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GBlist: Domestic Rainwater Filtration



Lance Collins writes:
>Here in Victoria, Australia away from the Melbourne area a common technique
>is not to filter the water but to collect and divert the first 25 to 40
>litres and then let the rest of the rainfall go straight into the tank.  The
>idea is that the first flush washes away the leaves and bird droppings and
>the rest of the water is of good quality.

Lance, I presume that you are dealing with metal roofs. I am a native of
your part of the world, but have lived in the US northeast for years now.
Here, we have many roofs covered with a fiberglass reinforced asphalt
shingle material which I am sure is  completely foreign in your part of the
planet - I was in Victoria last April; none used there yet as far as I
could tell. These shingles are possessed of a much rougher surface, and I
suspect that an effective flushing would take more water.  Also we have to
deal with snow which is not a feature of your winter.
So here again is a technique that is somewhat regionally specific ...
however, (for those who are unfamiliar with south-eastern Australia) this
is an area where considerable progress has been made over several
generations in the art and science of rainwater catchment. It was great to
see that the Greenbuilder List is getting contributions from so far afield.

Bruce Coldham



     


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