In October 2018, the Apothecaries Garden became the first botanical garden in Russia with its own system for collecting rainwater. This unprecedented project marked 312 years since the establishment of Russia’s oldest botanical garden and was implemented as part of the garden’s long-term partnership with Rosbank. The rainwater collection system helps the Apothecaries Garden reduce consumption of valuable potable water. It is part of the smart city concept.
Support
Environment protection and biodiversity conservation
Beneficiaries
Environment
Project working language: Russian
Time frame: since 2018 till now
Status: active
Updated: 02.12.2019
Contact details
Kseniya Churkina
+7 (495) 662 13 00, ext. 14947
Social challenge and reasons for project’s initiation
Immediacy of the social problem
General: Global potable water supply keeps shrinking, so using rainwater is a major contribution to protecting the environment, conserving resources for future generations, and promoting modern green technology.
Specific: In the past, the garden used a reverse osmosis filter system which consumed a lot of power. The new system uses rainwater: 2,000 square meters of Stage I collection area harvest up to 80 cubic meters of water from March to October (subject to rainfall oscillation). Lab tests revealed that rainwater is even better quality than filtered water.
External reasons for project’s initiation
Most plants in the Apothecaries Garden cannot be watered with tap water. In fact, it would be deadly for orchids, succulents and insectivores.
Internal reasons for project’s initiation
Rosbank is part of Societe Generale Group which has a special program for reducing its carbon footprint – an internal carbon tax of 10 euros per every ton of CO2. The money goes to a special fund promoting green initiatives and best practices.
Target audience and stakeholders of the project
Target audience (charity recipients) of the project
Primary:
- The Apothecaries Garden
Secondary:
- All the people in Moscow, because the program reduced consumption of tap water and electricity, conserving resources and reducing waste
Stakeholders of the project
- Garden visitors and local residents
- Researchers (ability to conduct experiments, increased value of the exhibits, biodiversity conservation through reproduction of rare plants)
- Institutions similar to the botanical garden
- Local authorities
Mission and goals
Mission: Save up to 30% of tap water, reduce power consumption, improve conditions for collections by using better suited water
Goals:
- Design the rainwater collection system
- Install and launch the system at the Apothecaries Garden
- Maintain the system and assess its efficiency
Coverage
Moscow
Project description
Design and construction works started in 2017. The system was launched in October 2018.
Water from the roofs of the buildings goes through the gutters to underground reservoirs. In the first reservoir, leaves, branches and insects are removed from water. After that, water goes through a filter into a closed reservoir of 80 cubic meters, from which it is pumped into a separate rainwater distribution pipe.
The absence of light and air stops bacteria from reproducing. Water is tested before and after filtering. If water is not pure enough, it is used for other needs.
In 2019, from April to August, we had precipitation of 568 mm. August was the rainiest month, providing 70% of the annual rainfall average. The drought in April and May interfered with the normal operation of the system, so we were only able to properly assess water consumption during the three months of summer. From June to August, we had precipitation of 67-82 mm, which gave us about 40 cubic meters of rainwater monthly. Tests have shown that the quality of rainwater is good. The system of filtering cisterns works quite well after the system was flushed and entered the standard operating mode with 80 cu.m stored in cisterns.
Team and partners
Team
Yelena Kozhadei, Director for Communications and Advertisement, Rosbank
Yekaterina Pluzhnik, Head of Corporate Projects, Sponsorship and CSR, SG Russia
Aleksei Reteyum, Apothecaries Garden
Partners
- Apothecaries Garden
- M.K.3, the engineering bureau that designed the system
Resources
Financial resources
The total budget of the project: 4 million rubles
Technological and material resources
The unique rainwater harvesting system was designed by M.K.3 Engineering Company.
Achieved results
Immediate results
In 2019, from April to August, we had precipitation of 568 mm. August was the rainiest month, providing 70% of the annual rainfall average. The draught in April and May interfered with the normal operation of the system, so we were only able to properly assess water consumption during the three months of summer. From June to August, we had precipitation of 67-82 mm, which gave us about 40 cubic meters of rainwater monthly. Tests have shown that the quality of rainwater is good. The system of filtering cisterns works quite well after the system was flushed and entered the standard operating mode with 80 cu.m stored in cisterns.
External project assessment
“Global reserves of potable water keep shrinking, so the use of rainwater is a massive contribution to environment protection. This means that we care about future generations. We conserve resources by using modern green technology.”
“The project using rainwater for watering plants looks interesting to us. It’s a pilot, the first project of this sort. Later on, we should do the same throughout the country. It’s important that the financial aspect has been taken care of. This is a good example of successful public-private partnership in implementing an important initiative. I am convinced that, going forward, rainwater will be used much more to water plants. Currently, we are thinking about the best way to put plants on the roofs of our buildings. We are going to build a lot of residential housing under our renovation program. Many of these buildings will have flat roofs. Somebody will have to take care of these plants, watering them.”
Plans of further development
The system can be further improved by adding a snow-thawing unit, which will allow water harvesting through the winter season.
Publications of the project
- http://tass.ru/obschestvo/5681280
- http://banki.news/rosbank-aptekarskii-ogorod-sozdali-pervuu-rossii-sistemu-18102308273657.htm
- https://plus-one.ru/economy/u-societe-generale-sushchestvuet-vnutrenniy-nalog-10-evro-za-kazhduyu-tonnu-so-kotoraya-prevyshaet-ustanovlennyy-uroven
A total of over 100 pieces were published in the media about the project.