Water catchment presentation

1. Water Lifeblood of Urban Sustainability

3. Ray Ely 502.896.0635 rgely@iglou.com Blog with info from class http://waterlifeblood.blogspot.com/ Contacts

4. Saves on the expense of water plus sewer surcharge Environmental consideration due to combined sewer overflow, sedimentation, and pollution runoff Water may be better for plants Make a “visible” environmental statement Why Collect Rainwater?

5. Water cycle to Ocean

6. Ogallala Aquifer Depletion

7. Watering during rain

8. Amount of water needed to make a bottle of water Water required per pound of beef Percentage of water that goes to irrigation Percentage of corn grown with irrigation How far from Louisville to Fiji Amount of sugar in Vitamin Water compared to Coke Fun (and Scary) Water Facts

9. Amount of water needed to make a bottle of water (2 bottles) Water required per pound of beef (450 to 2500 gallons) Percentage of water that goes to irrigation (37%) Percentage of corn grown with irrigation (20%) How far from Louisville to Fiji (7400 miles) Amount of sugar in Vitamin Water compared to Coke (33g vs. 39g) Fun (and Scary) Water Facts

10. The Natural Water cycle

11. Urbanized Water Cycle

12. Rain Barrels Cisterns Rain Gardens Swales (Permaculture) Bioswales Types of Water Catchment

13. Typical Rain Barrel

14. Usually 55 Gallons Should be Food Grade Plastic SAFETY IS IMPORTANT!! Rain Barrels

15. Guard against tipping Guard against drowning Guard against water damage from overflow Guard against Mosquito larvae Not for consumption (No Pets either!) Rainbarrel Safety

16. Inlet Overflow Outlet Stand Components of Barrel

17. Should strain out debris Should not restrict flow Can use corrugated hose from downspout to barrel Screen for mosquitos? Inlet

18. Should be large enough Should be as high as possible in barrel (Should not be above bottom of grate) Should direct flow away from house Overflow Properties

19. Brass Hose Fitting (insufficient flow) Sump pump discharge kit 2” PVC Overflow Materials

20. Should be close to the bottom of barrel Should be large opening for maximum flow Tight joint in barrel Can use bulkhead fitting Use valve that has hose thread built in Outlet

21. A higher stand gives more pressure 1 psi of pressure for each 2.3 feet of height Stand needs to be level so barrel will balance Certain barrels are more prone to tipping Consider securing barrel to wall for safety Rainbarrel Stands

22. Barrel Stability

23. Rainbarrel Stands 16 Blocks plus paver, 26 inches 4 blocks, 16 inches

24. Rainbarrel Stands Wood Stand

25. Rainbarrel Stands Retaining Wall Blocks

26. Accessories for Rainbarrels First Flush Device

27. Accessories for Rainbarrels Leaf Screen

28. Accessories for Rainbarrels Diverter

29. Increasing Storage

30. Rainbarrel Aesthetics Barrelwith Planter on Top

31. Rainbarrel Aesthetics Oak Whiskey Barrel

32. Rainbarrel Aesthetics Terra Cotta Olive Barrel

33. Rainbarrel Aesthetics Painted Barrel

34. Rainbarrel Aesthetics Surrounded by Flowers

35. Rainbarrel Aesthetics Making a Statement!

36. Be a Critic!

37. Be a Critic! Outlettoo high

38. Be a Critic!

39. Be a Critic! Ready to topple, not balanced or secured

40. Be a Critic! Also…….is there an overflow? Hose between barrels too small

41. Be a Critic!

42. Be a Critic! Child Drowning risk

43. Be a Critic! Mosquito larvae in red barrel

44. My largest home system 265 Gallon Tank Valve is 52 inches above ground. Inlet with overflow and integral strainer

45. Inlet Detail 4 x 2 Sanitary Tee used to provide integral overflow. Tote lid drilled for tight fit. Strainer between T and pipe

46. Inlet Detail 4 x 2 Sanitary Tee used to provide integral overflow. Tote lid drilled for tight fit. Strainer between T and pipe

47. Frame Detail 4 x 6 post 2 feet deep 4 x 4 frame bolted to post

48. Outlet Detail Converted “nonstandard” thread to pipe thread Full flow quick opening ball valve w/ hose thread

49. Upside Down Barrel Outlet pipe fitting installed in existing barrel bung. The bung has a built-in ¾ inch pipe thread

50. Double Barrel Orchard Irrigation 2 horizontal 55 gallon barrels plumbed together

51. Double Barrel Orchard Irrigation 2 inch piping tied together with “no-hub” band. Small pipe allows bottom barrel to vent

52. Double Barrel Orchard Irrigation Outlet showing ball valve and irrigation filter with hose connected

53. Double Barrel Orchard Irrigation Espaliered Apples

54. Double Barrel Orchard Irrigation Base of Apple tree fed with ¼ inch adjustable flow line off of ½ inch header

55. Double Barrel Orchard Irrigation Detail of ¼ inch shutoff valve in ½ header, with ¼ inch drip tube running to tree

56. Rain Garden About 100 square feet of raingarden planted with fruit trees and medicinal/ edible plants

57. Rain Garden Downspout converts to corrugated tubing, to atrium grate, to pvc pipe running underground

58. Rain Garden Showing corrugated pipe attached to atrium grate

59. Larger Storage!!

60. Rain Gardens

61. A rain garden is a planted depression that allows rainwater runoff from impervious urban areas like roofs, driveways, walkways, parking lots, and compacted lawn areas the opportunity to be absorbed Definition of Rain Garden

62. Size is primarily function of roof area Also should consider soil permeability Percolation test can be performed Rule of Thumb………30% of the roof area At least 10 feet from house Natural low spot……….or dig a hole Sizing and Placement of a Raingarden

63. Often use native species Wet loving plants in the bottom Dryer plants at the edge Pay attention to sun/shade requirements Species available from local sources List of Native plants in MSD pamphlet Plants for a Rain Garden

64. Raingarden Components

65. Swales Think of a swale as a linear raingarden Plants are often planted on the lower berm Swales are usually constructed along contour lines A contour line is a line in which each point is the same elevation above sea level

66. Understanding Contour lines

67. Finding contours with an A-frame

68. Digging swales by hand

69. Bioswales Bioswales are landscape elements designed and built to remove silt and pollution from surface runoff water. These “swaled” drainage courses are, in a sense, gently sloped ditches that contain plants, compost and/or riprap. The sloped sides are usually less than six percent slope. These are often constructed of “engineered soil”.

70. Bioswales

71. Bioswales Think of a bioswale as a raingarden in which the water has a “destination”. Although designed to slow, clean, and cool water flow, they are not designed to strictly infiltrate the water into the soil.

72. Thinking outside the box

73. Thanks!