[Strawbale] rainwater catchment for toilets?

[Rob Tom]

On Fri, 10 Aug 2007 13:42:31 -0400, Erica Konrad <strawbale at netidea.com>  
wrote:
[apologies in advance for un<snip>pedness for the purpose of cross-posting]

> We are currently building our strawbale home in Nelson, BC and our local
> municipality will not let us use our rainwater catchment system (buried
> rainwater cistern) to feed our toilets.  The plan is to use it for
> irrigation and toilets.
>
> Our building inspector thinks we're ahead of the curve yet his concern  
> is a backflow preventor at some point will fail and contaminate City  
> water.
> Existing infrastructure and policy does not allow for rainwater  
> catchment to be cross connected with City water.
>
> Does anyone know any municipalities in Canada that allow this, so that I  
> can take it to Council as an example? Any advice?
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Erica
>
> Erica Konrad/Michael Bowick
> Box 314, New Denver, BC
> V0G 1S0



Erica;

In the rural areas and villages of the Ayr/Paris/Woodstock (SW Ontario)  
triangle (Oxford, Brant, Waterloo counties) where I used to live, almost  
every (older) home had a rainwater cistern in the basement and that water  
was used not only for feeding the toilets,  but everything else as well.

(I'd tell you the "cat tea" story of the time a veterinary  
student/girlfriend from Univ of Guelph was visiting for the weekend with  
her cats and a new one, being freaked-out by my dog, disappeared... and  
upon doing a search of the house, discovered a carcase at the bottom of  
the cistern (from which I had been drinking/washing all winter)... and  
when I reached down with a spade to bring the carcase up, it "melted" as  
soon as it broke the surface and oozed back into the depths from whence it  
came ... whereupon future veterinarian "oor-r-r-rp"ed, covered mouth and  
quickly disappeared up the basement stairs (we eventually found her cat...  
alive) ... but it might gross some people out so I won't)

In all the time that I lived in that farmhouse, I don't recall ever being  
sick.

But we were all on private wells, as opposed to a municipal water system  
so the concerns about contamination would not have applied. Nevertheless,  
unless well-people are a completely different species from municipal water  
people, the health issues/concerns should be the same, from a  
non-bureaucratic POV.

Aside from (besides ?) trying to contact the health authorities on those  
counties, you might download CMHC's "Rainwater Harvesting and Grey Water  
Reuse"  publication

https://www03.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/b2c/b2c/init.do?language=en&shop=Z01EN&areaID=0000000037&productID=00000000370000000003

and contact the CMHC staff who oversaw the project. They might be able to  
provide some insights into and assistance with dealing with the  
bureacratic resistance that you're encountering.

And if the biggest problem is the potential failure of a backflow  
preventer, then it would seem that the simple solution is to eliminate the  
BP by having dedicated, positive-valved, one-way lines w/ pump from the  
cistern to the water closets and outdoor hose bibbs.


-- 
=== * ===
Rob Tom
Kanata, Ontario, Canada
< A r c h i L o g i c  at   C h a f f Y a h o o  dot  C a  >
(winnow the chaff from my edress in your reply)