HarvestH2o.comIt has been an interesting year and it looks like more to come. Water has been a huge issue in the news last year; more so than any year I have been doing HarvestH2o.com and that is now well over a decade. This is news great for the water industry although it has been less dramatic for the rainwater industry. But as they say all good things come to those who wait. But the big news is that major cities are starting to become aware of their aging water infrastructure and the need to start to addressing this issue, but unfortunately one result is rapidly rising water rates across the country. With population growth also comes the need for more and more water, whether it is for direct consumption (i.e. use in the home or outside the home) or indirect use (i.e. water consumed to produce crops, energy, and other items consumed) and the numbers are pointing up. Again putting increased pressure on water prices. Water quality continues to be in the news. From pharmeticials to petroleum byproducts, the news of contamination in the water supply has become common place. Water municipalities are investing more and more to test for these contaminants. Rainwater harvesting continues to grow. The number of vendors in the market is definitely increasing as well as the number of readers to this site. Plumbing codes are now being published and adopted around the country that make it much easier to get permits to install systems. This is being driven by the American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association, the leading national rainwater training and advocate organization in the United States. Several new books about water were published in 2010. Read my latest review of one concerning "greening" school yards. Read my pick of the top Water News stories and top Rainwater Harvesting stories of 2010. Alot has happened in the last twelve months and it looks as if the pace will be picking up in 2011. As interest in rainwater continues to grow so does traffic to HarvestH2o.com. A new search engine will grace the site in early 2011. This will make it much easier to find specific topics on the website. A new section that will appear on HarvestH2o in 2011 is Rainwater and Water Conservation Incentives. I have received many questions about this from readers and so will add this section this year. But this section needs your help. Please submit information on incentives and rebates at the link above.
First prize goes to the person submitting the most information, second to the second and so on. Information must include web page listing the incentives to be valid. Must submit more than one link and a valid email address to qualify for this book offer. I will announce the winners in the next newsletter and your name/company name will appear at the top of this page throughout the year. Please help me populated this page. Incentives can be a powerful driver of demand. We continue to get very interesting questions from our readers. Please help answer the question from Will. Additionally, many new articles and news items have been posted to the site in the last few months. Plus new categories have been added to the website on the Resource page. Thank you for continuing to make this the #1 site for rainwater harvesting on the internet. It is always difficult to pick the top stories of the year from literally hundreds and hundreds of articles and new stories. Below are my picks. From National Geographics Special Water Edition to the EPA finally updating Water Safety standards, it has been quite a year. If you think I missed a top story, please let me know.
2010 Top 10 Rainwater Harvesting Stories A lot has been going on in the Rainwater Industry the past year. From the National Water Research and Development Initiative Act of 2009, which unfortunately was never voted on in the Senate, to the number of new manuals that have been published by various states to promote safe Rainwater Harvesting. Below are my picks for top stories of 2010 from around the globe. If you think I missed a top story please let me know.
Check out the above and other news articles from around the world
One factor that will undoubtly drive more and more rainwater harvesting is the cost of water. Historically water has almost been FREE and consequently economically it has been very hard to cost justify installing a rainwater harvesting system. Most urban systems are installed due to environmental concerns and rural systems due to a lack of affordable alternatives (e.g. the cost of drilling a well is more expensive than installing a rainwater harvesting system). However, as water rates increase this will change and harvesting rain will become more and more mainstream. Price increases large and small are occurring across the country. Reasons range from need to secure "new" water to repairing aging infrastructure. Some of these rate increases are one time and some are stretched over a period of time to make this seem smaller. Regardless they are all pointing up and not down. Water is not getting cheaper, nor more plentiful. Examples of some of the increases announced in the last few months include
Price increases will drive more and more sustainable behaviors. Economics may eventually make environmentalists out of all of us. Check out these and some of the other rate increase stories from around the country. Question: Do you see rainwater harvesting being done on a large scale purpose? Perhaps states that start to actively set aside area's to possibly collect rainwater? Thank you for the question, Will. Readers do you know of any large scale state/country rainwater harvesting projects? Mark, from Tucson, Arizona thank you for pointing out an error on the News Page of the website. Thank you all for the corrections, questions, and comments. Please keep them coming. You can reach me at Doug at HarvestH2o.com Thank you for reading the many articles on the site, sending in your questions and for helping keep the site free of errors and loaded with information. New Vendors and Public Display Sites Check out the vendors below. Over 38 new vendors added since the last edition of this newsletter and over 150 for the year! New vendors from 17 states from around the country (e.g. 5 new vendors from AZ, followed by 3 in TX and 2 in CA) and several new International companies (e.g. 4), all added to the directory in the last few months. New vendors, big and small, are entering the market monthly. For the year it is really interesting with the top growth coming from:
Followed by listings from over United States and many from around the world. Being a sponsor is a great way to promote your business and help promote Rainwater Harvesting. All proceeds go to support the website, research and write new articles on Rainwater Harvesting and Water Conservation. We sell no rainwater products nor recommend any; we are totally funded by sponsors. If you are interested please let us know >> doug [at] HarvestH2o.com New vendors and sponsor sites:
Agri-Industrial Plastics Company - Tanks
All About Gutters, LLC – Rain Chains, Rain Barrels and Water
Conservation Systems
Applied Process Equipment, Inc. - Tanks, Pumps, Filters, UV, Ozone,
Valves, Floats and Controls, Water Quality Test Kits
Barr
Plastics Inc. - Rainwater Harvesting Systems Being
Water LLC - First Flush and Fittings Cedar
Run Landscapes - Design and Installation
Design-Aire Engineering, Inc - System Design and
Installation Eco
Engineering Inc. - Design and Installation
Ecotuitive - Rainwater Harvesting Systems
Environmental Rainwater Solutions, LLC - Design and Installation
Florida
Realty - Greywater Harvesting and Rainwater Harvesting for
irrigation and toilets
Green Planet Dreams - Rainwater Toilet Flushing Systems Hydromethods, LLC
- Stormwater Harvesting Design
Infiltrator - Tanks and Stormwater Supplies
Innovative Water Solutions - Design, Consulting, and
Installation
INTEWA
GmbH - Greywater and Rainwater Products
Life's a
Garden - Design and Installation and Sustainable Gardens
Living
Rainwater Tanks - Tanks Loomis
Tank Centers - Tanks Loomis
Tank Centers - Tanks Loomis
Tank Centers - Tanks Loomis
Tank Centers - Tanks
North
American Rain Systems - Tanks and Supplies
Organic Option's, Inc. Design and Installation
RainBarrel.ca - Rain Barrels
Rainbud - Rain Barrels
Rainwater Harvesting Specialists, LLC - Rain barrels
Rainwise - Rain gauges Rain
Brothers, LLC - Barrels, Tanks, and Installation
Rain
Concepts - Design and Installation Rhode
Island Water Lady - Rain Barrels
SyncroFlo - Rainwater Filtration and Pumping Equipment
Simple
Pump Company - Hand Pumps
SJE-Rhombus - Float Switches and Alarms
The
Rain Well - System Components and Installation
Waterwall Rainwater Tanks - Tanks Water
Reclamation Solutions, LLC - Rainwater Harvesting Storage Systems
Water
Reclamation Solutions, LLC - Rainwater Harvesting Storage Systems
This email goes to thousands of readers every quarter. If you would like become a site sponsor or upgrade your listing, just send us a note. We urge you to get involved, it is what makes the world's water problem solvable. Together, we can make a world of difference. Thank you for your support. - Doug and Christian contact us: doug [at] harvesth2o.com
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