Informed Decisions Architect Peter Pfeiffer, who has an above-ground rain barrel that supplies household water on his own Austin, Texas, property, cautions clients that reusing rainwater isn’t as easy as turning on a tap. “I inform clients that it isn’t something you can put in and forget about,” says Pfeiffer, principal at Barley & Pfeiffer Architects. “Even if there is a gutter helmet, stuff gets clogged in the suction pump now and then, and filters must be periodically cleaned.” Pfeiffer also suggests that the first priority is to use less water by choosing drought-tolerant plants and investing in dual-flush toilets, a front-loading washer, and low-flow bath faucets and showerheads. “Make sure a rainwater catchment system isn’t just the cool eco-strategy of the day,” he says.
Make sure, too, that draining rain from the gutters isn’t at odds with the law. While some state and local governments encourage it, it’s illegal in some places because of downstream water rights, some assigned centuries ago, says attorney Jesse Richardson, associate professor of urban affairs and planning at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. “In the East, water rights are attached to land ownership,” he says. “But some Western states, like Utah, prohibit it, and others require a permit.” Santa Fe, N.M., requires rain-catching in some circumstances, and San Antonio is one of a handful of cities that offers tax rebates for the equipment.
The house on San Juan Island, now under construction, is about to get its green roof. The roofing membrane will turn up at the edge all the way around and funnel the water down in several places through hidden PVC pipes. Collecting drinkable water from a vegetated roof is a natural process because the water is partially filtered even before it drops into the cistern, says Michael McNamara, co-owner of Blue Sky Design, Hornby Island, British Columbia, who designed the house. “On an island water is always an issue,” he says, “and we’re trying to go as green as we can.”
