Water Conservation: half-empty or half-full?

Three presenters spoke about the opportunities and challenges for using reclaimed and harvested rainwater in residential sector.

Note: The webinar was recorded on March 1, 2011.

Presentations and Webinar Materials:

• American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association (ARCSA)
  (.pdf, 0.97 MB)
  By John Hammerstrom, President, ARCSA
  
• Reclaimed Water Use
  (.pdf, 1.0 MB)
  By George Hochmuth, Soil and Water Science Department, University of Florida
• Pasco County's Purple Plan for Purple Rain (Florida)
  (.pdf, 1.4 MB)
  By BJ Jarvis, Pasco County Cooperative Extension Director and Horticulture Agent, Pasco County, Florida
• Responses to the Questions Received during the Webinar (.pdf)

Recording:

• American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association – the seventh mark on the sliding bar (time indicator at the bottom right corner will report "In session for 4 hours and 27 minutes")
• Reclaimed Water Use (Florida) – scroll to the point where the time indicator in the lower right corner states "In session for 4 hours and 43 minutes"
• Pasco County's Purple Plan for Purple Rain (Florida) – scroll to the point where the time indicator in the lower right corner states "In session for 5 hours and 5 minutes"
• Q&A – scroll to the point where the time indicator in the lower right corner states "In session for 5 hours and 23 minutes (the last mark on the sliding bar)"

Additional Resources:

Recommendations by the Webinar Participants:

• North Carolina Cooperative Extension. Water Quality of Rooftop Runoff: implications for Residential Water Harvesting Systems. Urban Waterways Series.
• North Carolina Cooperative Extension, Stormwater Engineering Group. NCSU Stormwater Publications. http://www.bae.ncsu.edu/stormwater/pubs.htm
• Florida Rainwater Harvesting Initiative. 2009. Rainwater Harvesting with Cisterns for Landscape Irrigation: Workshop/Presentation Manual, First Edition, October 2009.

Rain Water Harvesting

• About American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association (ARCSA)
• ARCSA rain water harvesting courses
• ARCSA educational videos (to purchase)
• Effectiveness of an Extension Program
  See previous regional webinar series at http://www.caes.uga.edu/extension/water/lc/rwh.html, specifically:
• 4-H activities:
  – Catch the Rain! Rainwater Harvesting Activities
  – 4-H2Online
• Rain Water Harvesting Manuals and Publications (including the links collected by ARCSA, and Mitch Woodward, North Carolina State University)
  AL: Make a Rain Barrel
  CT: Rainfall as a Resource
  FL: Rainwater Harvesting with Cisterns
  FL: Cisterns (UF/IFAS)
  FL: Cisterns / Rain Barrels (UF/PREC)
  FL: How to Build a Rain Barrel (UF/IFAS)
  FL: Rain Barrels (SWFWMD)
  GA: Georgia Rainwater Harvesting Guidelines
  NC: Rainwater Harvesting (NCSU)
  NC: Rainwater Harvester Design Model
  NC: Guidance for Homeowners
  NC: Choosing a Pump
  NC: Water Quality of Rooftop Runoff
  OK: Constructing a Rain Barrel (video), I and II
  SC: Build Your Own Rain Barrel Manual
  TX: Rainwater Harvesting Publications
  TX: The Texas Manual on RW Harvesting
  TX: TCEQ Guidance for Pub. Water Systems
  VA: Rainwater Harvesting Manual
  VA: VA DCR – Rainwater Harvesting

Reclaimed Water Use

For additional information about reclaimed water and the considerations for its use as a source of nutrients, see the following publications and web-pages:

• Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Reuse Inventory Database and Annual Report. http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/reuse/inventory.htm
• Haering et al. Water Reuse: Using Reclaimed Water for Irrigation. Virginia Cooperative Extension Publication 452-014. http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/452/452-014/452-014.html
• Hochmuth et al. Urban Water Quality and Fertilizer Ordinances: Avoiding Unintended Consequences: A Review of the Scientific Literature. University of Florida Publication SL 283. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/SS/SS49600.pdf
• Kenny et al. 2009. Estimated Use of Water in the United States in 2005. USGS Circular 1344. http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1344/
• Martinez C. and M. Clark. Reclaimed Water and Florida's Water Reuse Program. University of Florida Publication AE448. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ae448
• O'Connor et al. 2008. Degraded Water Reuse: An Overview. Journal of Environmental Quality, 37:S-157-168
• Parsons L. Reclaimed Water for Homeowner Irrigation. University of Florida Publication HS1157. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1157
• Toor G. and D. Rainey. History and Current Status of Reclaimed Water Use in Florida. University of Florida Publication SL308. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ss520
• US EPA. Municipalities and Wastewater Treatment Plants. http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/home.cfm?program_id=13
• US EPA. Wastewater Technology: Technology Fact Sheets. http://water.epa.gov/scitech/wastetech/mtbfact.cfm

Pasco County's Purple Plan for Purple Rain (Florida)

Pasco County's education program was developed to teach residents about reclaimed water.