My Climate Change Garden » rainwater harvesting

Bonfire night brings precious white rain

Debbie — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 08:55:20 +0000

Looks like wellies and waterproofs for bonfire night celebrations this weekend with the Met Office predicting heavy downpours. http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/se/london_forecast_weather.html

With all the fun of the fireworks it is easy to forget that rain could be one of our most precious commodities in the future.Population growth, climate change, drought conditions and the restriction of sufficiently large fresh waterways close to metropolitan areas are driving the necessity to find alternative solutions.

Water availability per person is decreasing (Figure 1), while water withdrawal per person is increasing (Figure 2). In its simplicity, demand is up, supply is down as this chart shows:

Figure 1: Water Availability Per Capita*	Figure 2: Water Withdrawals*

Rainwater harvesting is one way to renew our incessant demand for a regular water supply – this was originally prefected by the Romans and it is time to rediscover and re-invest in this simple system as the environmental effects of climate change bring heavy rainfall to many parts of the world .http://www.savetherain.info/media-centre/rainwater-harvesting-faqs.aspx

If you are considering a rainwater harvesting system for your UK office or home check out these information days that are being held this Autumn:http://www.rainwaterharvesting.co.uk/training-days.php

Water is a free and valuable commodity that we should use more effectively.

Maybe the UK government should demonstrate their commitment to the environment by introducing council tax incentives that encourage homeowners to use rainwater systems instead of handing big profits to the Water Authorities?

Let me know your thoughts on this soggy issue by posting a comment here or email hello@globalgardening.org

House sales affected by rainwater?

Debbie — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 07:41:48 +0000

If you want to make your house more attractive to buyers in the current market then try this idea:

INSTALL A RAIN-WATER HARVESTING SYSTEM

According to a UK survey, sponsored by Save the Rain a significant proportion of homeowners (1 in 3) would be more likely to buy a house if a rainwater harvesting system was already installed. With the increasing amount of rainfall falling from the skies over the UK this is a serious option that many sellers might like to consider to beat the current storms in the housing market.

A rainwater harvesting system will also save you money in the future as many of the water companies are threatening to put up their water rates by up to 60% over the next five years.

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/article-1043365/Householders-hit-1-000-water-prices-set-soar-60.html

A major reason for installing a rainwater system is that it will help the environment by saving billions of water and prevent flooding which is now a serious threat to many homes in the UK. Not to mention the benefits of having harvested rainwater for your plants on tap when the next drought arrives – seems hard to beleive at the moment but it will!

WHAT EXACTLY IS A RAINWATER HARVESTING SYSTEM?

It comprises a storage tank which can be buried under garden or path, drive or patio which collects water from the roof, filters off leaves and other debris and then stores it. Then, when you flush the toilet or run the taps, a pump in the tank comes on automatically.

The system holds about 3 weeks worth of water, depending on the size of the building. The tank can be topped up by the water mains in case of drought as it should not run dry. If the tank gets too full after heavy rain, an overflow pipe discharges the excess to a soakaway.

A rainwater harvesting system starts saving you water immediately, and will do so for many years, with minimal upkeep and maximum reliability.There is a very useful website which identifies key questions that you might now be asking about rainwater harvesting systems such as:

Answers can be found at: http://www.savetherain.info/media-centre/rainwater-harvesting-faqs.aspx

Or check out the UK Rainwater Harvesting Association at: http://www.ukrha.org/

ebay catches the rain

Debbie — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 11:33:33 +0000

Even ebay has woken up to the importance of rainwater harvesting: http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=rainwater+harvesting

Rainwater is gold for gardeners

Debbie — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 11:00:02 +0000

The rain has arrvied in buckets loads today with most parts of the UK receiving heavy downpours consistent with the humid sunny weather of the past few days.

Summer gardening in the UK is increasingly becoming a battleground.Long periods of drought makes the ground very hard which means that when the rain does finally arrive, this precious “gold” liquid often runs off the very dry soil into our drains – what a waste!

Rainwater harvesting is a simple and very effective way to capture this valuable resource to use on the garden when the dry weather returns.Collecting raiwater is not c0mplicated, it just takes a bit of planning and is in fact an ancient method invented by the Romans.

There is a definite need to educate people about how useful it is and how vital it could become for the future as water becomes even more precious than gold.If you are not sure what rainwater harvesting involves then read this useful Q&A page:

http://www.savetherain.info/media-centre/rainwater-harvesting-faqs.aspx

There are many different systems that offer a range of features to help you harvest and store collected rainwater efficiently PLUS save you money.

RAINWATER HARVESTING CAN SAVE 50% ON DOMESTIC WATER BILLS

Connect with rainwater experts who can offer advice on everything from choosing the right system, installing it in your home to making sure you use it efficiently.

http://www.rainwaterharvesting.co.uk/

www.rainharvesting.co.uk/

http://www.greensteps.co.uk/sc/rainwater-harvesting/75

http://www.rainwaterharvesting.biz/

http://www.biggreensmile.com/departments/rainwater-harvesting.aspx?deptID=RAINWATER&gclid=CKzzmqCl2JoCFRIgZwod0FYL2w

http://www.h20-group.co.uk/Rainwater_Harvesting.php

http://www.etills.com/

Rain arrives in London

Debbie — Thu, 26 May 2011 21:46:15 +0000

When it rains heavily in London, the Victorian drains often overflow and rivers of rain simply rush away.

The average Londoner uses nearly 160 litres of water a day – saving just 10 per cent of this total, through easy measures, would fill an incredible 48 Olympic-sized swimming pools every day.

With rising population, climate change and leaky Victorian pipes all putting pressure on our supply, the Mayor of London has plans to ensure our water resources for generations to come.The city will need to preserve its water as climate change takes hold.Read how London Mayor, Boris Johnson plans to protect London’s water supplies:

The Mayor’s draft water strategy outlines the many challenges that London faces: its population is expected to rise from 7.56m to 9.11 million by 2031, we face hotter summers due to climate change and our Victorian sewers overflow due to heavy rain, sending sewage gushing into the Thames up to 60 times each year.

We have enough water for London, but only if we use it wisely and effectively. As our population grows we face a choice of either becoming more water efficient and making the water we have go further, or having to commit to expensive solutions, such as a new reservoir, to meet our increasing demand, with additional costs on our bills. There are easy steps households can take to become more water efficient.

Over a quarter of our carbon emissions from our homes come from water use and so not only do we need to save the supplies we have, but being more water efficient will help cut our contribution to climate change in the future. The Mayor will be working with key partners such as the Environment Agency and Thames Water to address these challenges.http://www.rainwaterharvesting.co.uk/rainwater-london-boris-johnson-plan.php

Treehugger catches US rainwater story

Debbie — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 20:58:29 +0000

One of the best green blogs is produced by Treehugger which is the leading US media outlet dedicated to driving sustainability mainstream.

You can always find find an interesting story. Like this one about how California is trying to use all the water it has to cope with a growing population and water sources maxed out especially in the face of long-lasting droughts.http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/02/california-bill-brings-rainwater-to-your-toilet.php

Treehugger even has its own App http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/treehugger/id357567546?mt=8

Climate Change Gardening might have one too in the not too distant future – watch this space forexpansion plans in 2011/12 !

Ryder rainfall good for gardens

Debbie — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 06:18:59 +0000

The Ryder Cup may be suffering in this wet and dreary weather but now is the time to think about the value of harvesting some of this rain. For gardeners rain is like liquid gold – never there when you need it!

Rainwater harvesting in the UK has increased by approximately 300% in the last two years
Rainharvesting can replace up to 50% of a household mains water consumption, and up to 85% on commercial installations
Collecting rain from your roof reduces surface water by approximately 60% per plot
Rainwater harvesting in Germany is over 100 times the current use in the UK
The payback period can be as quick as 3 years on buildings with large roofs and a high non-potable water demand

http://www.revolutionpower.co.uk/rain_water.php

http://www.kingspanwater.com/

http://www.rainwaterharvesting.co.uk/

Rain arrives but not for Spain

Debbie — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 07:00:07 +0000

The rain finally arrived in the SE of England last night after almost a month of drought. As I sit writing this blog there is a sheet of very heavy rain refreshing all my plants and no doubt bringing sighs of relief from gardeners everywhere.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/7884027/Heatwave-at-an-end-as-rain-arrives.html

Heavy rain is great for filling water butts – up to 4inches is predicted in some areas this week. According to the Low Carbon Diet, installing a rainwater butt can save 0.6kg of CO2 per year – equivalent to a three mile drive in your car and up to £200 off your water bills.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/jan/21/observermagazine.ethicalliving

The UK currently uses 70% more water than we did 40 years ago and this is rising all the time. In the recent hot weather up to 70% of domestic water may have been used in the garden.

Spain may be the holders of the World Cup but they are not doing so well with their rainfall. Barcelona sometimes has to ship water into the city using huge tankers when their reservoirs are only quarter full.

Gardens in Barcelona are being planted with artificial turf to beat the city’s water crisis. Its a drastic way to beat the drought but maybe UK gardens will have to consider replacing our precious lawns. http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=82397

Water usage is crucial in Southern Europe due to exceptionally high temperatures and low rainfall in the past ten years.This is an issue that many more countries in Europe might have to deal with in the not too distant future.

It is possible to have a lawn in our changing climate if you follow a few simple rules: http://www.globalgardening.org/uploads/pdf/lawn_care.pdf

Rainwater harvesting – Indian style

Debbie — Mon, 25 May 2009 20:10:49 +0000

If climate change means more monsoon style rain then rainwater harvesting will need to become part of everyday life. This amazing video shot in India sums up the simplicity of rainwater harvesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWnhYIIKY0U

We need to harvest rain for our gardens but in India the rain provides food needed to survive.

Find more info and where to buy rainwater systems:
http://www.myclimatechangegarden.com/blog/where-can-i-buy-a-rainwater-harvesting-system

Sun then rain offers silver lining

Debbie — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 10:12:13 +0000

Yesterday, I visited a glorious garden near Lewes in East Sussex where the blossom on the trees looked simply stunning in the sunshine – it was truly magical as you can see from my photo above.This was the culmination of 10 days of truly spectacular weather with temperatures reaching 19c and literally no rain.

Today, I awoke to more typical April showers – the blossom will really suffer in the rain. So will the more tender plants that some gardeners may have been tempted to plant outside when it was warm and sunny last week. They are in for a bit of a shock – its down to 10c and 5c forecast for tonight.

The delights of english gardening!

Time to think about how rainwater harvesting is increasingly important for our gardens as we experience less regular rainfall patterns like this.

Read these interesting articles by the UK Rainwater Harvesting Association which explains more about this subject http://www.ukrha.org/articles/7

Check out Freerain who specialise in designing, supplying and fitting a range of rainwater harvesting systems http://www.freerain.co.uk/

Marcus Fox from Freerain is a rainwater harvesting guru who has provided this introduction to inspire you to seriously consider the value of a domestic or business rainwater harvesting system. The initial costs may seem high but, the pay-back will last forever – extreme winter rainfall is here to stay!

Marcus writes his own blog which has excellent practical and technical advice:

http://rainwater-harvesting-systems.blogspot.com

Or ‘wet’ your appetite with:

Rainwater harvesting is not a new practice, but since the introduction of
clean and reliable water supply during the Victorian period the practice of
collection your own water fell out of practice.
In Germany rainwater harvesting is much more common and they as a country
have been leading since the 1970s. In the UK a few companies including
Freerain Ltd have been supplying a range of systems and together these
companies formed the UK rainwater harvesting association. One of the
associations aims is introduce standards in to the industry. A new British
Standard is due to be released in the next few months which should help to
reduce the number of poorly designed and in some cases illegal systems.

A well designed rainwater harvesting system should always include a filter,
either on the downpipe(s) or an underground inline filter. This prevents
too much organic matter entering the storage tanks and protects the pump
and/or blocking of hoses and spray heads. For storage volumes larger than
about 1000 litres, the system really should be underground, this is in part
due to the aesthetics of having a large tank above ground around the house.
Importantly, an underground storage tank is more expensive to install but
they have several advantages. 1) It’s much easier to get the water in the
tank and through filters using gravity. 2) The water is kept dark and cold,
reducing the rate of algal growth and bacteria.
Other aspects of a system should include a calming inlet which allows the
water to enter storage smoothly and helps to retain oxygen levels and
promote good (aerobic) bacteria.
It is important that a system is sized to overflow a few times a year, this
helps to remove a scum layer from the tank and helps circulate the water. A
tank which is too large is not good, for two reasons. 1) The customer will
be buying capacity they will never fill and secondly, the water quality will
be much lower as the it will be turned around quickly enough.

Performance

A domestic system can supply around 50% of the demand for an average house
and substantially more for other applications such as gardens. This of
course depends on the available collection area (roof), the local rainfall
and the efficiency of the collection system.
We are often asked about how we calculate the system of tank, especially by
gardeners. They are sometimes concerned that we are advising small tanks
compared to their proposed usage. But it actually rains significantly about
every 18 days in the UK and even during hot periods, an hours thunder storm
can replenish the tanks very quickly. It’s important to give adequate
coverage, but it is not worth chasing every single last drop.

Costings (underground)

A domestic system (for WC flushing, washing machines & outside tap use, with
mains back-up) you will need to spend around £2000-2700 + VAT supplied
A garden system for garden use only, from about £1400 + VAT, supplied.

Installation costs vary and really a domestic system should be considered by
new-build projects or complete refurbishments. This is because it is
necessary to amend both drainage and internal plumbing and if this is in an
existing house, then this will prove costly. For a planned new-build, I
would budget around £800 for the installation.