Design for Water: Rainwater Harvesting, Stormwater Catchment, and Alternate Water Reuse by Heather Kinkade-Levario

n an era of dwindling resources, water is poised to become the new oil. The entire world now faces the reality of a decreasing supply of clean water. To avert a devastating shortage, we must not only look at alternate water sources for existing structures but must plan our new developments differently.

"Design for Water" is an accessible and clearly written guide to alternate water collection, with a focus on rainwater harvesting in the urban environment.

All aspects of rainwater harvesting are outlined, including passive and active system setup, storage, stormwater reuse, distribution, purification, analysis, and filtration. There is even a section on rainwater harvesting for wildlife.

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. "Design for Water" is geared to providing those making development decisions and guidelines with the information they need to set up passive harvesting techniques. The book will especially appeal to engineers, landscape architects, municipal decision-makers, developers, and landowners.

Heather Kinkade-Levario is the Arizona Director of Planning. A land use planner for 22 years, she is also the President of the American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association and has served on the US Green Building Council's Water Efficiency Technical Advisory Group. Her award-winning book, Forgotten Rain, Rediscovering Rainwater Harvesting was published in 2004.