Using Rain Water

Did the spectacle of those wasted millions of gallons of rain water sliding through Mission Valley to the sea leave you in despair and frustration at the utter futility of anyone changing this situation? Undoubtedly.

Well something can be done, and without using public funds. Consider these facts: Nine inches of rain (San Diego’s annual average) falling on a 2,000-square-foot roof, and channeled by gutters and downspouts into a closed cistern would fill it to over 11,000 gallons.

This is enough water to irrigate a 400-square-foot lawn (20 feet by 20 feet), and a considerable collection of low- and medium-water-using ornamentals, over most of the year--until it starts raining again.

If irrigation systems based on cisterns had been promoted by the government and irrigation industry, beginning in the 1970s, and made as common as swimming pools and spas, we might now have 100,000 roofs putting a billion gallons of rain water in back yards every year that we have 9 inches of rain.

A system is estimated to cost much less than a swimming pool or spa.

A significant economy is achieved when the concrete cistern is formed and poured in conjunction with the patio deck slab.

That is to say, the cistern is located under the patio deck, and its top forms part or all of the deck. Pool companies might generate new business converting little used pools and spas into cisterns.

FRANK LITTLE

San Diego