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Design for Water: Rainwater Harvesting, Stormwater Catchment and Alternate Water Reuse
By Heather Kinkade-Levario, New Society Publishers, 2007, 256 pages

Once abundant and cheap, water is now on the verge of becoming the oil of the 21st Century. As the entire world faces the realities of the decreasing supply of clean water and the need to avert a devastating shortage, there have to be alternative water sources, both in our homes and in the planning of new developments.

As a rainwater expert, the author builds on her experience as a land use planner and an award-winning author to provide a book that elevates professional’s awareness and capability by explaining how to harvest, store and reuse rainwater. This accessible guide provides the most up-to-date information on how to deal with alternate water collection, with a special focus on rainwater harvesting in the urban environment.

Aspects of rainwater harvesting covered include passive and active system setup, storage, stormwater reuse, distribution, purification, analysis and filtration. In addition to rainwater, there are several affordable and accessible alternate sources, including cooling tower bleed-off water, air conditioning condensate, gray water and fog collection. Case studies are also outlined, such as the process of water collection from landscape, residential, commercial, industrial, school, park and municipal systems.

The book provides necessary guidelines for those making development decisions as well as information needed to set up passive harvesting techniques. It will appeal to engineers, landscape architects, municipal decision-makers and developers.