Capturing Water in Areas Where Stage 2 Water Restrictions Are in Place

Users of the Raleigh water supply system are now in stage 2 restrictions. Typical stage 2 water restrictions include:

- Outdoor spray irrigation prohibited

- Hand watering is still allowed

- Car washing, except at commercial car washes prohibited

- Driveways, sidewalks, or building exteriors cleaning prohibited

- Fountains, ponds, or pools refilling prohibited unless using water-recycling system

- Restaurants can only serve water upon request

If you use an air conditioning system, a source of water from that system is the condensate lines either from a window unit or from a whole house system. The first photograph shown below is the condensate being captured from a residential whole house system.

Our 6-person team of engineers and technicians helped design and install a water-harvesting system on a 45-acre property that captured ~7.3 million gallons of runoff from pervious ground, impervious paved/hardscapes, highway point source runoff, HVAC system condensate, pool backwash and splash out, runoff from built-up and metal roofs, and tennis court overwash. The system included 15 roof-mounted HVAC systems that were producing 500,000 gallons of water per year, each unit producing approximately 33,000 gallons of water per year which was part of the ~7.3 million gallons of water captured.

The second photograph below shows some of the 15 roof-mounted systems and the condensate lines being captured from the roof. In addition, smaller units shown in the first photograph where an approximate 1 gallon container is being used to capture condensate from a residential whole house system. Our peer-reviewed water harvesting paper can be accessed from either of the links below.