# Planning for the future



## Relic (Sep 30, 2012)

So the past few years in my area it seems most new schools and Gov buildings are going with vegetative roofing. This has been a boon and bane for us as the added need for water generates work. 

Installing cisterns and pumps, adding hydrants and feeding them with collected rainwater. More work is nice, but not a lot of planning is going into these roofs. The vegetation requires a lot of hands on even though the companies installing them say different. They clog the storm systems and add a burden to combination storm/sewer municipals. But hey we never warranty against clogs so who's complaining right lol.

But thinking ahead, will the plumbing industry capture and regulate this as w whole? Not much code regulation on things currently outside of non-potable water handling. Heck people have been arrested for collecting rainwater for the use of offsetting potable water consumption. 

The main snag I see is that in most cities the water purveyors don't control the collection of rainwater and may want control eventually. For example in Maryland in 2 counties the water purveyor is subcontracted. WSSC makes their money from it's water. So in reality they lose money with free water to people who collect their own. 

What I'd like to see is a national standard for the collection and storage and delivery of rainwater for the purpose of feeding these new green technologies. I'm planning on making offerings to my future customers in the way of going green. My guess is some plumbing companies are doing this now, but not many specialize in it.

What are you guys offering in this regard? Has your company given the future much thought?


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## OldSchool (Jan 30, 2010)

Arrested for collecting rain water ... Never heard of that


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## Relic (Sep 30, 2012)

OldSchool said:


> Arrested for collecting rain water ... Never heard of that


Yeah it's pretty crazy. Here is a great article on this subject worth reading.

A video from the above article that'll make you wonder.


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

Remebered reading it awhile ago... so Old School you'll be charged for holding all that snow on your property...


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## OldSchool (Jan 30, 2010)

rjbphd said:


> Remebered reading it awhile ago... so Old School you'll be charged for holding all that snow on your property...


If that's the case I am charging them a storage fee ... So how much is 70 acres times 3ft high worth


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## Relic (Sep 30, 2012)

I did some further reading on this topic and the EPA has great resources dedicated to the subject. For instance, the EPA's WaterSense Program and it's Water & Energy Efficiency Program

Plumbers will be leading the field of energy in the future. Of all the natural resources on the planet, clean drinking water is by far the most valuable. Only 1% of all the water on this planet is suitable for drinking. The US alone could save $18 billion a year just by fixing leaks and changing to modern fixtures. Is part of your sales dedicated to selling this fact? Most companies don't bother and I see this as not only good for the bottom line, but good for the country. When you think of drinking water you should think of energy savings as well. The average cost of clean drinking water is about $2 per 1000 gallons. The average person uses about 100 gallons per day. This multiplied by millions of folks in the US means in time water will become a larger commodity force in your lives. It's estimated the population of the US will be 438 million in 2050, it's currently 303 million today. Everything we consume is tied to the use of fossil fuels. It costs energy to produce and treat water as well as handle waste water. The more scarce fossil fuels are, the more expensive water will be. 

Bottom line is, looking further into the future of the business it is clear that although we haven't seen much in the way of radical changes to our industry in recent times, we will see some within the next 10 years. I definitely can see the collection and storage of rainwater taking off in big ways for the home and multi-family dwellings. We already do some grey water collection and it's just going to get bigger.


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