December 1, 2013
By Kevin Meagher
Lisa Pampel and Jodi Schmeling’s beautifully landscaped backyard on East Dover Street before it was torn apart to install their underground rain collection system late this fall. —photo Lisa
PampelHarvesting rainwater is nothing new in Milwaukee. City residents been purchasing barrels from the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District (MMSD) and other retailers to collect rainwater for years. The rain barrel kits that include hardware cost about $50 per barrel and hold 55 gallons of water.
The 750-gallon-capacity reservoir was filled with structures called AquaBloks. —photo Lisa Pampel
For Lisa Pampel and Jodi Schmeling of Bay View, the MMSD barrels were a good start, but the couple decided they wanted something a little more advanced.
“One barrel will fill up in about 10 minutes of a gentle rain. The five-barrel system will fill up in about half an hour or so…and you just start having water coming out of the top of them, and it’s a very bad situation,” said Pampel.
The five barrels stood on a brick-paved patio behind their house and became problematic when the full-barrels’ weight depressed the concrete pad at the base of the house. Water collected in the depression during storms, Pampel said, which damaged the home’s foundation and created water seepage issues. After talking with John LaPointe of Greener Roofs and Gardens, Pampel and Schmeling decided to ditch the barrels and install a 750-gallon underground Aquascape rainwater-collection system (or graywater system) in their backyard at 517 E. Dover St.
The system, similar to one at Boerner Botanical Gardens in Hales Corners, would be the first of its kind installed on residential property in the Milwaukee, according to Pampel. LaPointe had installed the systems on residential properties in other areas of Wisconsin, including a 2,200-gallon system in Stevens Point, and smaller ones in other parts of the state, but none in Milwaukee.
Schmeling is a master gardener and has worked in the landscaping industry for more than 15 years. In order to install the system, the couple began by ripping out their paved patio and digging up part of their beautifully landscaped backyard.
The Aquascape system is connected to rain gutters on the back of the couple’s house, just as the rain barrels were. But now the water is transported away from the foundation.
Drain tiles direct water from the downspouts to the underground reservoir. Inline filters were installed in the downspouts to prevent leaves, twigs, and debris from passing into the underground water reservoir. —photo Lisa Pampel
Filters in the downspouts remove twigs and other debris from the rainwater before it flows to underground drain tiles (4-inch diameter) that transport the water to an underground reservoir.
The main components of the collection system are the downspouts, drain tiles, reservoir, plastic structural-components in the reservoir, and two pumps. One pump supplies a feature and the other delivers water to the couple’s garden. The reservoir’s capacity is 750 gallons.
A rubber pond liner is sandwiched between two layers of landscape fabric. The fabric protects the rubber liner from punctures from stones and other sharp objects in the soil.
The reservoir’s void is filled with 21 “AquaBloks,” plastic forms that resemble milk crates. Their purpose is twofold. Filling the void with these forms displaces far less water than stones, and they support the earth that covers the reservoir, preventing it from sinking or collapsing. The rubber and landscape fabric material line the pit to keep the water from seeping away. They wrap the underground system “like a burrito,” Pampel said.
Pampel and Schmeling decided to include a water feature, a 200-pound bubbling boulder, placed over the reservoir. After they selected the boulder from a landscaping firm, it was bored to receive tubing from the pump. The pump draws water from the reservoir, delivering a burbling stream of water that flows from the top of the stone.
The water feature also prevents the underground water from getting stale because it is aerated as it flows over the boulder. Smaller stones at the base of the boulder filter the water before it flows back into the reservoir.
A pit was dug and lined with a layer of rubber pond-sealer sandwiched between two layers of landscape fabric. The rubber liner prevents the collected rainwater from seeping away. —photo Lisa Pampel
When the reservoir is filled, excess water flows to a rain garden in the backyard.
The project’s $14,000 price tag covered the downspout filters, drain tiles, Aquascape system, foundation repair/sealing, new patio, and labor. Pampel and Schmeling estimate that a similar system would cost between $5,000 and $8,000, not including the cost of any foundation or other repairs. Because they were able to purchase some of the materials at a discount, Pampel noted the cost for the same system would be higher for someone who would pay the full retail price.
Pampel said they inquired about applying for a grant for the project from the city of Milwaukee’s Office of Environmental Sustainability, but they did not receive a response. “My understanding is that they’re geared more towards the commercial buildings. That’s where their grants and funding are at because they realize that a lot of the rainwater runoff is coming from the large concrete buildings downtown,” Pampel said.
For Pampel and Schmeling, their material investment in the underground system is offset by its potential to introduce a new sustainability option to Milwaukee’s residents. “I have to believe that if we continue to get massive rainstorms that cause people’s basements to cave in like we did a few years ago in the North Shore, this [system] will start becoming a more attractive option. But the thing is, nobody even knows this exists because it’s not really advertised or publicized anywhere…I think it’s a relatively cheap expense considering what the alternative is, of having to rebuild your foundation after a storm,” Pampel said.
Although it is a strong advocate of rainwater harvesting, MMSD is a government agency and is not allowed to favor one product over another, which is why you won’t find any mention of Aquascape on their website. The sites does, however, stress that rainwater harvesting helps protect the city’s rivers and Lake Michigan from runoff pollution.
Soil is being backfilled around and over the rubber-lined underground system. —photo Lisa Pampel
“By managing rain where it falls, we reduce the risk of it overwhelming sewers and from becoming polluted runoff, the biggest remaining threat to water quality in the United States,” said Tim Bate, MMSD’s Director of Planning, Research and Sustainability.
A 200-pound boulder was drilled with holes to accept tubing that transports water from underground reservoir. In addition to the charm that a bubbling water feature adds to their backyard landscape, the water feature also aerates the underground water and keeps it fresh. —photo Lisa Pampel
The Aquascape system possesses significant advantages for its ability to maintain rainwater quality. Storing rainwater underground, out of direct sunlight, helps protect it from bacteria and keeps it at a reasonable temperature (around 40 degrees on average), according to LaPointe. Maintaining clean water is crucial for Pampel and Schmeling, who will use the graywater for their garden and lawn. They grow organic vegetables in their backyard and take pride in healthy gardening.
“We don’t use any fertilizers or anything. I’ve owned the property for 15 years and I’ve never once used any fertilizers on the yard at all, so it’s all organic. Anything that we do put on it is going to be organic matter. We do our own composting, so we supplement the soil with compost in the spring in case we run into a nutrient deficiency somewhere,” said Pampel.
Another step Pampel and Schmeling said they may consider in the future is connecting the system to the plumbing in their home and using the graywater for their toilet, laundry, and other non-drinking uses.
“This is by no means a system to install for a casual gardener. We have been thinking about this project for a few years now. Once we decided we would be staying in our home, we decided it was the right thing to do,” Pampel said. “Considering the benefits of clean water, not laden with chemicals like city water, for use in the gardens and washing cars/bikes, the large storage capacity to handle what comes off our roof and not returning it to the sewer system, it seemed like the right thing to do. We have the option to someday hook it into the house for use in laundry and toilets. But for now, the next project on the horizon is installing solar panels on the roof for generating electricity.”
While installing an Aquascape system may not be the most economically viable option for all city residents, harvesting rainwater is definitely something all residents can participate in with the proper guidance.
The system is installed and the couple’s new patio is in place. The “bubbling boulder” on its bed of stones can be seen in the photo’s middle ground. When spring arrives, Pampel and Schmeling will reestablish displaced landscape features, and their vegetable and flower gardens. And they will draw water from their new system to help their plants thrive. —photo Lisa Pampel
“The type and size of system used should be chosen based on the user’s needs and ability to maintain the system,” Bate said. “MMSD encourages residents and business owners to contact their local municipality to discuss codes and ordinances related to rainwater harvesting systems, as well as to determine the appropriate permits needed for installing a rainwater harvesting system.”
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