Reclaiming Rainwater

I have been placed in charge of "the systems" for the harlem brownstone renovation. Heating, electricity, hot water, intercom, power generation, security, lighting, and fireplaces. Basically, if the project involves electrons or fire, I'm on it. Why? Because I'm a research geek and can't get enough of specs/manuals. More on my fascinating journey through the secret decibel rankings of refrigerators in a later post...

One of the items I've been researching is a rainwater harvesting system. We have a yard. The yard will need water. As we all know, the water doesn't seem to fall when the yard needs it most.

Sooooo... why not catch the rainwater from our big flat roof, and capture it for later use? Easy! Green! Started talking to a few folks. Nearly every single person said, get a rain barrel. Stick a hose on it. Done. Right?

Hm. Not to sound snarky, but that isn't really the form and function I'd like to shoot for. Can we do better? Yes We Can! (oops, wrong blog...)

I was thinking about a tank that

• is buried
  
• has a filter (no asphalt spritzers for the azaleas)
  
• has a pump to power a drip or spray irrigation system
  

And I found these folks: Rain Water Management. Now, they do make just the cutest darn rainbarrel ever, but not exactly what I was hoping for.

They also sell a system that seems right for us (charmingly named "Package 2"). Container, filter, pump. Voila! Have to get pricing. Am sure it's a bargain...

[where: 10032][where: Harlem][where: Sugar Hill]