*THE AQUASCAPE FOUNDATION INSTALLS RAINXCHANGE® RAINWATER HARVESTING SYSTEM FOR SCHOOL IN KIYINDI, UGANDA*
A team of Aquascape Foundation volunteers installed a 20,000-gallon rainwater harvesting system at the International Needs Network School in Kiyindi, Uganda the week of January 23, 2012. The newly installed RainXchange® rainwater harvesting system will provide clean drinking water for approximately 900 school children year-round and creates the ability to prepare one hot meal per day.
Ed Beaulieu, chief sustainability officer for Aquascape, designed the school’s rainwater harvesting system to collect run-off from the roofs of 2 school buildings and a nearby medical office. Captured rainwater is passed through a sub-surface chamber where particulate matter is removed. The collected water is stored in a 15,000 gallon reservoir before passing through an ionization system into a 5,000 gallon tank where it can then be accessed by hand or electronic pump.
“We were proud to have contractors from across the country devote their time and labor to assist with the Foundation’s third installation of a rainwater harvesting system in an area lacking access to clean drinking water,” says Carla Wittstock, president of the Aquascape Foundation. “Our previous RainXchange® projects at schools in Colombia, South Africa and Ghana, Africa were met with great success.”
The Aquascape Foundation worked with H2O 4 ALL and the I.N. Network in Zeeland, Michigan to locate a school in need of clean drinking water. The I.N. Network’s mission is to connect partners in community development around the world.
Aquascape Foundation volunteers who participated in the rainwater harvesting project included foundation president Carla Wittstock, Wayne, IL; foundation vice-president, Ed Beaulieu of Aquascape, Inc. in St. Charles, IL and his wife, Ellen Beaulieu; John Adams of Modern Design Aquascaping in Friendsville, TN; Diane and Chris Baker of James Ponds in Doylestown, PA; Lisa Ballantine of Filter Pure in Elk Grove Village, IL; Odile Bartlett, Steve and Linda Kovacs, Dean Methorst, Gloria Musselle, and Timothy Muttoo of H2O for All in Canada; Kay and Mark Bleyer of I.N. Network USA in West Lafayette, IN; April Dugan of Nature Scapes in Grafton, NH; Danielle and Paul Edling of Bloodgood Landscape Corporation in Horsham, PA; Al Lentz of Lentzcaping Inc. in Warminster, PA; John and Ethan Seavers of Just Sprinklers Inc. in Albuquerque, NM; Kathy Smith of Tropical Water Gardens in Deland, FL; Chris Sturdyvin and Matthew Kinney of Chris’ Water Gardens in Homer, IL ; and Robert Lange of Thawville, IL.
For more information on the Aquascape Foundation and its mission, log onto www.aquascapefoundation.com. For information on Aquascape’s RainXchange® rainwater harvesting system, visit www.aquascapeinc.com.
The Aquascape Foundation is a not for profit 501 (c) 3 organization established in 2008. The mission of The Foundation is to create sustainable solutions for the world-wide water crisis. The purpose of The Foundation is to promote awareness of water as our most precious resource through environmental, educational and philanthropic efforts.
Aquascape is North America’s leading innovator in the water gardening industry. Aquascape invented the low-maintenance, naturally balanced ecosystem pond that is the # 1 contractor-installed water garden. The St. Charles, Illinois headquarters, dubbed “Aqualand,” received Silver Level recognition in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating system. Aquascape’s mission is to help our customers succeed at building, selling, and retailing water garden products while supplying innovative products and solutions that capture, clean and reuse our planet’s most valuable resource – water. Aquascape and its vast network of Authorized AquascapePRO™ Distributors sell exclusively to contractors and retailers. Founded in 1991, Aquascape made the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing private companies four years in a row. In 2005, founder and CEO Greg Wittstock was named one of America’s Best Bosses by FORTUNE Small Business Magazine and Winning Workplaces™.
