Describe your innovation tools and process for us.

My innovation tools include your standard research materials such as the book, "Igniting Inspiration" by John Marshall Roberts who did a great interview with you. I also search web-sites that provide facts, statistics and case studies to show how necessary it is to change our water consumption habits. I like to look around the world and see how other countries are managing similar problems and implementing solutions. For example, the average resident of Santa Clara County consumes about 89 gallons of tap water a day. In Melbourne, Australia the figure is closer to 41 gallons. Of course, I also look to innovative people who are making a difference with their designs, research or public works.

Who owns water?

Who would think that such a simple question could have such a complex answer? We all think that rainwater which falls on our property belongs to us but only until this year did the State of Colorado relinquish ownership of rain water to property owners. Until then it was deemed the property of the state. Most people let the state take care of water supply and disposal without giving it too much thought.

It's amazing that such an essential ingredient for life receives such little interest – until the supply is decreased or threatened. Ultimately, water belongs to all creatures. So the tough part is working out how clean water can be shared between humans, the flora and fauna without too much of an impact on the environment.

How do you convince the American home owner that a rain catchment tank can be positioned attractively on their property?

After five years of drought, Australians started thinking seriously about harvesting the rain that fell on their homes. The average suburban roof provides an ideal catchment area and 1,000 sq ft of roof will capture almost 600 gallons from one inch of rain. The next step is to make sure that the tanks collect and store clean water and so a variety of accessories are added to keep out insects, leafs and animals. A 'first flush diverter' collects the first rain that hits the roof and collects the dust and dirt.

This water is diverted away from the tank. Finally, a home owner wants a tank that fits into the landscape. Rain tanks today come in all sorts of shapes, colors and sizes that can be discreetly positioned on most residential lots. For example, a Bushman slimline can sit against the side of the house and will store 620 gallons but it is just over 2 feet wide. A single Rainwater HOG stores 50 gallons and can be connected in a series of tanks no wider than 10 inches or they can be laid down and placed under a deck, out of sight.

I am pleased to say that more American home owners are thinking of the impact of their rain harvesting on the environment rather than the savings in their water bills. However, the real uptake of rain tanks in Australia was when the government bodies started offering rebate incentives.

Are their permitting issues to conquer at City Hall?

Most cities in California do not require permits for tanks under 5,000 gallons. They insist that pathways are not blocked and that the higher tanks be seismically secured. Rain tank manufacturers have strict guidelines for the placement of a tank on a solid foundation. Common sense stuff.

What is your take on the new Delta legislation?

The recent legislation is a complex document put into law after years of negotiation from a variety of interested parties and some of the bond measures still have to be approved by the California voters. It is far from an ideal resolution. The best outcome is that politicians and voters are now talking about the states water supply. "How do we balance providing clean drinking water to a growing urban population, living in a semi arid landscape, with the needs of the plants and animals who live in or near the water sources, against the demands of a huge agricultural industry, where the infrastructure is starting to decay and will cost billions to upgrade but tens of billions if it fails."

How do your systems work with grey water technologies?

Recently the state of California relaxed their strict rule against the use of water used for bathing and washing clothes. Tanks can also be used to collect the greywater and allow it to be discharged gradually into the garden. The current legislation limits the size of the collection tank and the time it must be discharged.

In Australia, water from rain tanks is used to flush toilets. The tanks are connected by additional plumbing into the house. When there is insufficient water in the tanks they are automatically dropped up with city water. This is a mandatory feature for new houses in many Australian cities.

Is sustainability like a new religion?

Having read your previous interviews, I was expecting the loaded question and here it is! Without trying to offend anyone (which is impossible when discussing religion) I would say no, it is not a new religion. Religion can be 1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe.; 2; often involving a spiritual, higher being; and 3. often contains a moral code governing the contact of human affairs.

Like religion, sustainability has a variety of different meanings to many people but the two intersect in their belief in the importance of life. This could involve a spiritual being (that feeling you get when hiking through the mountains or swimming in the ocean). However both beliefs have their shortcomings when humans fail to live up to a moral code and put themselves above other life forms.

The History of Rain Tanks

Aussie Rain Tanks supplies the best designed and manufactured rain tanks for the family home, made from the safest materials and using the latest technology. However, rain tanks have been around for centuries. Archeologists in Crete have discovered rainwater collection systems dating back to 1,700BC!

It was the ancient Romans who mastered rainfall collection by building large reservoirs that have been discovered all around the empire. Although communal water began to be stored centrally, the more sophisticated houses of the time used pools in the artrium to collect rainwater from the roofs.

Probably the largest water tank in the world is the Yerebatan Sarayi, on the European side of Istanbul in Turkey. It was constructed under Caesar Justinian (A.D. 527-565) and measures 153 by 76 yards. It can store over 240,000 ft³ of water.

Rain tanks were common in dry areas where people wanted to build homes without springs or wells in the vicinity. The technique was often used when Christian monks built their monasteries. Many of these examples still exist in the former Spanish Empire and monasteries in Mexico.

The history of rainwater harvesting in Asia can be traced back to over 1,000 years ago from the large-scale rice terraces and the small-scale collection of rainwater from roofs and simple brush dam constructions in the rural areas of South and South-east Asia. Rainwater collection from the eaves of roofs or via simple gutters into traditional jars and pots has been traced back almost 2 000 years in Thailand.

Rainwater harvesting has long been used in the drier regions of China. Recently, between 1970 and 1974 about 40 000 well storage tanks, in a variety of different forms, were constructed using a technology which stores rainwater and stormwater runoff in ponds of various sizes. A thin layer of red clay is generally laid on the bottom of the ponds to minimize seepage losses. Trees, planted at the edges of the ponds, help to minimize evaporative losses from the ponds.

Farmers in the US mid-west and Australia have relied on rain tanks to store water pumped from aquifers and to collect rainfall from sheds and homes.

The progress of urbanization lead to the centralization of water collection and supply. This lead to clean, safe and cheap water. However, modern water technology has its disadvantages too:

+ One fifth (20%) of all California's energy consumption is used to transport and treat water;

+ The centralization of supply increases the risk of total cut-off in cases of natural disaster (earthquakes etc.), destruction through acts of war (bombing etc.), and source pollution (environmental pollution through chemicals).

+ Most municipal water is heavily filtered and treated with chemicals

Today's rain tanks come in a range of sizes, shapes and colors to best suit our modern suburban life.

Bruce Hallinan Bio –

Bruce was born in Australia and has been a resident of the Bay Area for over 11 years. He lives with his wife and two children in San Jose. Aussie Rain Tanks was launched after visiting his home town of Sydney and seeing the proliferation of rain tanks in suburban yards and thinking, "why not in California?" Aussie Rain Tanks now distributes rain tanks from a variety of manufacturers based in the US and Australia. Bruce's goal is to have rain tanks become as common in US cities as they are in Australia. Rain Tanks not only reduce urban run-off but provide an additive free water supply to the garden.

Connections –

Aussie Rain Tanks LLC
1953 Borchers Drive
San Jose CA 95124
sales at aussieraintanks dot com
Phone: 408-796-7511
Mobile: 408-679-1300