How it Works
Water harvesting is, simply, catching rain where it falls. TFS designs and installs custom rainwater harvesting systems that work with the unique features of a home or business, and meet the specific needs of its residents. Strategies include:
1) Passive Rain Garden- If your objective is to irrigate native, drought-tolerant plants, consider contouring the earth to catch and store rain in the soil. In a small yard or multi-acre landscape, stabilized berms and mulched basins can direct rainwater to plants and store it in the soil, often eliminating the need for supplemental irrigation or active rainwater storage.
Case Studies: Barrio Hollywood Residence, Burns Wald-Hopkins Shambach Architects
2) Infiltration Chambers- Infiltration chambers are plastic half-pipe structures buried near or underneath water-intensive plants. Connected to a downspout, graywater line, or tank overflow, they allow water to collect near thirsty plant roots and slowly leach into the soil, minimizing evaporation and maximizing efficiency.
Case Studies: Durham Residence
3) Aboveground Gravity Cisterns- If your objective is to store rainfall to hand water higher water need plants, an aboveground tank provides a simple rainwater source during Tucson’s dry months. This tank has a standard hose spigot for gravity supply of water, requiring no electricity.
Case Studies: Bolding Residence, Southwest Education Center
4) Aboveground Pressurized Cisterns- If an automatic irrigation system is already an integral part of an established landscape, this irrigation can be retrofitted to supply rainwater by installing an aboveground tank with a pump system. Pumps can also be added to systems to bring rainwater to interior plumbing fixtures.
Case Studies: Cooper Center, La Paloma Family Services
5) Underground Pressurized Cisterns- If aboveground space is not sufficient for the desired storage capacity, a cistern can be buried underground. Since the tank is now lower than the water destination, a pump is required whether the water is supplied at a hose spigot, automatic irrigation system, or inside the house. Underground pressurized cisterns are most often used in large homes or commercial buildings where rainwater is used as the primary water source.
———————
Rainwater Incentives
Environmental Benefits
How to Proceed
Balancing Your Water Budget