We recently heard word that we will be receiving money for our project! To be specific, the student initiated Carbon fund, created to reduce UCSC's carbon footprint by funding carbon saving projects, will be supporting us with $8,000. While our project produces minimal carbon savings through reduction in amount of water that must be processed and transported by municipalities, it makes up for this through community involvement.
We will be spending the money on a full scale professional rainwater catchment system, to be constructed near the gardens at NBHS. This system will likely be what is called a 'wet' or 'charged' system. This means that the downspout off the roof connects directly to a pipe that runs down into the ground, then runs horizontally to the tank, back up vertically, and enters the tank. As long as the entrance to the tank is lower than where the pipe attaches to the downspout, pressure will allow the water to appear to defy gravity and flow back up into the tank. See diagram:
This type of system is a great choice for our location because the garden area is strained for space, and, using a wet system, we can place the tank far away from the buildings, so as not to obstruct walkways or work areas.
Currently we are researching more about wet systems so we can begin digging a trench next week with the students. We finished the pilot system on April 8th, after a few hiccups and delays. The pilot's completion was delayed significantly due to limited workdays with the students and bad weather. As a result, we will be involving NBHS's construction class, taking place on Mondays and Wednesdays, to get some extra work in to complete construction in time.
