As part of a multi-pronged solution
for California's intensifying drought, the
ARCSA plays an important educational and technical role
promoting decentralized rainwater harvesting that would
decrease demand for centralized potable water supplies.
A
well-designed, installed and maintained rainwater harvesting
system can provide significant amounts of high-quality
water. Given an average 12 inches of annual Southern
California precipitation, a 1,500-square-foot residential
roof could collect over 10,000 gallons annually and for a
100,000 ft2 commercial building, the quantity is over
700,000 gallons.
The
California drought has worsened since Governor Brown's
January declaration that the state is in an official drought
emergency. On July 15, the State Water Resources Control
Board adopted statewide emergency regulations to
dramatically reduce potable water use and increase the
supply. Two weeks later, the legislature approved a $7.5
Billion water bond referendum for the November ballot,
setting aside funds for new local water supplies. Among
other plans, the state is formulating a Stormwater Strategy
Initiative to augment local water supplies. These
three actions view rain and stormwater as valuable
resources, not as a waste product to discharge. And the
drought story and water supply challenge is not unique to
California - it is similar in the Midwest, southeast and
other parts of the west.
These
growing water problems reinforce the value of harvesting
rain and stormwater to provide distributed sources of safe
water and to conserve municipal potable water. ARCSA's
mission is to promote sustainable rainwater harvesting
practices to help solve potable, non-potable, stormwater and
energy challenges throughout the world. Harvesting rain does
not diminish downstream supplies, but merely "borrows" it
along the way.
ARCSA
is gathering funds, experts and technical writers to create
a national rainwater harvesting manual and is soliciting
tax-deductible donations. For more information, please
contact Heather Kinkade, ARCSA Executive Director, at
512.617.6528 or info@arcsa.org.