Water Harvesting in Buildings Summary

Freshwater is essential to human existence, and to the functioning of the

ecosystems that support us. Australia is the driest populated continent on
earth and can yield only a limited amount of freshwater. The average
annual rainfall in Australia of 469mm a year is well below the global
average. Despite this, Australians are the greatest per capita consumers
of water, using an average of 100,000L of freshwater per person each
year. This figure increases tenfold if the water embodied in the food and
products we consume is included.
Available freshwater resources are expected to decline with changes to
rainfall patterns accompanying global climate change. As our population
grows, so does the pressure on water use. To ensure future supplies of
fresh, clean water we need to use it more carefully.
In addition to the problems of limited supply, the way we use water
contributes to a range of ecological problems. Conserving water
resources, even in areas without shortages, helps reduce the need to build
dams, protects river health by reducing the need to extract water, reduces
wastewater produced and treated at sewage plants, lowers energy
requirements for treating and transporting water and wastewater, and
reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Managing surface runoff and
stormwater pollution helps to prevent the degradation of rivers, wetlands
and oceans.
The two big issues that households can help to address are:

Reducing the quantity of water we consume

Improving water quality by managing stormwater and wastewater.

Homes and gardens are directly responsible for about 12% of Australias
water use and much can be done in the home and garden to reduce water
use and the impacts of stormwater and wastewater.
Australia is the driest populated continent on earth, and yet Australians
are the greatest per capita consumers of water in the world.
Reducing water demand:
Reducing water consumption in the home is a simple and easy way to
decrease water and energy bills and reduce your households impact on
the environment. Indoors, the shower is typically the biggest water user
(34% of indoor water use in the average Australian home), followed by the
toilet (26%) and laundry (23%). Therefore, effective strategies include
choosing water efficient showerheads, toilets, appliances and taps.
Outdoors, strategies include choosing local indigenous plants that are
adapted for local growing conditions, mulching, and using water efficient
irrigation systems.

New homes can be designed to be water efficient and in existing homes

water demand can be reduced with renovations and minor upgrades. The
national Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) scheme requires
certain products sold in Australia to be registered, rated and labelled for
their water efficiency. Look for the WELS label as a guide for choosing
showerheads, toilets, washing machines, dishwashers and taps. It
contains a star rating (the more stars, the more water efficient the
product) and data on actual water consumption.
Rainwater:
Using rainwater can reduce your water bills, provide an alternative supply
during water restrictions and help maintain a green, healthy garden. It can
also help to conserve water resources and reduce environmental impacts
beyond the home.
Rainwater collected from a well-designed and operated system can be
suitable for all domestic uses. The more uses, the greater the savings in
mains water. Different uses (e.g. toilet flushing, showering) require
different levels of treatment. A typical strategy is to use rainwater for the
garden and some indoor uses such as toilet flushing, clothes washing and
even showering, while sourcing drinking water (which requires the highest
level of treatment) from a mains water supply. Typical components of a
rainwater system include the roof and gutters, collection system (rainheads, downpipes and first flush diverters), tank and supply system
(pumps, controllers and filters).
Optimum tank size depends on a number of factors including how many
uses the rainwater supplies, local rainfall characteristics and roof
catchment area. Rainwater systems must be designed to minimise health
and safety risks, and need to be maintained.
Wastewater reuse:
At present, potable (drinkable) water is used for practically everything in
the house and garden. We are literally flushing our drinking water down
the toilet! On-site wastewater reuse can reduce potable water use in the
home, though the opportunities for reuse vary depending on where you
live. The two types of wastewater created in a home are greywater from
non-toilet plumbing fixtures such as showers, basins and taps, and
Blackwater which has waste from the toilet.
Greywater is ideal for garden watering if detergents low in sodium and
phosphorus are used and it is applied below the surface. Appropriately
treated greywater can also be reused indoors for toilet flushing and
clothes washing, both of which are significant consumers of water.
Blackwater requires biological or chemical treatment and disinfection
before reuse. For single dwellings, treated and disinfected Blackwater can
be used only outdoors, and often only for subsurface irrigation. Your local
council or state health department can advise on local requirements.

The options for wastewater reuse vary and each has advantages and
disadvantages, as do the types of wastewater treatment systems.
Stormwater:
Stormwater is all rain that falls on the roof or land plus anything it carries
with it as it drains off site. Stormwater that carries soil, organic matter,
litter, fertilisers from gardens and oil residues from driveways can pollute
downstream waterways. Reusing stormwater can save potable water and
reduce downstream environmental impacts.
Stormwater impacts can be managed during building construction and
through water sensitive landscape design. Strategies to employ during
construction include limiting cut and fill, and retaining existing vegetation
on site (see the appendix Sediment control). Landscaping approaches
follow the principles of water sensitive urban design, which seeks to
imitate the natural (pre-development) water balance of the site.
Strategies include permeable paving, garden beds designed for
infiltration, and landscape features (e.g. swales and soak wells) that
detain stormwater and increase percolation into the soil.
Outdoor water use:
Around 40% of household water is typically used outdoors, and in some
locations in Australia the proportion is much higher. Using water
conservation techniques in the garden saves money, time and effort and
benefits the natural environment.
The many easy ways to reduce outdoor water use follow the principles of
water efficient garden design and include choosing plants adapted to the
local climate, improving the condition and moisture retention of soil,
maintaining the garden, and using water-saving garden products and
efficient irrigation systems. (See the appendix Landscaping and garden
design)
Waterless toilets:
Toilets that use no water for flushing can have lower environmental
impacts than water efficient toilets and even recycling wastewater.
Waterless toilets or dry sanitation systems do not use water to treat or
transport human excreta. If appropriately designed, they conserve
precious water resources and avoid disposal of effluent and pollutants into
waterways and the general environment. They can also save money on
water bills.

The different types of waterless toilets work differently and have different
maintenance requirements. There is one just right for your home.
Rainwater harvesting means capturing and storing rain that falls on-site
(usually on roofs). It is generally used for irrigation and toilet flushing or
other greywater uses, though it can also be used for drinking water if it is
adequately treated.
Capturing rainwater can be a valuable way to reduce or even eliminate a
building's use of municipal potable water, without requiring reductions in
water use by occupants. However, it is of course more effective in rainy
climates than dry ones.
Rainwater harvesting systems are measured by their area for collecting
water (in m2 or ft2) and the volume of water they store (in litters or
gallons).
Simple rainwater collection systems have three main elements: the roof or
other catchment area, the storage tank(s), and the gutter and other piping
that directs the water from the catchment area to the tank.
Advanced systems may also use a pump to pull water from the tank to
where it is used, and may purify the water with additional devices such as
filters and ultraviolet disinfection.
If the rainwater is meant for drinking or watering gardens, be sure to
choose a tank material that does not leach toxins or foster pathogens. For
example, galvanized steel tanks are lined with polyethylene or other foodgrade liner.
If the rainwater is collected from a roof is meant for drinking or watering
gardens, be sure to choose roofing materials that do not leach toxins. For
instance, asphalt shingles leach toxins into water, while metal roofs or
slate shingles do not.
Predicting Rainwater Harvest Rate:
To size a system for a site, you must choose the water collecting area to
supply enough volume of water for the site occupants, given the site's
rainfall patterns. The simplest equation for system sizing is this:
(Volume) = (Area) (Precipitation) (% Efficiency)
Volume is the amount of rain harvested in that time period, measured in
litters. Area is the rainwater capture area, measured in m2. Precipitation
is the amount of rainfall in that time period (in mm). Efficiency is the
percent of water actually captured, as opposed to splashing out of the
system somewhere; it is usually 75% - 90%.1
In English units, a coefficient must be added:
(Volume) = (Area) (Precipitation) (0.62 gal/ft2/inch) (% Efficiency)

Here volume is in gallons, area is in ft2, precipitation is in inches.

Occupant Needs:
The volume of water needed by the occupants will vary based on the
number of occupants, the amount of time they spend on site, the
activities they engage in, and the equipment or processes used on site.
These needs are often constant throughout the year, but if they vary by
season, be sure to incorporate that in your calculations.
Rainfall:
Weather data from TMY files can be used to determine rainfall patterns.
These will be in mm or inches of rain.
Be sure to calculate average monthly rainfall for the different months of
the year, not simply an annual total. Most sites have much more rainfall
in some seasons than others, and excess water can always be drained,
but a lack of water requires municipal water use to compensate.
Efficiency:
Different gutter systems, different roof pitches, and different materials can
affect system efficiency. For example, lower-pitch roofs cause less loss
than steeply-pitched roofs.
Sizing Rainwater Tanks:
There is no one standard recommended size for rainwater storage tanks.
The size depends on the site's water needs, the weather, and whether the
site is connected to a municipal water supply or not. While bigger tanks
allow for more water independence, the tank is usually the most
expensive part of the system.
Systems that do not have municipal water backup (called "off-grid") must
hold much more water, in case of shortage. The amount of oversizing
depends on how crucial the water needs are--discretionary water use like
lawns or water features can be done without for days or weeks at a time,
while drinking water cannot.
The main consideration for sizing a storage tank is the worst-case length
of time between rains. This can be seen by graphing the TMY
precipitation data by day, rather than simply finding monthly precipitation
averages. After you have calculated the occupants' water needs and the
average frequency and magnitude of rain in the dry season, you should
multiply the resulting tank size by a "safety factor" to provide room for
error or extreme weather.