4th January 2009
photo courtesy of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Stormwater Management Program (external link)
The ancient practice of rainwater harvest is uncommon in urban areas that have municipal water services. Traditional infrastructure treats rainwater as a nuisance that must be disposed of as quickly as possible. However, San Francisco’s Public Utilities Commission has set the stage for rain to become an important resource rather than a waste.
Confronted with chronic stormwater problems and a state-wide drought, San Francisco has launched a unique rainwater harvesting program. The city-wide initiative has all the expected features - discounted rain barrels, how-to guides, and workshops – but that’s just the beginning. Public officials have also laid the foundation for rainwater catchment to play a much bigger role in the city.
To jumpstart the new initiative, Mayor Newsom announced a pilot program offering San Franciscans their first ready-to-install 60-gallon rain barrel at a greatly discounted price. The new program was launched at an elementary school where a five-barrel, 275-gallon capacity rain catchment system had been installed along with a small vegetable garden.
The school’s demonstration system is as much a lesson for the parents as it is for students. With sharp increases expected in the cost of food and water, once families see how easy and cheap it is to harvest rainwater they might be inspired to install their own systems in order to get free water for home-grown produce. To this end, the city also offers workshops on how to "re-purpose" a used food barrel, converting it to a rain barrel for a fraction of the cost of a new one.
But the big news is that residents are now being encouraged think about using rainwater – instead of clean drinking water – to flush their toilets. With California entering its second year of severe drought, people will soon realize that they simply cannot afford to keep flushing clean drinking water - and money - down the drain. (Toilets and laundry together account for about half of household water use.)
Public officials are betting that once people get their feet wet they’ll want to add more rain barrels – or even install a larger harvesting system for nonpotable indoor uses – and the city is doing everything possible to smooth that transition.
In October ’08 the mayor signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, the Department of Public Health and the Department of Building Inspection “clarifying the standards for permissible rainwater harvesting systems and re-use of rainwater for nonpotable (non-drinking) water uses without treatment.”
According to the press release: “In the second year of a drought, and as the Bay Area and entire state push for greater conservation and new alternative water sources, rainwater harvesting offers a simple way to conserve limited drinking water supplies. San Francisco’s combined sewer system, which treats both stormwater and sanitary sewage, will also benefit from increased rainwater system installations through minimized neighborhood flooding and reduced combined sewer discharges into the San Francisco Bay or Pacific Ocean during very major winter storms.”
Why Not Here? Several municipalities on Southern Vancouver Island have serious stormwater problems during heavy rains. The speed and volume of stormwater wreaks havoc in the maze of pipes hidden beneath the city. According to local climatologist, Rod Chilton, “…extremely heavy rainfalls caused by moisture-laden weather systems slamming into the south coast are a frequent problem here.” Repeated heavy rainfall events can saturate the ground, infiltrating through cracks and holes into our aging sewer pipes. Stormwater (inflow) enters sewer pipes via roof drain downspouts, foundation drains, storm drain cross connections and holes in manhole covers. This "inflow and infiltration", or I&I, can exceed pipe capacity, causing sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs). Meanwhile, the Uplands shares San Francisco’s problem of “combined sewers,” designed to collect rainwater runoff and domestic sewage in the same pipe, with heavy rains causing combined sewer overflows (CSOs), that foul Willows and Cadboro Bay beaches.
Stormwater management is also a big issue for the CRD sewage treatment project. Stormwater management is also a big issue for the CRD sewage treatment project. Treatment plants, pump stations and sewer lines must all have the capacity to handle the maximum expected flow of rainwater. To this end, the CRD sewage treatment plan originally included a $60 million upgrade at Clover Point. However, because this overflow plant would operate only during the wettest weather (about 100 hours per year), the CRD has asked the Province for time to investigate other ways to deal with I&I. And because a large portion of I&I occurs in the “laterals” (the pipes leading from properties to the main sewers), it would make sense for municipalities to run pilot projects to determine if green infrastructure could help to reduce this aspect of the problem.
Many CRD residents don’t realize that in addition to paying for sewage treatment on ther municipal tax bill, they will also be paying a “user fee” based on their household water use. According to a 2007 report “Rainwater Harvesting in Greater Victoria, “As sewage treatment is implemented for the core area and other municipalities adopt volumetric pricing for sewage collection and treatment, marginal prices of water used indoors are likely to increase beyond $2.00/m3 in most municipalities and rainwater harvesting will become cost-effective for most homeowners in the region.”
While we contemplate expensive upgrades to storm sewer infrastructure, homeowners could be given incentives to manage rainwater on their properties – or at least slow the flow of stormwater into aging pipes – using rain barrels and rain gardens and other “green infrastructure” techniques. (and why not promote the idea of flushing toilets with rainwater?)
Across Canada, most stormwater problems occur in older neighbourhoods. Ironically, while the “infrastructure deficit” (the old, leaky pipes that are causing the problems) is greatest in these areas, much of the focus for “green infrastructure” has been on developing guidelines for new development. But new pipes may not always be the best solution. Perhaps we should follow the example of public utilities across North America that are advocating "natural" techniques to reduce the rate and volume of stormwater runoff – especially in older areas. The “green” solution offers cost benefits as well. Seattle Public Utilities' has discovered that its Natural Drainage Systems can cost 15-25% less than traditional street redevelopment (sidewalks, curbs, gutters, catch basins), and "...may even increase the property value of retrofitted neighbourhoods." And because natural stormwater management is visible - rather than hidden in pipes beneath streets - it tends to increase citizen awareness of water conservation and stormwater issues as well as strengthening support for innovation in the public sector.
If you believe that your municipality should investigate the San Francisco rainwater harvesting program, please contact your elected representatives.
Victoria
Langford
City of Colwood website
Saanich
View Royal
Oak Bay
Esquimalt
The ancient practice of rainwater harvest is uncommon in urban areas that have municipal water services. Traditional infrastructure treats rainwater as a nuisance that must be disposed of as quickly as possible. However, San Francisco’s Public Utilities Commission has set the stage for rain to become an important resource rather than a waste.
Confronted with chronic stormwater problems and a state-wide drought, San Francisco has launched a unique rainwater harvesting program. The city-wide initiative has all the expected features - discounted rain barrels, how-to guides, and workshops – but that’s just the beginning. Public officials have also laid the foundation for rainwater catchment to play a much bigger role in the city.
To jumpstart the new initiative, Mayor Newsom announced a pilot program offering San Franciscans their first ready-to-install 60-gallon rain barrel at a greatly discounted price. The new program was launched at an elementary school where a five-barrel, 275-gallon capacity rain catchment system had been installed along with a small vegetable garden.
The school’s demonstration system is as much a lesson for the parents as it is for students. With sharp increases expected in the cost of food and water, once families see how easy and cheap it is to harvest rainwater they might be inspired to install their own systems in order to get free water for home-grown produce. To this end, the city also offers workshops on how to "re-purpose" a used food barrel, converting it to a rain barrel for a fraction of the cost of a new one.
But the big news is that residents are now being encouraged think about using rainwater – instead of clean drinking water – to flush their toilets. With California entering its second year of severe drought, people will soon realize that they simply cannot afford to keep flushing clean drinking water - and money - down the drain. (Toilets and laundry together account for about half of household water use.)
Public officials are betting that once people get their feet wet they’ll want to add more rain barrels – or even install a larger harvesting system for nonpotable indoor uses – and the city is doing everything possible to smooth that transition.
In October ’08 the mayor signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, the Department of Public Health and the Department of Building Inspection “clarifying the standards for permissible rainwater harvesting systems and re-use of rainwater for nonpotable (non-drinking) water uses without treatment.”
According to the press release: “In the second year of a drought, and as the Bay Area and entire state push for greater conservation and new alternative water sources, rainwater harvesting offers a simple way to conserve limited drinking water supplies. San Francisco’s combined sewer system, which treats both stormwater and sanitary sewage, will also benefit from increased rainwater system installations through minimized neighborhood flooding and reduced combined sewer discharges into the San Francisco Bay or Pacific Ocean during very major winter storms.”
Why Not Here? Several municipalities on Southern Vancouver Island have serious stormwater problems during heavy rains. The speed and volume of stormwater wreaks havoc in the maze of pipes hidden beneath the city. According to local climatologist, Rod Chilton, “…extremely heavy rainfalls caused by moisture-laden weather systems slamming into the south coast are a frequent problem here.” Repeated heavy rainfall events can saturate the ground, infiltrating through cracks and holes into our aging sewer pipes. Stormwater (inflow) enters sewer pipes via roof drain downspouts, foundation drains, storm drain cross connections and holes in manhole covers. This "inflow and infiltration", or I&I, can exceed pipe capacity, causing sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs). Meanwhile, the Uplands shares San Francisco’s problem of “combined sewers,” designed to collect rainwater runoff and domestic sewage in the same pipe, with heavy rains causing combined sewer overflows (CSOs), that foul Willows and Cadboro Bay beaches.
Stormwater management is also a big issue for the CRD sewage treatment project. Stormwater management is also a big issue for the CRD sewage treatment project. Treatment plants, pump stations and sewer lines must all have the capacity to handle the maximum expected flow of rainwater. To this end, the CRD sewage treatment plan originally included a $60 million upgrade at Clover Point. However, because this overflow plant would operate only during the wettest weather (about 100 hours per year), the CRD has asked the Province for time to investigate other ways to deal with I&I. And because a large portion of I&I occurs in the “laterals” (the pipes leading from properties to the main sewers), it would make sense for municipalities to run pilot projects to determine if green infrastructure could help to reduce this aspect of the problem.
Many CRD residents don’t realize that in addition to paying for sewage treatment on ther municipal tax bill, they will also be paying a “user fee” based on their household water use. According to a 2007 report “Rainwater Harvesting in Greater Victoria, “As sewage treatment is implemented for the core area and other municipalities adopt volumetric pricing for sewage collection and treatment, marginal prices of water used indoors are likely to increase beyond $2.00/m3 in most municipalities and rainwater harvesting will become cost-effective for most homeowners in the region.”
While we contemplate expensive upgrades to storm sewer infrastructure, homeowners could be given incentives to manage rainwater on their properties – or at least slow the flow of stormwater into aging pipes – using rain barrels and rain gardens and other “green infrastructure” techniques. (and why not promote the idea of flushing toilets with rainwater?)
Across Canada, most stormwater problems occur in older neighbourhoods. Ironically, while the “infrastructure deficit” (the old, leaky pipes that are causing the problems) is greatest in these areas, much of the focus for “green infrastructure” has been on developing guidelines for new development. But new pipes may not always be the best solution. Perhaps we should follow the example of public utilities across North America that are advocating "natural" techniques to reduce the rate and volume of stormwater runoff – especially in older areas. The “green” solution offers cost benefits as well. Seattle Public Utilities' has discovered that its Natural Drainage Systems can cost 15-25% less than traditional street redevelopment (sidewalks, curbs, gutters, catch basins), and "...may even increase the property value of retrofitted neighbourhoods." And because natural stormwater management is visible - rather than hidden in pipes beneath streets - it tends to increase citizen awareness of water conservation and stormwater issues as well as strengthening support for innovation in the public sector.
If you believe that your municipality should investigate the San Francisco rainwater harvesting program, please contact your elected representatives.
Victoria
Langford
City of Colwood website
Saanich
View Royal
Oak Bay
Esquimalt