Community Resource and Recreation Center of Canyon Lake

Overview

  • Category: Commercial/Industrial
  • Sponsor: Innovative Water Solutions, LLC
  • Project Lead: Chris Maxwell-Gaines, Innovative Water Solution, LLC
  • System Location: 125 Mabel Jones Road, Canyon Lake, TX 78133
  • Capacity: 12,500 gallons
  • Water Use: Control stormwater flow

Background and System:

The rainwater harvesting system at the Community Resource and Recreation Center of Canyon Lake was built primarily to meet a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality requirement to control increased stormwater flow resulting from an expansion of impervious cover at the site. Instead of building a detention pond, the Center with the help of the Comal County Engineer’s Office decided to install a rainwater harvesting system.

Rainwater flowing off of the 8,400-square-foot roof of the gymnasium at the site is collected into a 12,500-gallon fiberglass tank, retained there for 12 hours and released to an existing drainage swale within 72 hours, as stipulated by TCEQ. To make even better use of the harvested rainwater in the future, the Center is planning to install a landscape irrigation system.

This system is an excellent example of one of the more unheralded benefits of rainwater harvesting, namely controlling stormwater flow.

Photographs

Other 2010 winners:

Top