To find a long-term, affordable solution to the ongoing "water wars" with neighboring states- and to put some much needed, long term sanity back to into the region's overall water-related strategizing-metro Atlantan’s need look no farther than their own roofs. Put another way: Area residents are a lot closer than they think to a solution to the current water crisis-potentially for a fraction of the cost being discussed by various government agencies that think building new reservoirs and water treatment constitutes the only effective way out of this morass.
What exactly is this fix? Three words: rainwater collection systems. Rather than large new reservoirs, these personal mini-reservoirs can have a major impact on demand from municipal water. We’re not talking about what immediately comes to mind when most people think of collecting rainwater. Installing 55 gallon rain barrels in yards typically bought at so-called "big box" retailers or farmer's markets-barrels intended to help water gardens.
Rain barrels are a meaningful way to begin any effort at conserving and utilizing rainwater, but more substantive collection means the installation of residential tank systems that commonly store between 2,000 and 10,000 gallons for a home. When outdoor water use accounts for around half of all residential demand and upwards of 100,000 gallons every summer, this sort of capacity is required to keep up with demand.
A quick look at some basic numbers demonstrates just how great the impact of these systems would be if thousands of Atlanta households were to embrace this solution to our ongoing water wars. On a macro level, The City of Atlanta uses an average of around 90 to 100 million gallons daily to water their yards, flush toilets and do their laundry, according to the city's watershed Web Site. (More broadly, the 15 county Atlanta metro areas utilize about 652 million gallons per day.)This thirst is quenched in part by 270 million gallons of water withdrawn daily from the Chattahoochee River (fed by Lake Lanier's contested H2O) and an additional 170 million gallons taken from the area's lesser rivers.
How does this translate individually, on a household basis? A typical family of four uses about 25,000 gallons a year toilet flushing and another 25,000 gallons for laundry, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates. This 50,000 gallon- "non-potable" usage can be even higher with usage typically in the range of 50,000 to 100,000 annually. Enter the rainwater collection system, designed to significantly cut individual household draw on the region's limited municipal water capacity and greatly reduce an individual household's water in the process.
If a "typical" family of four were to build a rainwater collection system designed to handle its "non-potable" drinking needs, it could save 50,000 to 100,000 gallons annually depending on roof size and storage capacity- by cutting city water use for outdoor water and for indoor non-potable uses. On a household basis, this level of city water usage reduction dwarfs conservation measures such as the use of low-flow toilets and fixtures, which has been a very successful program. As an example, an estimate of low flow toilet impact for a family of four is around 14,000 gallons annually. With the sort of water savings rainwater collection can provide, one can easily envision saving 30 to 50 million gallons daily if collection systems are adapted on a widespread basis, maybe even more. This is equivalent to what we draw from Lake Altoona for example.
There are examples around the world and around the U.S. showing that rainwater collection really helps to reduce demand on municipal water supplies. In Australia, due to the extended droughts, rainwater collection is now a normal and matter-of-fact part of most households.
In Austin, Texas, rainwater collection now accounts for five million gallons a day for commercial and municipal applications alone. Translated into a metropolitan area the size of Atlanta, this would mean 18 million gallons a day. Adding the impact of residential rainwater collection, the impact would be much higher.
Of course, rainwater collection alone isn't a panacea for all of our water problems. The battle is still joined as the region's demand for water is expected to increase 53 percent by 2035 to 1 billion gallons daily, as a result of continued economic and population growth. Nevertheless, there's no question that rainwater collection, if planned and executed on a macro level, will be an extraordinary ally in this area's water planning: particularly if it helps individual Atlantans recognize finally that water is no longer a resource to be taken for granted and squandered, but one to be cherished as the city ramps up its overall "eco-friendly" initiatives, planning a healthier, cost efficient future for all.
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