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Rainwater Harvesting System Installed At San Diego Elementary School

5/7/2017

3 Comments

 
This past week we were very excited to install a rainwater collection system at Birney Elementary School in University Heights, San Diego, CA. It included a 300 gallon ferrocement cistern (Model LFC-300) that we hand-made at our shop and then assembled on site. The catchment area is a large multi-classroom roof so they will get lots of rainwater to use for their school garden!
School garden. Copyright Permasystems
Birney Elementary school garden
School gardens are extremely effective for experientially teaching kids about natural history and ecology, nutrition, water cycles, carbon cycles, soil ecology, and food cycles -  not to mention what good food should taste like! They also teach kids environmental stewardship, foster a connection with nature and build practical skills. Having a rainwater harvesting tank adds an additional observable element to the garden letting kids actually see what is happening with water on site. It also saves the school money by using less water and reducing demand on stormwater drainage systems.
School garden water tank. Copyright Permasystems
Ferrocement water tank adjacent to school garden
The rainwater from the tank will be used to water trees and plants in the garden. A garden hose attachment makes is easy to move the water around using only gravity. The tank is light proof so no algae can grow, letting water be stored as long as needed. The tank and all parts of it are potable grade to provide the highest quality water. A first-flush device (#2 in photo below) allows the first few gallons from a rain event to be diverted from the tank and back to the drain ensuring the tank water is extra clean for plants.
Rainwater harvesting tank parts. Copyright Permasystems
The kids are planning to hand paint the tank - something you can only do with cement tanks. Plastic and metal tanks flex too much so the paint would flake off. We look forward to teaching the kids about water and rainwater harvesting in upcoming classes!

Remember, just 1 inch of rain over 1000 square foot of roof equals 600 gallons of water!


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3 Comments
Akash Aher link
3/7/2023 12:00:11 pm

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Donald Dodd link
3/8/2023 08:13:21 am

The garden letting kids actually see what is happening with water on site. It also saves the school money by using less water and reducing demand on stormwater drainage systems. Thank you for taking the time to write a great post!

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Mia Evans link
4/28/2023 01:44:22 am

I love that you talked about how kids can observe the process of the tank filtering the rainwater. I would love to get a rainwater filter system because of that, since it can teach my kids the importance of water. As they grow older, they can also apply it to their homes someday to help the planet become a better place as well as save our resources.

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