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Evaluating an article

Environmental impact of pharmaceuticals and personal care products: The article has a neutral tone, does not have any biased evidence or statements. Everything is well linked to resources that are credible. The article also shows heading and subheadings, which directs me from one topic to the next. This helps because there is a lot of information to read and go off of. However, the article lacks quality pictures or diagrams to show illustrated evidence.

3 Articles

-Category: Water conservation, Subcategory: "Rainwater harvesting"

COMMENT: This could be a great page specifically for CA, see e.g. Rainwater harvesting in Canada Julianfulton (talk) 21:58, 22 February 2019 (UTC)

-Environmental Issues: Category: Water scarcity, Subcategory: "Economic water scarcity"

COMMENT: This would be a very complex topic and we don't cover it in any great detail in class. Julianfulton (talk) 21:58, 22 February 2019 (UTC)

-sustainability> natural resources>natural resources management> water management>water conservation> "Constructed Wetland"

COMMENT: This page looks well-developed, what is the content gap you would like to add to? Julianfulton (talk) 21:58, 22 February 2019 (UTC)

Outline

I. Introduction

a. define rainwater harvesting in California. Discuss the history and the current uses of the rainwater harvesting system. Provide some statistical facts about the use of rainwater harvesting throughout the state of California. Format thesis sentence.

II. Property Rights

a. who permits the collection of rainwater?

b. codes? Laws?

III. System Set-Up

IV. Applications of Rainwater in California

a. Agriculture use (70%)

b. residential/domestic use (8%)

c. Industrial use (22%)

V. Potential Benefits and Impacts

a. benefits>>>water conservation, mitigate floods, help with droughts, benefit water supply & wastewater subsystems

b. impacts >>>human health, biodiversity, habitat deletion, pollution, CRP

VI. New Approaches

VII. References

References

Lassiter, A. (2015). Sustainable Water Challenges and Solutions from California. University of California Press, pp. 317-341

Bakker, Karen J. 2010. Privatizing Water: Governance Failure and the World's Urban Crisis. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

California Department of Water Resources. 2005. California Water Plan Update 2005. www.waterplan.water.ca.gov/previous/cwpu2005/.

Rainwater Harvesting in California

Rainwater harvesting is the process of conveying and collecting precipitation; this excludes run-off from land watersheds into rivers, streams, and lakes. Rainwater harvesting systems can range in various types and styles, ranging from catchment surfaces to storage tanks. The most common type is above the ground filtration systems that can store from 55-gallon barrels to 100,000-gallon tanks<>. Underground cisterns or downspouts are also common but more complex and expensive. The use of rainwater has allowed for water conservation efforts to expand across the state of California. Recent laws permit collected rainwater to be used for non-potable purposes only such as gardens, irrigation and livestock. State legislators restrict the use of potable purposes, like drinking water because of quality standards and public health concerns. Rainwater harvesting has become a popular method across the United States. With its changing laws and policies, California plans to develop its rainwater harvesting industry.

Typical rainwater harvesting tank

Property Rights

Rainwater harvesting is a technique that has allowed water conservation efforts possible in all states across the nation. In 2012, California's governor Brown passed the Rainwater Capture Act, which legalized rainwater capturing exclusively for landscape irrigation or water collected for landscaping projects under the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) giving the authority over water use. The Act is designed to provide public and private users with accessible water resources for irrigation purposes without depleting groundwater aquifers.

Prior to the Act, appropriators were required to obtain a legal permit from the State Water Board to use any source of water, including precipitation. Now the Act has allowed the use of rainwater to be applied for non-potable purposes without permit from SWRCB. The Act also guarantees to not infringe upon existing water rights, change any existing water rights, affect the use of rainwater on agriculture, or affect existing water suppliers that supply agriculture lands. In the future, legislators seek to make improvements on the Act to avoid issues on water rights.

Along with the new Act, California passed Proposition 1, which allocated $7.545 billion to support rainwater harvesting projects including surface and groundwater storage, ecosystem protection and restoration, and drinking water protection. The State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) administered the funds to five distinct programs, small community wastewater, water recycling, drinking water, stormwater, and groundwater. This helped cities like San Francisco, Santa Monica, and Los Angeles develop policies of rainwater harvesting for non-potable purposes used in residential and commercial buildings.

Recently, voters in the State of California urged Proposition 72 to pass because it offers tax benefits to homeowners harvesting rainwater by excluding rainwater capture systems added to properties from counting as new construction after January 1, 2019. Usually homeowners will be taxed for new property added to his or her land but California State Legislature redefined rainwater harvest systems as facilities designed to capture rainwater for onsite uses. The prop also allows for a installed rainwater capture systems to be included in the value of the home when it is sold.

System set-up

There are many configurations to a rainwater harvesting system that depend mainly on how the rainwater is pumped. These range in shapes, sizes and material, such as plastic, ferrocement, metal or fiberglass. The most common systems are cisterns, downspouts also known as distribution systems, and catchment surface systems such as roof tops or other raised solid surfaces. A lot of people turn to roof tops and gutter systems because they can easily move water into fewer points. Downspouts simply channel water to to a container where they store the water. Cisterns are unique in their shapes and sizes. Traditionally, cisterns can be placed above ground or below ground where they can store up to 10,000 to 15,000 gallons of water. Above ground cisterns require more maintenance because they go through extreme weather conditions such as wind or heat. Belowground cisterns are more common because they save valuable land space and are protected from extreme weather conditions. While they are more durable because of its infrastructure, they are also more costly to install and maintain. The cost varies with the complexity of the infrastructure and the technology being installed.

Applications of rainwater in California

Rainwater harvesting is a viable technology, especially in urban settings where droughts, wildfires, and water shortages can be a common issue. Residential, commercial and governmental landowners are turning to rainwater harvesting as an alternative to supplying their homes and businesses. Utilizing rainwater can reduce our need and demand for water transport systems that harm our local environment. Because private citizens and homeowners are able to collect millions of gallons of water and save thousands of dollars, its popularity has quickly expanded across the nation.

Agriculture

Agriculturally rich communities in California are experiencing significant drought events, and water shortages are becoming for frequent. About 40% of our water resources are allocated towards agricultural purposes; therefore, having an alternative for water sources. Rainwater harvesting help mitigate the amount of water, residents and business use for agriculture, irrigation, and livestock. Rainwater has full potential to harvest agriculture the same way groundwater is commonly used.

Residential/Domestic

Rainwater harvesting is a strategy towards reducing municipal water use and instead save by utilizing water-saving practices. Once rainwater is collected and stored is can be used for non-potable uses. These include watering lawns and gardens, flushing toilets, washing clothes, among many more. Recent policies, restrict rainwater to be used for potable purposes to avoid any public health issues.

Industrial

Commercial rainwater harvesting brings business and industries profit because they do not have to invest in groundwater or surface water resources. Unlike groundwater, rainwater is easier to obtain and is free.

Potential benefits and impacts

There are many ecological benefits of rainwater harvesting that are potentially huge. It can be used as an educational tool to help people recognize their individual and household water use. This is a step towards conservation efforts done by individual actions. The simple act of sustainable water management through the practice of rainwater harvesting is a form of being environmentally responsible.

While the logical use of rainwater harvesting is for water conservation purposes, it can also enable groundwater levels to become sustained while at the same time lighten the impact of a drought. California experiences abnormal dry climates that greatly impact residents. Therefore, some turn to rainwater harvesting to capture water in high precipitation seasons and have enough to protect the areas during dry season and use it for irrigation, agricultural and other non-potable uses. Because rainwater is collected and not removed from a source, no external pressures are put on groundwater so water levels are maintained at a constant level. Droughts are becoming more and more frequent in California, it is important to use our water resources appropriately so we can safeguard our water supply for many more years.

Quality

Generally, rainwater collection is a safe method when the water is filtered and purified. However, contaminants may be present through urban pollution, or chemical toxins it may have picked up as it flows down the atmosphere. Water mixes with both soluble and insoluble substances from roofs, gutters, and other collection surfaces. The collection method the cleanliness of the water. In order to have great quality water, the systems must be maintained and the water must be filtered appropriately.