Demonstration Sites/Links Featuring Water Harvesting
Online resources
UNITED STATES
Various cities and counties in the United States
http://www.sustainablestormwate
Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona - The Keeling Neighborhood Greenway
Website: www.drachmaninstitute.org.
This greenway has yet to be implemented, but the plan can be found at the listed website under the “portfolio” section. It includes a lot of passive water harvesting off streets and sidewalks to irrigate native shade trees.
Tucson, Arizona - Craig Kafura’s homegrown water harvesting experiments
http://www.esnips.com/doc
As Craig says, “Wanting to improve my own urban surroundings without using drinking water for irrigation, I recently constructed two earthen rainwater (stormwater) harvesting structures in/near my yard in Tucson. See the links for photos with annotation documenting these low-cost, homegrown solutions, which are still growing/evolving. The photos were taken during the “monsoon” storms early in the week of July 23, 2007. Anyone is free to download these and use them for the purpose of promoting rainwater/storm water harvesting in Tucson or elsewhere. For viewing on your screen select “large” (default is “medium”).”
California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California - TreePeople Projects
Website: www.TreePeople.org/trees/.
Features water-harvesting demonstration sites in Los Angeles, California and the effort to manage the city as a forested watershed.
Also, I highly recommend viewing the DVD, Restoring Los Angeles: Healing the Nature of Our Cities - Andy Lipkis from the 2005 Bioneers Conference. It is an inspiring 34-minute presentation on an integrated effort to manage the city of Los Angeles as a forested watershed. Available for sale at www.bioneers.org. 877-BIONEER.
San Francisco, California
San Francisco, CA - Plant SF
Website: www.plantSF.org
See their “Featured Projects” page for neighborhood treasures of urban depaving, permeable pavement, and planting projects throughout the city.
Illinois
Chicago, Illinois
Chicago, Illinois - Chicago Green Alley Handbook
Website: http://www.greenbiz.com/toolbox/reports_third.cfm?LINKADVID=95080
Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon - http://www.ersson.sustainabilitylane.com. This is a wonderful site documenting Ole and Maitri Ersson’s living experiments with Portland’s first permitted potable rainwater harvesting system, composting toilets, small houses and more.
Portland, Oregon - Sustainable Stormwater Program featuring Natural Drainage Systems and more.
Website: http://www.portlandonline.com/bes/index.cfm?c=34598
Progressive multi-use water harvesting/beautification/flood control strategies in the public rights-of-way and beyond. Includes permeable paving, water-harvesting curb cuts, bioremediation of toxins, urban forestry, and more.
Portland, Oregon - Self-guided Tours of Natural Drainage Systems, Water-harvesting, Eco-roofs, and more
Website: Self-guided tours: http://www.portlandonline.com/bes/index.cfm?c=degae
If in Portland, download the maps for these walking, bicycling, and driving self-guided tours to check out cool stuff. And if elsewhere, look to these downloadable self-guided tours as models that can be replicated in your community.
Portland, Oregon - Integrated Stormwater/Water-Harvesting Publications developed by the City of Portland
Website: http://www.portlandonline.com/bes/index.cfm?c=31870
Portland, Oregon - Sustainable Stormwater Management Demonstration Projects/Publications
Website: http://www.portlandonline.com/bes/index.cfm?c=31094
Portland, Oregon - Rainwater Harvesting Sites, Projects, Permits, Incentives
Website: http://www.portlandonline.com/osd/index.cfm?c=ecbbd&a=bbehfa
Portland, Oregon - Water-Harvesting/Traffic Calming Pullouts
http://www.asla.org/awards
Portland, Oregon - Water-Harvesting Green Streets
http://asla.org/awards/2006
Portland, Oregon - Community Watershed Stewardship Program
Website: http://www.portlandonline.com/bes/index.cfm?c=43077
Eco-roofs, water-harvesting swales, restoration projects, urban forestry, and more.
Portland, Oregon and beyond - City Repair Project
Website: www.cityrepair.org
Great innovations in reclaiming public space with art, creativity, community, and more. Take all this in, then add water-harvesting earthworks and natural drainage systems supporting the associated vegetation and the results can be amazing!
Portland, Oregon - Lower Columbia River Field Guide to Water Quality Friendly Development
Website for Strategies and Techniques: http://www.lcrep.org/fieldguide/techniques.htm
Website for Integrated Site Examples:
http://www.lcrep.org/fieldguide/examples.htm
Salem, Oregon
Salem, Oregon - Pringle Creek Community
Website: www.pringlecreek.com
The Pringle Creek Community is a pushing all kinds of sustainable and community building strategies, including harvesting and infiltrating 90% of all runoff on site within the soils.
For more information specific to Pringle Creek’s water harvesting also see http://www.rain-barrel.net/pringle-creek-community.html
Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington - Public Utilities SEA Streets Project.
Website: http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/util/About_SPU/Drainage_&_Sewer_System/Natural_Drainage_Systems/index.asp. Progressive multi-use water harvesting/beautification/flood control strategies in the public rights-of-way.
Seattle, Washington - Broadview Green Grid Natural Drainage Project
Website:http://www2.seattle.gov/util/tours/Broadview/slide1.htm
This slide show features the multiple, integrated benefits of this Natural Drainage Systems (NDS) project spanning 16 blocks of a residential neighborhood in northwest Seattle.
Seattle, Washington - Growing Vine Street Project.
Website: www.growingvinestreet.org
This project is a laboratory for green solutions within an urban design context. The goals are three-fold: to treat roof runoff through biofiltration, to create a refreshing green space for the community, and to reintroduce the natural hydrologic cycle into our urban lives. Includes water-harvesting public art/cisterns, community gardens, urban tree planting, cistern steps, and more.
Seattle, Washington - High Point Project
Website 1: http://www.thehighpoint.com/
Website 2: http://www.seattle.gov/util/About_SPU/Drainage_&_Sewer_System/Natural_Drainage_Systems/High_Point_Project/index.asp
This multi-income housing/community redevelopment in West Seattle features the largest natural drainage project that the City has undertaken, and the first time that a natural drainage strategy of this scale has been used in such a high density urban setting.
AUSTRALIA
Australia wide
Australia - Water Sensitive Urban Design (WUSD)
Website: http://www.wsud.org/tech.htm
Progressive multi-use water-harvesing/beautification/flood control strategies in the public rights-of-way and beyond.Sydney, Australia
Sydney, Australia - The Sustainable House
Website: http://www.abc.net.au/science/planet/house/default.htm
A townhouse in downtown Sydney, Australia retrofitted to make it almost entirely self-sufficient in electricity, water and waste disposal.
CANADA
Canada - Golpa Living Streets
Website: http://www.funkenorthamericaltd.com/golplainstall.htm
Click on “Golpa Living Streets”
INDIA
Chennai, India
Chennai, India - Akash Ganga Chennai Rain Centre.
Website: http://akash-ganga-rwh.com/RWH/WaterHarvesting.html.
An urban rainwater harvesting demonstration site. For additional information see “Rainwater Harvesting: Success Story from Chennai India,†report by Ram Krishnan presented at the ARCSA Conference in Austin, Texas, August 21-23, 2003. Order proceedings from www.arcsa-usa.org.
