Uses of Rainwater
Benefits to Homeowners and Small Businesses
Ecovie Rainwater Collection Systems provide tangible benefits to homeowners, small businesses and the environment.
- Outdoor (25-60% of Total)
- Watering and Irrigation
- Car Washing, Pool Filling, Patio Washing
- Indoor Non-Drinkable (20-40% of Total)
- Toilet Flushing
- Laundry
- Indoor Drinkable (20-40% of Total)
- Tap Water, Cooking, Shower & Bath
You can collect a lot of water with an ECOVIE system!
| Roof (Square Feet) |
Atlanta Collection Potential (gallons)* | |||
| Gallons per Inch | 2007 Totals | 2008 Totals | 30 Year Average | |
| 2,000 | 1,200 | 36,000 | 46,000 | 56,000 |
| 3,000 | 1,900 | 54,000 | 69,000 | 84,000 |
| 4,000 | 2,500 | 71,000 | 92,000 | 112,000 |
| 5,000 | 3,100 | 89,000 | 115,000 | 141,000 |
| 6,000 | 3,600 | 107,000 | 138,000 | 169,000 |
| 20,000 | 12,000 | 384,000 | 460,000 | 600,000 |
* assumes 15% loss due to evaporation and other factors
Outdoor Rainwater Usage
Water usage varies from person to person and household to household. According to the EPA's reported usage data, the average US household of four uses over half of their total water consumption outdoors in applications such as watering, irrigation, pool filling, and car washing. These types of water usage are prime targets for rainwater collection systems.
Indoor Rainwater Usage
Indoor use of rainwater for laundry and toilet flushing is the next potential application after outdoor applications. If your outdoor water usage rate is low and you are doing a major remodel or building a new home or commercial building the added cost of piping for bringing rainwater indoors is low. If this is your situation, you may be a strong candidate for this application.
For commercial properties, collected rainwater can be used for cooling tower make up.
Georgia State plumbing code requires fine filtration and disinfection treatment for indoor non-potable uses which ECOVIE can set up and install. We can give you references of completed projects of installations where rainwater is used indoors.
Indoor drinkable (potable) applications also represent 20-40% of total household use. Using rainwater for indoor drinkable applications is definitely feasible and is a practice in many regions of the US and the world. ECOVIE has designed and installed potable rainwater systems and is working with authorities to develop code and guidelines for its use in Atlanta.
Regardless of the application, rainwater harvesting makes sense on many fronts. Check out the next sections to find out why.
Gray Water:
Gray water is water that is used inside a building and is available for reuse. A prime source of gray water that can be used with little or no treatment for outdoor irrigation is HVAC condensate. In homes, it is easy to direct condensate to the rainwater storage system. For commercial operations, condensate generation can be high enough to yield thousands of gallons per day, which gives a steady and reliable source of water in the summer time.
Other sources of gray water include household shower and laundry water. Georgia State code includes this type of gray water for outdoor drip irrigation and indoors for toilet flushing.