WaterFence

At just 14 years old, Steven McDowell, is stirring up quite a buzz in the green building community. As the inventor of WaterFence, the California high school sophomore has created an innovative fresh water storage system that utilizes roof rainwater runoff and is capable of holding thousands of gallons of water.

“The concept for WaterFence originated at Steven’s freshman year science fair,” recalls Ken McDowell, Steven’s father and now president of WaterFence. “He was a freshman at the time and since our state is in a massive ongoing drought he said, ‘I’m going to solve California’s drought problem. He thought we needed to store more water and since everyone has a roof and a fence, why not create a system that collected the water. He researched it and found that nobody had built a fence that stored water runoff.”

A winning, water-saving idea

Steven’s concept took off quickly and soon he was winning science fairs across the state. “My son has done an incredible job, I don’t know where he gets his brains – it must come from his mom’s side of the family,” jokes Ken.

The father-son duo knew they had an idea that could go beyond the science fair, so Ken set out to fund and patent WaterFence. “We soon attracted investors who have funded the company,” reveals Ken. “We hired civil engineers to make sure the product could withstand California’s seismic activity and other state requirements. We now have several other employees handling all different activities for the business.”

And today, the science fair dream is more real than ever, as WaterFence systems are steadily being manufactured in its home state of California.

Ken says the interest in the WaterFence startup has been phenomenal, from all corners of the U.S. “California to Washington, New Mexico to Texas, Vermont to Virginia; we have companies contacting us for information on the product,” he says. “There’s also been interest abroad from Bermuda to Guam and all the way from Australia to the U.K.”

When it rains, it stores

With a vast portion of the southwest in relentless drought conditions, WaterFence aims to preserve precious rainwater. Ken explains that 1-inch of rain on an average roof equals more than 1,200 gallons of water, which is water that can be captured, reused and recycled.

WaterFence is the answer to the major challenges that have so far made rainwater storage in substantial quantities daunting and rare. “It is a convenient and smart rainwater storage and management system that is also an aesthetic fence around a home or commercial building with several different facades available to give people a rock wall appearance or even real wood can be attached to it if you prefer that look,” details Ken. “Vines or vegetables can be grown on it to make it a living wall; rainwater runoff from the roof is directed into 6 feet high, 7 feet long tank sections.”

WaterFence can store tens of thousands of gallons, as well as provide for a significant portion of water needs. WaterFence will have smart controls for autonomous operation and will also serve as a recirculating water source for roof wetting systems to protect from impending fires.

The technology behind WaterFence’s residential containment fence is actually quite simple. “Rain falls on your roof and is guided by your screened gutters to a fill point on the WaterFence system,” explains the company’s website.

After rainfall, water naturally seeks its own level and fills each section evenly. Each section of WaterFence holds 320 gallons, so when connected, the system can hold thousands of gallons of freshwater. Better yet, the system is 100 percent recyclable, made of HDPE Polyethylene.

In addition, WaterFence offers unique safety components. The HDPE fencing is a terrific fire barrier, forming a fire-resistant wall around the residence. With the addition of a small water pump and a water delivery system running to the roof, WaterFence also acts as a fire suppression system. “We can also install sprinklers on the roof where the water runs off,” adds Ken.

Inventor Steven elaborates on WaterFence’s unique abilities. “First thing, you are saving money on your water bill,” he says. “You will not be using as much water supplied by the municipal water company, for example, our fence at our home stores 13,000 gallons of water. But some people find the sprinkler system to be the biggest selling point since it decreases the home’s fire protection cost.” It also reduces the amount of runoff water headed to the streams and rivers and also the municipality’s water treatment plants.

According to Steven, he’s had faith in his product from the get-go. “I imagined things would take off, go to market and sell,” Steven shares. “When you follow a great idea, you never know where it will lead to. My advice to other people my age is to do that. You might end up doing big things.”

This is just the beginning for WaterFence, as the startup company made an even bigger splash at the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo (Greenbuild) 2014 in New Orleans. “It was very exciting to be at Greenbuild,” Steven says. “We were very encouraged by the positive response to WaterFence and we are looking forward to growing interest and fast adoption of rainwater harvesting and WaterFence.”

Due to the success of Greenbuild, WaterFence will be showing in 2015 at the International Builders Show in Las Vegas from January 20 to 25.

One of the biggest advantages WaterFence brings is a sense of security. “In California and all over the world with climate change, we don’t know if we’re going to get more rain or less rain, but it’s better to be prepared,” adds Ken.

From high school science fair to the world’s stage, WaterFence is tackling some of the toughest water supply challenges and changing the way people think about fences.