Why Should We Harvest Rainwater?

By Tal Potishman

One of the privileges of living in the UK is having easy access to water. However, there are areas in England which are experiencing water shortages. This will come as a surprise to many. Therefore this will be a wake up call to many of us who take our water for granted. There are methods of saving water, and once we start doing this, we will reap the benefits.

This is when rainwater harvesting comes in. Rainwater harvesting is simply collecting rainwater that would otherwise go to complete waste. The idea behind it, is make use of water that falls out of the sky which can easily be used for a wide variety of purposes as an alternative to just relying on mains water supply. Rainwater harvesting is not a new concept as it has been practiced for centuries, and still is in various countries.

Using the water butt

One very cost effective way of collecting rainwater is to place a water butt on your down-pipe and save the water for use in the garden or for car washing. If you have a big garden, you could even fit two water butts next to each other from the same downpipe.

If you are not that satisfied with using a water butt and wish to go one step further, you can try upgrading to a simple harvesting rainwater pump and filter. This pump is useful for creating a pressurised system that can then be used in conjunction with a hosepipe; great for watering the garden or washing the car using a hosepipe.

How can I use the rainwater?

You can use rainwater for outdoor purposes such as topping up swimming pools, washing windows watering the garden, and cleaning patios. As well as saving on drinking water-use, rainwater is beneficial for other purposes too. For example, it encourages less build-up of calcium deposits in appliances.

The use of rainwater around the house

Once the rainwater is filtered, it can even be used around the house to supply toilets or washing machines. However, it is important for the rainwater to be filtered and siphoned in order to make it suitable as a source of non-drinking water.

The type of tank that will be installed next to the house will be dependent on a number of factors. For instance, where you live, the number of people living in the household, and the amount of water you will generally need. Once the correct tank has been installed , the rainwater is then filtered and pumped into a header tank in the loft of your home where it is distributed into a household and non-drinking supply. Please note that some modifications will be required to your internal plumbing in order to separate the rainwater supply from your fresh water supply.

Some final thoughts

It is very likely that water rates will continue to get higher, making water harvesting sound more and more like a viable option to the home-owner. If we stopped to think about this in more depth, we will realise that most of our domestic water usage such as toilets and dishwashers do not actually require water from the mains supply. The long-term benefits of harvesting rainwater far outreach the notion of continuing to waste rainwater that could be used in the house. The potential savings in water bills is also something to think about.

About the Author:

Tal Potishman, editor of Heating Central, writes articles on combi boilers, central heating, Mill Hill plumbers, underfloor heating and solar thermal. He specializes in helping save money by advising on efficient heating.

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