September 9, 1850

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Homeowner builds 20,000 Gallon Rain Harvesting System

MONTE SERENO: California is in its 3rd year of drought, and according to the Department of Water Resources, it’s raining havoc upon farmlands causing hundreds of millions in lost revenues due to the lack of water, the most available liquid on earth, except in California.

The governor feels that we need to do our part to conserve water, because the original water storage supplies built in the 1970’s were for 18 million people, but the state population has grown to 38 million people. We can’t always rely on local water agencies along with city and state reservoirs to supply us with water. Being proactive in water conservation and having a concern for sustainability are two ingredients that are making rainwater collection popular.

Recently in Monte Sereno California, homeowner Jerry Block decided to build one of the largest rain harvesting systems in the south bay of the San Francisco – Oakland – San Jose bay area. His newly constructed 20,000 gallons rain catchment system is all ready for collecting raindrops that land on his roof.

Jerry feels it’s all about being sustainable and preparing for the unknown.

“What if there is an earthquake and what if the drought continues?” says Jerry, “At least I will have water for my family and neighbors. Rainwater can also be used for fire suppression, irrigation, washing your car and even for keeping your swimming pool filled.“

Jerry is having an open house at his home on Saturday, June 6th from 10am to 2pm for anyone interested in looking at his rain collection system and learning more about rain harvesting. Representatives of Rain Harvesting Systems, the company that built Jerry’s system, will be on hand to pass out educational literature and to answer any questions related to rainwater collection.

Benefits to a rain collection system are often overlooked, as described by John Lewis, co-founder of the company.

“Most people don’t really understand the sustainable reasons for having a rain harvesting system installed,” comments John. “The return on investment may never come, but having a rainwater supply is more than valuable, it’s responsible.”

Fremont based company Rain Harvesting Systems installed four 5,000-gallon rainwater tanks to achieve the 20,000 gallon capacity. Gutterglove Gutterguard was used on the roof gutters for filtering out all the leaves, pine needless and sand from the four rain tanks.

Jerry is being sustainable about his efforts with his newly installed rain harvesting system because it saves the water agency electricity from not having to pump 20,000 gallons of water to his home anymore. That’s a big carbon footprint that Jerry’s efforts are eliminating.

Collecting this much rainwater significantly reduces storm water runoff and erosion problems. That’s 20,000 gallons less rainwater that could get contaminated by the time it gets to a stream or an underground aquifer. With the craze of the Victory Gardens, as popularized by Michelle Obama, rainwater catchment helps assure that water will be available for growing home gardens during hot summer months.

Tim Pope, president of the American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association (ARCSA), sees a growing trend for collecting rainwater.

“Rain harvesting is growing tremendously in the US. People don’t know that if they used rainwater for the toilet and laundry that almost half their water bill would be eliminated,” remarks Pope. “Homeowners don’t know that 1,000 square feet of turf generally requires 600 gallons of water a week. They should consider removing part or all of the turf and replanting with drought tolerant plants with drip irrigation.”

George Vega, another customer of Rain Harvesting Systems and retired Battalion Chief of 32 years knows the importance of storing water to prepare for disasters and emergency times.

“I was really surprised by how quickly four harvesting tanks (1700 gallons) filled up with rainwater from my roof! And when I use the harvested water for my plants and garden, I feel good that I am not using city and county water, especially during this drought year.”

Rain Harvesting Systems and Jerry Block are hosting a special open house at his residence on Saturday June 6th from 10am – 2pm. Attendees to the open house will need to RSVP and will be able to do so through the home page of www.RainHarvestingSystems.com. More information and the RSVP signup are on the home page. Upon signing up, the location and other information will be emailed to you immediately.

There will also be 55 gallon rain barrels on display with information on how to install them.

Also attending the open house will be drought tolerant plant expert Tony Tomeo of AskTonyTheGardener.com to answer any questions they may have.

Representatives of Gutterglove Gutterguard, the first stage filter in a rain collection system, will also be on hand to answer any questions.

For more information on the California drought you can visit the DWR at www.water.ca.gov/drought/. For more information on Rain Harvesting Systems you can visit their website at www.RainHarvestingSystems.com. For more information on ARCSA, you can visit www.arcsa.org. For more information about Tony Tomeo and gardening in general please visit www.AskTonyTheGardener.com. More information about Gutterglove can be obtained at www.Gutterglove.com.

About Rain Harvesting Systems

Rain Harvesting Systems, a Rocklin and Fremont California based company, is dedicated to water conservation by providing practical methods for collecting and storing rainwater. More information can be found at: www.RainHarvestingSystems.com, or by calling 877-662-5644.

About the American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association

Founded in 1994 by Dr. Hari J. Krishna in Austin, Texas, to promote rainwater catchment systems in the United States. Our memberships consists of professionals working in city, state, and federal government, academia, manufacturers and suppliers of rainwater harvesting equipment, consultants, and other interested individuals. Membership is not limited to the US, and we encourage all rainwater harvesting enthusiasts to join our organization. For more information visit their website at www.arcsa.org or call them at 512-477-5445 or email at info@arcsa.org.

About Gutterglove Gutterguard

With offices in Fremont and Rocklin, and dealers located across the country, Gutterglove Gutterguard has been on the market since 2003 and is arguably the most efficient gutter guard in the country. With a United States Patent awarded in 2007, this state-of-the-art technology is benefiting homeowners and businesses who want to collect rainwater, and who never want to clean out their gutters again. For more information, call 877-662-5644, or visit: www.Gutterglove.com.