Wahaso and Atlantis to Partner in Water Harvesting Systems

Water Harvesting Solutions has announced that it has entered into a strategic alliance with Atlantis Water Management of New South Wales, Australia. The two companies will work together to extend the Atlantis system for storm water management to integrated harvesting systems that conserve municipal water by using captured storm water for flushing toilets, irrigating landscaping and other uses in commercial buildings."We are very excited about our new relationship and the ways that both companies can support each other," said John R. Bauer, Wahaso's president. Wahaso specializes in custom rainwater and graywater harvesting systems for commercial and institutional buildings. "Water storage is a major component of any of our harvesting systems. We explored all the current options for underground caverns and believe that the Atlantis system offers the best option for large cisterns at a competitive cost."Atlantis's system consists of plates made from recycled polypropylene that are snapped together on site to make D-Raintank modules that can be configured into a cistern of any size or shape. The excavation is lined with either a permeable textile for infiltration or an impermeable liner for storm water detention or retention and harvesting. Storm water is prefiltered mechanically and organically before entering the cistern. Wahaso's systems harvest the storm water from the cistern by pumping, filtering and repressurizing it--most often for irrigation, but also to flush toilets or replace municipal drinking water in other nonpotable applications."Wahaso's water harvesting expertise is a perfect complement to our systems," explained Linda Maley, Atlantis' North American business development manager. "We currently see about 20 percent of our tanks being used for storm water retention for harvesting. The other 80 percent is used in storm water detention and release into existing storm systems or are designed for infiltration and aquifer recharge. With growing concerns about water conservation, we have seen a trend in the growing number of clients interested in utilizing the storm water captured by our systems, particularly for green buildings seeking LEED [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design] certification. We think harvesting will become the dominant practice in the future."Wahaso will support those Atlantis customers nationwide interested in incorporating water harvesting systems with their tanks. The company will also represent and provide customer support for the Atlantis stormwater system in northern Illinois, northern Indiana and Wisconsin.