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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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