the cistern

Tribes have been fighting over water since the dawn of man. To witness the Georgia/Florida/Alabama water wars over the last two decades, it seemed little has changed.

H.B. 1094 is noteworthy, not only because it ushers in a "culture of water conservation", but because it displayed a rare instance of cooperation among various groups that do not typically agree.

Author of the House Bill, State Rep. Lynn Smith, R-Newnan, calls it the good neighbor bill for two reasons:

1. It shows Alabama and Florida that we are taking measures in conservation seriously in Georgia

2. People from all over the state and both sides of the aisle have come to the table and negotiated and made compromises

How refreshing to see this cooperation in a house normally divided!

RainCatchers is proud to partner with The Hoots Group and Joel Kelly Designs on a rainwater harvesting system for the 2010 Southern Building Showcase House. Rainwater from the roof of Midtown Green House will gravity-feed through a vortex filter and into an inground 5,000 gallon fiberglass cistern. From the cistern rainwater will be pumped into an irrigation system and into the house where it will be purified and used to supply toilets and washing machines. This will help establish superior water efficiency and mitigate stormwater runoff while scoring points for the ecohome's LEED certification.

Video shows a typical residential inground installation and how it is plumbed just prior to connecting the drainpipe from the roof to the WISY vortex filter and backfilling to grade.

These systems are carefully engineered to function with gravity excluding the use of additional pumping stations.

This is a recent front yard installation for a client in the Virginia Highlands area.

On December 21, "just in time for Christmas," archaeologists discovered the remains of a dwelling in Nazareth, Israel that could be a clue to Jesus' lifestyle. The team unearthed a wall, courtyard, hideout, and a water system that channeled rainwater from the roof into a cistern for the family's water supply. Evidence dates the humble dwelling back to when Jesus lived in Nazareth, then a small village of 50 impoverished families.

"This may well have been a place that Jesus and his contemporaries were familiar with," said archaeologist Yardena Alexandre. A young Jesus may have played around the house with his cousins and friends. "It's a logical suggestion."

The discovery was made when builders dug up the courtyard of a former convent to make room for a new Christian center, just yards from the Basilica of the Annunciation. "They say if the people do not speak, the stones will speak," said the Rev. Jack Karam of the Basilica.

Archaeologists also found clay and chalk vessels typically used by Galilean Jews of that time to ensure the ritual purity of the food and water kept inside the vessels.

"For me it is a great gift," said Karam of the discovery.

Read more about it here.

It won't surprise you to learn that guys who stay fixated on rain like we do are fascinated by the beauty of it in its crystalline ice form.

We agree with Thoreau:

"How full of the Creative Genius is the air in which these are generated! I should hardly admire more if real stars fell and lodged on my coat. Nature is full of genius, full of the Divinity, so that not a snowflake escapes its fashioning hand."

And Jeanette Winterson:

"They say that every snowflake is different. If that were true, how could the world go on? How could we ever get up off our knees? How could we ever recover from the wonder of it?"

So enjoy a few photos of these marvels from the heavens:

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Over a decade, Atlanta’s water/sewer bills will more than triple as the city raises rates to pay for the city’s $4.1 billion overhaul of its water and sewer network.

* Assumes consumption of about 6,000 gallons of water per month.

** No increases have been scheduled beyond 2012, but the new mayor and City Council will have to enact them to cover the city’s debt payments.

A special task force put together by Governor Perdue came to a simple conclusion last week: There are no easy alternatives to Lake Lanier.

While it may be true that there is no easy button to Georgia's water problem, there is a viable, relatively simple solution. It starts with the understanding that there is no shortage of water given, but a shortage of water received. Mark Brown of RainCatchers outlined the solution in a letter to the task force prior to their meeting with the Governor:

I am writing to offer a solid solution to the impending water crisis in Georgia. I am writing as a concerned citizen and an expert in the field of rainwater harvesting. Several years ago I chose Rainwater Harvesting as a new career path. As an already successful entrepreneur in another industry I made this choice, because it was obvious to me that water was fast becoming a major issue in our state as well as around the world. In my endeavor to become an expert, I sought out the authorities in the field, and spent much time researching and learning from these experts. I also looked for knowledge from leading authorities on water from around the world, and through this journey I found that there are a few points on which all are in agreement. Water is a finite resource and the rate of demand on this finite resource is growing quicker than the rate of population growth itself. We know this all too well in Georgia.

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