhere gets rain. Now I live in Houston, so if we get under 45" a year, not including the 4' of hurricane flooding, we consider it a dry year. All you have to do is watch the discovery channel. Statistics may show 15" a year, which is nothing, but it will all comes down in a few weeks and then it stops. I think the Nature Conservancy did what I would do. Do the calculations on the amount of gallons that I can catch with annual rainfall and build a large cistern. Trying to build a system that works in Texas will not be as effective say Tuscon. You can put in one tank and see how long it takes to overflow. Then if you want to, just add another tank and connect it to the overflow. Just remember to have air vents on all tanks if you design it this way. When you draw from one tank, it will colapse the tank and then you'll have more problems than you want.

Here's the calculations to determine the amount of water you can catch:
sqft of roof X .623 X .85 = total gallons per 1" of rain.

The .85 will change based on what you roof or catchment area is made from.
- .65-.75 for grass or natural roofs
- .8-.85 for shingles
- .9-.95 for steel roofs

Hope this helps.

[vjsoto]

Rain water catchment works. To put things in perspective:

Let's say you just want to catch rain over a 10x10 ft area (like a storage building or large porch). That gives you 100 sq ft of area to accumulate rain from. Assuming it rains 12 inches a year (typical for Tucson), 100 sq ft x 1 ft of rain is 100 cubic feet of rain per year. 1 cubic foot = ~7.5 gallons, so 7.5 x 100 = 750 gallons of water per year. Even if you loose 15 percent of that due to evaporation, you're still bringing in something like 635 gallons of water. Thats enough to fill almost 13 drums (50 gallons each) every year.

If you expand your catchment area to 40x40 (the run off from the roof of a *medium* sized house), you can easily capture 10,000 gallons in a year. Thats enough to fill up a tank that is 15 feet in diameter by 15 feet tall!

Unfortunately large tanks can be prohibitively expensive, otherwise you would see them everywhere!

[sandstorm6]

I would think collecting gray-water from bathroom sinks, showers and washing machines would make more sense than collecting rainwater. Doesn't the city have a program that encourages people to retrofit their homes, possibly with a tax credit?

here's the link: Using Gray Water | The Official Website for the City of Tucson, Arizona

I'm thinking of putting in some type of system for my plants, so if anyone has experience with this, please weigh in.

[vjsoto]

Arizona State gives a 25% tax credit on the cost of installing a gray water system.

See: Arizona State Tax Credit for Gray Water | The Official Website for the City of Tucson, Arizona

Unfortunately, grey water recycling is very expensive to adapt to most existing homes, especially homes on a concrete pad. Manufactured homes would be relatively easy to convert, and you can always build that kind of system into a new home.

Rain water recycling requires the installation of gutters to direct flow to a container, and so it is much less expensive. Plus you don't have to worry about soapy buildup in the system if you like to take sudsy showers... hehe

If I were building a house for myself, I'd probably include a little of both.

[missmouseaz]

"but again, SW AZ has little rainful, way too little for a homeowner to capture."

Poppycock. 12 inches of rain per year in Tucson means that over 9500 gallons of water per year hit my 1200 sq.ft. roof.

I have a 500 gallon tank that filled to overflowing after the first big rain this season. I also have several smaller barrels. Since it's still raining regularly, I haven't had to use any of the water in the tanks, and won't have to until it dries out in late September. The tanks are completely enclosed and lightproof, so mold, mosquitos, and other critters can't get inside.

Last year, the water in my tank carried my garden from the end of the monsoons to the beginning of the winter rains, using no municipal water whatsoever.

Pick up "Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond" by Brad Lancaster. All 3 volumes are an incredible resource. (You can also IM me for more info).