Rainwater Harvesting System in place

 

Right - 1000 gallon tank hoisted into place.

Below - Tank squeezed in between electric and sanitary service lines.

 

 

 

Michael Shilale Architects, LLP

reduces potable water use 60%

April 5, 2011

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New City  NY -  Each year in the US we remove a lot more water from the ground than we replace. Even here in the Hudson valley, water is a regional priority. It seems strange how we can have both flooding problems and droughts in the same region. Poor site water management and site planning is a primary reason.

We can do better. We need to develop and redevelop our sites and communities to reduce rainfall runoff. We need to redesign and rebuild our buildings to use less water.

One of the latest strategies to be implemented here at MSA, as part of our quest to be the greenest existing building in Rockland County, is rainwater harvesting. Around sixty percent of the water we use in our office buildings is literally flushed down the toilet. Based upon our initial calculations enough water falls on our roof each month to flush all our toilets year round. Using potable water for toilet flushing and watering our landscapes is a waste of both water and energy. Rainwater and storm water harvesting can help reduce our potable water use and reduce flooding.
 

We installed a 1000 gallon tank underground that will store enough water to supply our building for approximately two months. Some filtering is all that is needed to use this water for non potable uses. A pump, pressure tank are needed and local health codes require a back flow preventer at the connection to the building's potable water supply as a backup.
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Our 1000 gallon tank fills up quickly.  Only 3 inches of rain is needed.  We filled the tank twice in two weeks in March with some of those early storms.  Our area averages almost 4 inches of rainfall each month according to www.worldclimate.com.  We expect a full tank should serve us for about two months should we enter a dry spell.


For twenty years, clients have entrusted Michael Shilale Architects, LLP (MSA) to solve their building problems, protect their assets and investments, build under budget and realize their vision. Providing integrated solutions for new construction, renovation, and energy savings, since 1991 MSA has completed over 2,000 projects, each personally managed by principals Michael Shilale AIA, LEED or John Cirilli AIA, LEED.

MSA, an eight person architectural engineering firm is committed to protecting and preserving the environment through their design work.

MSA serves an educational, commercial, institutional, municipal and residential client base throughout New York and New Jersey. For more information, please call 845-708-9200, or visit their website at www.shilale.com.

 



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