LOS GATOS — When rain drenches Mark Wialbut’s mountain home, it sprouts inspiration.
His vast network of gutters, pipes, tanks and filters has captured more than 10,000 gallons so far this month, with more to come — enough for his family to be self-sufficient this winter in their Los Gatos aerie.
For most Californians, rain-catching is a seasonal hobby and not practical enough to wean us from our dependency on snowmelt, reservoirs and groundwater.
But for Wialbut — and the growing number of collectors like him — rainwater systems are elaborate enough to weaken drought’s fierce grip.
“The water is used for everything,” said Wialbut, a salesman at Applied Power Technology at work but a water sanitation specialist, maintenance mechanic and troubleshooting technician at home.
“It tastes great,” he said, triumphantly. “And this morning, I took a nice long hot shower.”
In the East Bay, Tony Poeck of Indira Designs reports a 30 percent jump in revenue this year for sales of rainwater and “greywater” (to reuse household water) collection system equipment, design and consultation.
Several 20,000-gallon systems are being installed in San Francisco, Marin and the East Bay, he said. A 40,000-gallon system — enough to supply an average family for about 235 days — is being planned in Pleasanton. In Los Altos Hills, an advanced collection system has been added to a multimillion dollar luxury “spec house,” in an effort to attract environmentally conscious buyers.
The big systems can cost as much as $70,000, which might explain why smaller cisterns are even more popular. In North Oakland, Elizabeth Doughtery has filled her three large cisterns with a total of 1,100 gallons, and she plans to hook up more to boost capacity another 1,000 gallons.
“Any amount of water saved is worth our while,” said Poeck. “And when people have a cistern, they see how fast it goes. They start thinking about conservation.”
The math is simple: For every 100 square feet of roof, 1 inch of rain yields 60 to 100 gallons of water. So if you have a 1,000-square-foot roof, an inch of rain will give you 600 to 1,000 gallons, or enough to last three to five days of indoor use by the average California household.
In places where the average annual rainfall is 12 inches of precipitation, it is possible to collect 10,000 gallons annually from a 1,500-square-foot residential roof or 700,000 gallons annually from a 100,000-square-foot commercial building, according to the American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association.
Some opponents of rainwater harvesting have argued that it deprives flow to streams and aquifers, where it is needed for wells. But proponents say it eases pressure on other sources of water, as well as helps manage stormwater runoff. For Wialbut, whose home is perched 1,400 feet high in one of the wettest spots in the Bay Area, a solution just required a bit of ingenuity — and about $8,000.
Far from municipal systems, his home had poor well water — “ugly and smelly,” he recalls — and its supplies were unreliable after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake fractured the aquifer. So he had to buy water by the truckload, delivered at $340 a pop. (He still relies on trucked-in water in the summer.)
Rain that falls on his large composite roof is captured and conveyed via gutters and 60 feet of piping. From there, it empties into two 5,000-gallon tanks, fitted with microfilters, and secured on a flat gravel pad. They were installed one Saturday morning with the help of a dozen strong friends and a brave neighbor with a Bobcat.
“It was nerve-racking,” he said. “I had visions the night before of them rolling and smashing into thousands of pieces.”
Then, because the tanks are downhill from his home, a powerful pump sends the water uphill to a third tank, where ozone kills bacteria and any other pathogens.
Its final stop is a smaller pressure tank, designed to prevent erratic surges to his modern plumbing. Then it goes to his home, his expansive garden and his large and lively koi pond.
The occasional mishap — such as a weakened pipe thread — has sent precious water spewing.
“It’s definitely trial and error,” he said, brightly. “Imagineering!”
The only frustration, he said, is its size. With so much rain this month, he’s had to release thousands gallons of water deep underground. So he plans to double capacity, ultimately saving enough water to last all year long.
“We are creating a solution, like people do it all over the world,” he says. “There’s no water in the ground — so we get it from the sky.”
Contact Lisa M. Krieger at 650-492-4098.
Rain Barrel and Cistern Basics
Rainwater should not be harvested from roofs covered with copper or treated with fungicides or herbicides.
Rain barrels and cisterns come in a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes, but should be opaque, watertight and made of durable materials.
The lid or screen on your rain barrel or cistern should be secured to prevent access to the stored water.
Rain barrels and cisterns should be equipped with an overflow valve.
If your downspout is connected to the sewer system, cities require a permit from the department of building inspection.
Periodic maintenance is required. Gutters and pipes must be kept free of leaves and other detritus. Tanks need periodic flushing. Filters need to be replaced on a regular schedule. Pumps and ozonation systems require occasional servicing.
For more information, go to American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association at www.arcsa.org.
REBATES FOR RAIN BARRELS
The Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency now grants $100 rebates for purchases of rainwater collection barrels for property owners who collect rainwater for their own use in the areas just outside San Francisco. A San Francisco initiative offers discounted rain barrels, how-to guides and workshops.
For more information, go to http://bawsca.org/
