Rain barrel systems from Sustain Dane

Photos by Jaime Zimmerman:
Tandem installation pictured right
Douglas the installer below right
Click on images for larger view

Rain barrels are a new take on an old design in which cisterns were used to capture the rain hitting and running off the roof of a building. In Madison, Wisconsin (located in Dane County) rain barrel sales constitute one of the programs of Sustain Dane, a non-profit community-focused organization. Since 2006, Sustain Dane has sold more than 1200 of the 55 gallon rain barrels according to the organization’s Web site.

The use of rain barrels results in a number of positive outcomes:

- water is captured for use where the homeowner needs it
- rain water, rather than chlorinated and fluoridated potable water, is used to support landscaping
- reduced demand for potable water saves money and reduces pumping and treatment costs
- less storm water runoff, carrying pollutants and fertilizers, finds its way to the local watershed

Last week, two rain barrel systems – one single and one tandem – were installed at the home of my brother Jaime, who lives in the Dudgeon - Monroe neighborhood of Madison. Jaime purchased the systems for $216 and spent $10 for the cement blocks that serve as the base for the barrels. Jaime also contracted for installation of the systems for an additional $136.

Residents of Madison use an average of 68.6 gallons per person per day at home, according to the City of Madison Water Utility. Residents pay $1.30 per 1000 gallons of water used. So, the decision to install the systems is driven by the positive outcomes cited above rather than by a return on the investment.

While installation is straightforward, requiring only a handful of common tools, there are clear advantages to having someone with experience install the systems. A do-it-yourselfer could install the two systems in less than a day. An experienced installer required 3 hours to complete the job.

Douglas, the installer, arrived at the house driving a van from Community Car, Madison’s car sharing program. He is shown holding a system diverter in the accompanying image. During my 10 years in the solar energy industry in Southern California, I witnessed thousands of solar pool and water heating system installations. With that experience providing perspective, I came away impressed by the clean, efficient and professional installation of the systems.

The 55 gallon barrels, fabricated of recycled food grade plastic, fill quickly even during a relatively light rain. The key component in the rain barrel system is the diverter. Ingeniously designed, it directs water pouring from a downspout into the rain barrel. When the barrel is full, the water is diverted back into the downspout.

The diverter traps debris to keep it out of the barrels; the debris is easily cleared via a removable door on the diverter. Other recommended maintenance includes keeping the gutters clean, occasionally cleaning the barrels with an environmentally safe product and winterizing the system by capping the water input ports on top of each barrel.

Jaime chose to connect soaker hoses to the barrel hose bibs. The soaker hoses utilize the captured water to irrigate about half of the landscaping around his home.

The rain barrels, pictured above, are rather obvious additions to the property due to their size and color (they’re also available in blue). The barrels could be screened with landscaping or other methods, painted, or left in their environmentally chic original look.

Sustain Dane does not ship rain barrel systems because it would not be sustainable to do so. However, they offer a locator at http://www.rainfordane.com/ to help you find suppliers in your area. Check it out.

In addition to the rain barrel project, Sustain Dane encourages citizen involvement in a variety of ways and promotes awareness and understanding of Madison as an eco-municipality. In that context, the organization appears to have embraced The Natural Step framework. I recently discovered that Oshkosh, Wisconsin has also embraced The Natural Step. Look for a post on the subject in the near future.

Post script. In response to this post, I received a comment suggesting that rain barrels would provide a habitat for mosquitos. Paraphrasing from rainfordane.com, the rain barrels are mosquito proof because they are sealed. Let me know if you have had experience in this regard.

Repurposing shipping containers

This post is a diversion from the initial thread of Sustainable Dezine – the lessons I learned while remodeling my home. The diversion was motivated by seeing the accompanying image of a small condo project proposed for construction near downtown Salt Lake, in an article in the Salt Lake Tribune.

This project is post-worthy for a number of reasons:

1. Used shipping containers will be the primary building component, stacked creatively to a height of 7 stories secured in a steel and glass frame. The building, designed by innovative architect Adam Kalkin, will include 8 homes that are described as post-industrial. While this is not the first time building containers have been used for housing in the U.S., it is in Salt Lake City where it has to be a challenge for the City’s building department.

2. It draws attention to the reality that we have an excess inventory of these steel shipping containers; as a result, they are available for creative reuse at relatively modest prices. It is apparently cheaper to build new containers in countries like China, with which we have a huge trade imbalance, than it is to send them back (likely empty) for reuse. Reuse of materials reduces demand for raw materials and saves the energy needed to fabricate the steel - and they were designed to be shipped. The potential remains as long as the trade imbalance prevails or until the excess inventory is exhausted.

3. The project in Salt Lake will replace a building that was, in anticipation of its demolition, converted to a canvas for use by 150 artists to express their talents in a collective artistic celebration called the 337 Project. At each step of the property’s evolution, the owners have thought and acted creatively in a way that has benefited the community and will, undoubtedly, pay off in financial terms, as it should.

Resonance with The Nomadic Museum

This example of creative repurposing of shipping containers into building components takes me back to a memorable experience I had a couple of years ago. I was living temporarily in Santa Monica, where I was working on a software project. Fortuitously, it was then that The Nomadic Museum designed by visionary architect Shigeru Ban was installed on a beachfront parking lot next to the Santa Monica Pier.

The Museum’s walls were constructed of 156 stacked shipping containers. Its roof was supported by columns made of paper. The floor of the museum was a combination of smooth stones and a wooden walkway.

The walkway served to guide museum visitors through a show entitled Ashes and Snow, a collection of incredible sepia and umber-toned photographs of human beings interacting with animals. Screens showing video with the same subject matter and feel served to define segments of the exhibition. The large-format photographs by Gregory Colbert were printed on hand-made paper and suspended so as to float in the dimly-lit space. The effect was awe-inspiring, like being in a minimalist zen cathedral, if such were ever to take physical form.

The Nomadic Museum created an opportunity to reflect and to think differently about the images presented, wherever they took the individual viewer. As importantly, the Museum was also a beacon, startling all who witnessed it into thinking differently about the built environment and the materials we typically think about for construction. It is encouraging to see an innovative, more permanent interpretation take form in Salt Lake City.