You Snooze... You Lose!

Although most of the attention for harvesting rainwater is focused on the carwash business, innovative proactive detailers shouldn't ignore the great opportunity of taking advantage if the promotional benefits of "Going Green"!

I often hear detailers seeking new ways to generate positive PR. Well, this one is FREE!

Whether fixed or mobile, having conspicuous signage that calls attention to your wash water being "harvested rainwater" will gain you attention... and offer a distinctive competitive edge.

Not much to it; capture the rainwater from your home or office. Label it accordingly. Even ask "select others" to allow you to capture rainwater from their rooftops. Possibly a high-profile location or governmental office, TV or radio station, hospital, police station, etc.

It shows that you're sensitive to the environment... as well as respecting water conservation, and that positive spin may gain you recognition as well as more business.

Don't miss this time-sensitive opportunity to refresh your image and distinguish your business!

Just a thought...
-Steve

Steve:

I have thought about and acted on your idea.

How about a link to a source with photos of a simple system??? I googled rainwater harvesting and got mostly links to books and articles from the complex to the extremely complex. To get started with this idea I'm thinking 55 gal. chemical drums filling up from roof gutters on the wash, screens over the top to keep bugs and trash out and an ace hardware submersible pump to feed back into a 500 gallon storage tank in my equipment room.

Got to have a lot of storage for a conveyor operation or iba. We use 100 to 200,000 gallons a month, that's 3,000 to 6,000 gallons a day. To make it feasible, I bet you would have to store 50,000 gallons. The problem with using rainwater is, when we need water the most...is when there's been no rain for a long period. More rain, less water needed. Inexpensive, large storage sounds like the key.

I would like to try it...I think rainwater would be better quality than well or reclaim.

What type of filtration would need to be used on rain water? It is my understanding that the rain water needs to be chemically treated. What is recommended?

There is a wealth of information a few clicks away. You simply need to read, reflect, and make a list of what fits you specific needs.

Here's a website that might help. http://www.rainwatersolutions.com/

For others, try Google.. and do your own research. If you intend to use your activity for enhanced PR, you'll need to know things that are shared on various websites... to provide the credibility of your initiative.

Remember, the intent is to SUPPLEMENT your use of water. Viewing your total usage and using the mindset of doing it all may be self-defeating. It isn't an "all... or nothing at all" situation. In its most basic sense, if you captured rainwater for watering your flowers, it would still qualify as water conservation through "rainwater harvesting". And as you climb the scale of intensity in your harvesting to include bigger and better tank storage (and even some minimal treatment, if needed), you can draw the appropriate attention of your local media.

In my humble opinion, Jimmy, with your background and public profile, you should saddle this opportunity and ride it like a racehorse.

-Steve

:) Yes Tonto...Hi Yo Silver away!

This idea has great publicity possibilities - but I feel it is short on substance for my application. Like Jimmy stated we don't use water when it rains - storage is expensive underground and space consuming above ground. Most cities will not let you use and discharge into the sewer system. The use of such water is strictly limited to landscape / agriculural uses. And as far as using for landscape we have had great success with xeriscaping, which does not need normal watering.
We are focusing are better use of reclaim and becoming more energy efficient electrically - not as glamorous as rainwater harvesting - but much better financial returns.
But there is no denying that a couple of rain barrels under some roof downspouts could be good "PR".

Who was that masked man?

I wish I'd thought of that when planning my recent new wash. Steve, I bet you I could have saved some retention area requirements by storing the runoff of my entire site, undergound for reuse. A lot of new commercial sites are having to build underground drain fields to handle stormwater anyway.

You can get 2,500g poly tanks for about $2,000 each...the larger fiberglass tanks are over $1 per gallon.