Here in Northern California we’re quickly sliding into the rainy season. I can tell this as much from the “what, that was summer?” look on people’s faces as much as I can from the weather itself. So here comes the rain again and in the name of keeping our chins up, we give you Clean Rain – or, a good way to make use of the wet stuff beyond an excellent reason to bitch and moan.

Clean Rain is a rainwater harvesting system that that hooks up to your gutters. It uses simple technology to filter out junk, including a “Smart Sense First Flush” water diverter that keeps contaminants contained in the first runoff of water from the roof (dirt, dust, and ew stuff like bird droppings and dead/not-dead insects) from making your water-storage cut. After that first round, the device’s stainless steel mesh screening prevents mosquitoes, bugs and vermin from getting through. (‘Cause who wants vermin in their water?) The device can be installed with a hacksaw and a drill and fits all common downpipes. You can even paint the thing to match your house’s color scheme. Oh, and its materials are all recyclable.

Clean Rain is made by Aussie-based Rain Harvesting, so we gringos have to work our own metric conversions on the following Clean Rain spec: For every 1mm of rainfall per square meter of roof, you can collect 1 liter or rain.

What can you do with a bunch of clean rainwater? Aside from watering gardens (which dig rainwater best) or put into a pond (this is water), says EnviroGadget, “due to its cleanness it can also be used in a pool, or set to be stored in a large water storage tank for use in toilets or such devices.” (That said, I do wonder how clean my toilet water really needs to be.)

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In the worldwide struggle to get clean water to those in need, it’s people who are the biggest problem.

That’s the conclusion of the World Water Forum, which met this month in Istanbul to examine global water supply problems and offer suggestions to world governments. At the Forum, the United Nations published their summary of the state of world water supplies. In a word – mismanaged. The summary pointed toward the lack of international cooperation, the often unbalanced allocation between commercial, food-producing and domestic supplies and, in particular, the absence of economic development.

At a time when world economies need all the help they can get, it’s particularly damning that investment in water management can turn a tidy profit, paying back between 300% and 3,400% on the initial investment depending on location, according to the World Health Organization. Furthermore, poor water supplies can hobble a country’s GDP – for example, currently costing Africa an estimated $28 billion a year (PDF). Water isn’t just a life-saver – it’s a money-spinner as well.

“The green is being stressed but not the blue…”

– Angel Gurría, General Secretary, OECD

Water is being overlooked for many reasons. It’s easy to associate water supply problems with the most wartorn and socially depressed areas of the developing world, but one severe drought can topple the sturdiest-seeming water management system, as California is currently discovering. The only effective way forward has to be an interdependent one – where businesses and politicians work and legislate in favor of the big picture, not just their corner of it. And as a nice incentive, this appears to be where all the money is.

Image: bortescristian

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“People are really waking up to eco in Houston,” says Rex Davis, the co-owner of Eco Suds Hand Car Wash which celebrated its grand opening over the weekend. “We figured if we could make it in Houston, we could make it anywhere.”

Davis and his partner, Mike Winkler, say they couldn’t make it in their former parking garage car wash location due to new EPA guidelines that forced them to reclaim the water used or install grit traps.

That’s when Winkler went looking for something new – something green – and came upon a water-based cleaning solution that is said to be non-hazardous and biodegradable. They spray it on the vehicle and the organic light soap and surfactants dissolve dirt on contact as polymers wrap around remaining particles to protect them from scratching. The dirt residue is wiped off with a micro-fiber cloth and the clean surface is then buffed by hand.

“It has been used in Europe for a decade now and also in Australia and we’re just catching up,” shares Davis, who adds his hometown isn’t known for its mass transit system and progressive environmental lifestyle.

They say response was very good on Saturday and they hope to open more Eco Suds throughout Houston this year, as well as in other markets in the southwestern and southeastern United States. The selling point? Saving water while conditioning the car.

“The process saves between 40 and 100 gallons of water per wash and eliminates waste water run-off,” says Winkler. “It’s better for your car, it’s better for the planet and the finished product looks much better than a traditional car wash.”

His web site shows the proof in before and after shots of an SUV treated with this alternative wash, which the company says cannot scratch a vehicle’s finish during the actual washing process and also conditions the clear coat. Guess Texans like the results so far.

“They really love that shiny finish,” observes Davis.

We can only hope Eco Suds will teach folks in northwest Houston that less is more and that the car wash be shining up more hybrids than gas-guzzling jeeps.

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