Research Reports
Welcome to the Rainwatercanada Research Page.
For additional information while this site is under construction, contact the author at ken.nentwig@gmail.com
Rainwater in the Landscape: Comparing 16 Canadian Cities
A look at how one standardized rainwater harvesting system performs in sixteen major centers across Canada. Starting with a 1,032 litre (200 Imp gal) tank, about 50 sq m (550 sq ft) of roof area, and the anticipation of 25 mm (1″) of rainfall and/or irrigation per week required for ornamental landscape use, how much garden area can be watered?
One of the first questions asked by clients is the cost of a system, before all the variables are thrown into the mix, so starting with a known-system components list made sense, although a regional comparison of costs was not undertaken.
This report examines the extent of gardening made possible using rainwater alone, based on the same harvesting system design in various climate situations in the different cities. All sixteen locations are provincial or territorial capitals, and include Vancouver, Montreal, and the national capital, Ottawa, for good measure.