rainwater harvesting & Reuse

Trickle Down Effect Sailing race venue integrates rainwater treatment & reuse

By John Vastyan

n the world of aquatic sporting and there—and for the tourists who came to the sport and a cruise ship port. adventure, there are few places see the races—was the new ship terminal. “New construction on Pier 27 was Ion Earth as well recognized as In September 2012, trial runs of the focused on the new James R. Herman San Francisco’s waterfront along the sleek ’s Cup candi- cruise ship terminal. There’s no question Embarcadero. Located in the heart of the dates began, drawing crowds from around that it is now a landmark building for San city’s bustling Fisherman’s Wharf area, the world. Construction of the steel and Francisco’s waterfront,” said Kavinder Pier 27, once visited daily by hordes of res- glass terminal building was well ahead of Singh, vice president and general man- idents and tourists alike, had gradually schedule for the event’s official opening. ager for Turner Construction Co. deteriorated under withering traffic over In July and August 2013, four coun- The 1,360-ft berth can accommodate the past decade. tries competed in the groups coming to and from the largest The eastern waterfront area along the for the right to challenge ’s cruise ships. It is designed to handle Embarcadero is now in the midst of a Oracle Team USA, the defending 2010 2,600 passengers routinely, and up to renaissance that is transforming it from a America’s Cup champion. 4,000 in a pinch. Forty to 80 cruise ships dilapidated warehouse district into one of Once again, the Oracle team won visit the port each year, and when ships the city’s most festive focal points. the cup in a winner-take-all 19th race, are not in port, the terminal is available The restored piers include famous defeating challenger Emirates Team for other events. tourist destinations such as Fishermen’s New Zealand by 44 seconds. Led by Wharf and have proven productive long 35-year-old skipper , Green Focus beyond their original purposes. Oracle won by a score of 9 to 8; Spithill With California at the leading edge of became the youngest person ever to the sustainability movement, it is natural A Race for the Ages skipper a cup-winning team. that green technology was a key expecta- Piers 27 and 29 are joined at the end The 2013 races featured 72-ft-long sail- tion for the new terminal early on. The to form a 10-acre triangular area. For boats for the first time. Another feature to building earned a LEED Silver rating from decades, each pier was covered by a bleak note was that world-class races are rarely the U.S. Green Building Council. patchwork of sheet metal structures. held so close to shore, making Pier 27 one “The green movement has so many good The old buildings were removed to cre- of the best venues yet. angles to it,” Singh said. “For the cruise ter- ate space to view the 34th America’s Cup Although the races are now over, the minal, one of the really unique facets of the races. The focal point of the construction new terminal remains as a monument to project is the BRAE rainwater harvesting

10 | STORM WATER SOLUTIONS | JULY/AUGUST 2014 system with several large tanks, there to Cup, however, was the network of drains, storage tanks. When there is a call for do two very important things: It puts rain- pipe, valves and controls installed to har- water, fluids are pumped through the water to use—water that would otherwise vest and put to use the world’s most pre- filtration and treatment (rainset) system be lost—and it greatly reduces runoff from cious natural resource: freshwater. before entering dedicated lines to the toi- the property, water that would spill into lets. Ozone is used for disinfection. the ocean. To build this way—especially Integrating the System “As a Port Authority project, designers in a city and state at the cutting edge of The terminal is equipped with a five-tank, knew the importance of this groundbreak- environmental responsibility—points to 42,000-gal rainwater harvesting system. ing system. It’s one of the finest projects of our stewardship of natural resources. It’s a “Rainwater is used for toilet flushing in this scale. California Assembly Bill 1750, win-win for everyone.” the main terminal, and also for outdoor also known as the Rainwater Capture Singh explained that the new termi- irrigation of the facility’s gardens,” said Act of 2012, was signed into law by nal is an 88,000-sq-ft, two-level build- Eddie Van Giesen, American Rainwater California Gov. Jerry Brown,” Van Giesen ing. The size of the terminal was defined Catchment Systems Assn., MLA, national said. “In addition, the California Building as optimal to serve current and future sales manager for BRAE Rainwater Standards Commission approved Chapter ship berthing. Harvesting Systems. BRAE supplied all 17 of the California Plumbing Code—a Passengers departing from and arriv- components of the rainwater harvesting chapter devoted to rainwater harvest- ing in San Francisco now pass through system, which consists of three 12,800-gal ing in the state—so sweeping changes to the terminal, which houses ticketing, tanks, two 1,650-gal tanks, and a rainwa- California plumbing coincided with pas- baggage, customs and security opera- ter control station that houses all of the sage of the rainwater bill. tions. It opened as the venue for the 2013 filters, treatment equipment and controls. “With a project of this caliber, and America’s Cup Village and is designed to The larger tanks are used for toilet with its high profile, designers wanted accommodate vessels up to 1,200 ft long, flushing; the smaller tanks provide water to exceed expectations, and they in addition to being an elegant gateway for irrigation. accomplished it marvelously,” Van to the city. According to Van Giesen, water from Giesen added. “The terminal is now one Unnoticed by the throngs of people the terminal’s roof is sent to a prefiltra- of the highest-profile buildings in the pouring into the city or enjoying box office tion system, which removes larger debris city to use rainwater for indoor non- seats for the best views of the America’s before the collected rainwater enters the potable use. Toilet flushing consumes

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vast amounts of water, so this is a big with a skid-mounted ozone system for Authority an opportunity to lead by step. And it just stands to reason that water treatment. example. Hohl explained that the city’s it’s not the most prudent use of clean, “Technically, this qualifies the water infrastructure for storm water drainage is potable water.” as having potable quality, but that’s not near capacity, which is why the terminal’s Combined with water for irrigation, the intent at all,” Hohl said. “Being the ability to harvest so much rainfall on site the facility will conserve thousands of first at something like this does have its is a real advantage. gallons of freshwater each year. Another challenges. Local code and water board The large terminal structure, with more key advantage is that potentially con- officials and other authorities can all take than an acre of roof surface, will certainly taminated runoff will not flow freely into divergent views about water quality and shed a lot of water during periods of heavy San Francisco Bay. what constitutes water of sufficient qual- rain. If the storage tanks are full, the over- ity to drink.” flow water will nonetheless be filtered and A Sustainable Example He explained that all of the city’s water treated, rendering it pollutant-free before Turner Construction tapped Oakland, authorities reviewed the water catchment it enters San Francisco Bay. Calif.-based Broadway Mechanical to do plan and have studied the storage, filtra- Sales representatives Ron Monk and all of the plumbing work at the Pier 27 ter- tion and treatment of water there. Dave Johnson of the Rancho Cordova, minal. According to Michael Hohl, project The water, though treated to a high Calif.-based manufacturer’s represen- manager for Broadway Mechanical’s work quality, is still labeled non-potable and is tative firm, Repcor, presented BRAE’s at Pier 27, the job involved 12 plumbers, a used only for landscape irrigation and the rainwater catchment capabilities to man- detailer, an engineering project manager flushing of toilets and urinals within the agers of the city—Pier 27’s owner—and and an assistant manager. They were on terminal building. Broadway Mechanical. the job for about nine months. “One of the goals for this project was to “We assured them that the BRAE sys- According to Hohl, the cruise terminal set a precedent: to raise the sustainability tems would meet and exceed their expec- building is among the first in the city bar voluntarily,” Hohl said. tations,” Monk said. “We remained in with such a large volume of stored rain- The plan to install a rainwater har- close contact with them throughout the water, and it is the first in San Francisco vesting system at the terminal gave Port entire timeline, involving specification,

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12 | STORM WATER SOLUTIONS | JULY/AUGUST 2014 sales and installation.” Hohl added that there was also an advantage in the BRAE system’s single- source supply: “The original system was pieced together from various suppliers. From tanks to treatment, BRAE could provide it all.” “The systems there work just as they were designed to,” Van Giesen said. “Through the years, the use of rainwater at Pier 27 will only play a greater role. It all ties to the city of San Francisco’s and the Port Authority’s admirable commit- ment to sustainability.” SWS

John Vastyan, owner of Common Ground, is a journalist whose work focuses on the plumbing and mechanical, HVAC, geothermal and radiant heat industries. Vastyan can be reached at [email protected] or 717.664.0535.

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