NEW RELEASE: Rainwater Harvesting Best Practices Guidebook for Canada’s West Coast

 

 

 

“Rainwater harvesting does not remove water available to local environments, it simply is gathered from a different part of the water cycle.”

The Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) on Vancouver Island has published the Rainwater Harvesting Best Practices Guidebook for those who wish to learn more about the benefits and opportunities of rainwater harvesting. This guidance document is a valuable resource for design, installation and maintenance of residential rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems on Canada’s west coast.

“The Rainwater Harvesting Guidebook will help residents and professional practitioners to better understand the different types of rainwater harvesting systems, how they are put together, how they function, and the effort required to maintain them,” said RDN Chairperson Joe Stanhope.

“The Guidebook is an important element in a regional response to our changing climate. We can expect wetter winters, and longer and drier summers. There is already a sense of urgency because our region is experiencing dropping water levels in certain areas, and ecosystems are stressed,” added Chris Midgley, Manager of Energy and Sustainability.

“The fundamental distinction between RWH systems is whether they provide Non-Drinkable Water (Outdoor Use), Non-Drinkable Water (Indoor Use) for flushing toilets, or Drinkable Water. The Guidebook addresses all three.”

“Our goal in promoting rainwater harvesting is to reduce the volume of groundwater drawn from aquifers during dry summer months. This will have several beneficial outcomes: sustaining critical baseflow in streams; preventing saltwater intrusion; and increasing residents’ self-sufficiency.”

 

TO LEARN MORE:

To order a Guidebook, email sustainability@rdn.bc.ca or call 250-390-6510. The cost is $15 + HST (i.e. $16.80) per copy for residents outside the RDN. Or, to download a copy, click here.