Ajax Ontario Rainwater Harvesting an Alternative to Drilling a Well

Drilling Well VS. Rainwater Harvesting

Drilling a well can be a gamble as there is no guarantee you will find a useable water source underground. This Ajax Ontario Home Owner regrettably took that gamble and spent nearly $10,000.00 to drilling holes searching for water.

Then the home owner investigated installing a cistern for hauled water to fill this under ground tank to hold drinking water. This is a common practice but the cost to pay for hauled bulk water translates to 1000 % and up to 2000% increase in cost compared to city water

Therefore the homeowner looked to rainwater harvesting. The initial thought was to use rainwater for the entire water source. Due to the added costs of Potable Grade Roofing Material the client decided to incorporate a Dual Water System. Non Potable from rainwater for toilets, laundry and irrigation. Potable from hauled bulk water for drinking,bathing and cooking. Due to the limited water used for solely bathing and cooking this reduced the requirement for hauled water significantly.

Professional Rainwater Design

This site plan outlines the underground facilities the rainwater system will require to properly integrate with this home. It shows these facilitates in relation to the property lines, house, driveways and any other significant objects.

Detailed

Designs to integrate our rainwater collection and re-use systems with your home explain the granular details of how each component will interconnect with the next. This project has two rainwater collection tanks and two potable hauled water only tanks. Each tank is 1500 gallons. Each set of tanks has one water line supplying water into the house and route over the footing.

Underground Excavation

This project used both 4″ (10mm) and 6″ (150mm) PVC pipe to collect rainwater from every down pipe. Each down pipe location had a clean out access in case the piping every was clogged. Any dirt or debris entering the piping with me filtered out to the overflow.

Rainwater Tank Installation

The rainwater tanks were lifted into place using the excavation equipment. Each tank is set on 6″ of gravel and the tanks are set approximate 12″ apart. Then the rainwater tanks were plumbed together using piping and water tight seals.

Potable Water Tank Installation

Next the potable water tanks were lifted into place and positioned next to the rainwater tanks. The potable water tanks were plumbed together and sealed.

Pre-Filter Installation

The rainwater pre-filter was connected to the PVC piping from the house and then into the rainwater tank. This self cleaning 3-in-1 pre filter will provide a first flush, filtration and aeration. Ensuring the rainwater is safe, fresh and clean.

Underground Plumbing

The rainwater tanks are plumbed into the PVC piping form the pre-filter and then directed to the overflow. This is all 4″ (100mm) and 6″ (150mm) PVC piping.

Bed Tank

Once all the underground plumbing and water tight testing was completed the tanks were ready to be back filled with ‘HPB” High Performance Bedding which is self compacting and provides the needed structural support.

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