The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently reported on a commercial project in Roswell, Ga., that will utilize a 60,000-gallon cistern for rainwater collection. Sweet Apple Village, an open-air mall, features $400,000 worth of landscaping, and devloper Robb McKerrow wanted to be sure the foliage would survivie any drought conditions.

Before the foundations of the project were poured, thousands of feet of underground piping created a rainwater collection and filtration system:

"The nerve center of Sweet Apple Village’s water collection system is a 60,000 gallon underground cistern near the center of the development, and two retention areas on the eight-acre site. There’s also a filtration system that will clean the water before it is used for watering plants.

"Retention ponds, cisterns and other water collection systems have become increasingly popular in drought stricken Georgia, said Gray Kelly, director of sustainable developments for Southface Energy Institute, an environmentally focused nonprofit based in Atlanta. Kelly said what McKerrow and other commercial developers in the area are doing isn’t new, but it is becoming more commonplace."

According to the article, McKerrow estimates the collection system will save approximately $80,000 a year on water, which means the $160,000 investment will be recouped in about two years. He also estimates the development will save almost 2.2 million gallons of water per year.

Read the full article here >>