Domestic rainwater catchment provides several benefits such as free water that protects foundations and supplements drinking water supplies. A 1,500 square foot home roof can generate over 600 gallons of water from half an inch of rain. Larger storage systems and plumbing the house for uses like toilets and laundry allow the water to future proof the home. While Colorado laws regarding rainwater catchment were unclear, they are becoming more supportive of the practice.

1. (Corny power point graphic here)
Domestic rain water catchment
For the Fort Collins Chamber of Commerce, Environmental Committee
Andrew Michler LEED AP
baosol sustainable building consulting www.baosol.com

2. Ok, here it comes…

3. How much water do you really get?
One and a half horizontal square feet of roof
+One inch of water
=One gallon (0.93 gal)
Determine your total by multiplying your home’s foot print (not your roof’s area)

4. What are the benefits of
rainwater catchment?
The water is free
It keeps your landscape from being over saturated,
and protects your foundation
It is clean, and soft (low salt, high nitrogen)
It can be used for multiple applications
You are using a local and renewable resource

5. What are the benefits of
rainwater catchment?
It supplements our drinking water, which takes a lot
of energy and infrastructure to get to your tap
Your municipality has less storm surge to deal with,
(you may have seen a rubber duck race on South
Collage Ave lately)
The LEED point system is generous with rainwater
catchment and reuse (SS runoff reduction, WE domestic water
reduction, LEED Homes up to 4 points)

6. For starters you can water your vegetable garden
What (more than 50% of our domestic drinking water is used for
the landscape).
can you Green thumbs will know how to take advantage
of this resource.
do with Do not use water from an asphalt
it? shingle roof on your veggies, yuck
Do not store that water in an open
container, a mosquito's best friend
Try to keep your storage out of direct
sunlight avoiding a slime factory
Simple kits for barrels are available, try
Eco-Logic on Jefferson and Linden.
Easy do-it-yourself stuff!

7. So you have a lot to work with.
Think even bigger.
A thousand gallon container
will hold less runoff from your
roof than you may think.
A house with a 2000 sq ft
footprint getting one-half inch
of rain will give you 620
gallons of water!

8. So you have a lot of
water to work with.
The bigger the storage the better. New water
catchment systems are available that are
expandable and take up little space.
Rainwater Hog from down under is a good
example of a small system.
New systems are coming out all the time.

9. Future proof your home.
Install as large a system as is reasonable.
Many companies have small commercial
systems that are prepackaged.
Keep all the mechanical components
accessible and protected from the cold.
A half buried tank will not freeze over, you
can put a deck over it.
Prefilter the water with a centrifuge filter or
screen.

10. Future proof your home.
Plumb your house for using this water.
Put in an extra supply line for the toilet.
A line to the laundry cold side.
A hose bib in the front and back of the house
to wash the car and feed the landscape.
Outdoor water features can be automatically
fed from your catchment system.
Build with extra room for storm surges.

11. Answer:
Is it legal? Kinda,
Sorta,
Maybe,
Welcome to Colorado!
A better question might be: Will it be legal?
Answer: YES
So future proof now! Even if it is not
hooked up at least plumb for it.

12. My system: an ending narrative.
I truck drinking water to
my home, so trucking in
toilet and garden water
was out of the question.
The best solution was to
take my shops gutter and
hook it to a 1500 gallon
half buried tank above
my home. It was then
plumbed to the toilet
and an outside faucet.
Next project is to send it
to the laundry supply. No
pumps at all, just gravity.
When I installed this system it was illegal, but the law for rural roof
water catchment has caught up with reality.

13. Resources
American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association
multiple resources and links
www.arca.org
National Climatic Data Center
Rain water annual totals and maps
www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/aasc.html
Thank you