Rainwater Harvesting means business
Thought I would continue with the issue of water conservation as I feel passionately about this subject.
The Government has recently introduced more incentives for businesses to install Rainwater Harvesting systems . The message seems to be working as there are an increasing number of new buildings and rennovations using Rainwater Harvesting as an effective and cost-efficient method of providing water.
An excellent example of this is the new Kings Cross International Terminal which has its own system located underneath the station. This was installed by Rainharvesting Systems based in Gloucestershire http://www.rainharvesting.co.uk/
The return on these systems is excellent which could mean that more companies will consider Rainwater Harvesting as an option for cutting costs in the uncertain economic climate. Articles like this from http://www.businessgreen.com/ help to create a different mind-set in the business world.
Government urges businesses to collect rainwater
Rainwater harvesting systems estimated to deliver payback within three years, with rebates available on initial investments
The government is calling on businesses to consider installing rainwater harvesting systems on roofs and other open surfaces as a means of cutting their mains water costs.
Government-funded agency Envirowise is seeking to promote wider adoption of the technology and is highlighting the availability of an incentive scheme that allows firms to claim rebates on all investment made in rainwater collection systems in the first year of installation.
http://www.envirowise.gov.uk/uk/Topics-and-Issues/Water.html
Claire Sweeney, water specialist at Envirowise, said that water collected from roofs, car parks and other open areas can be used in all kinds of areas that use mains water, such as toilets, cooling systems and appliances.
“In general, businesses will not need to treat the water unless its for drinking or food preparation and the tax breaks can mean the scheme is a worthwhile investment,” she said.
According to Envirowise calculations, some versions of the technology can deliver a return on the initial investment within two to three years.
The amount of water that can be collected depends on the size of collection area and the size of storage tank installed, but any supply can always be backed up from the mains in the event of drought.
As well as helping save on water bills, rainwater collection systems can help improve
the overall BRE environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) performance for a building, which may help increase the attractiveness of the building to tenants or potential buyers.http://www.breeam.org/
Leicester City Council has reduced the volume of mains water used at Humberstone Golf Course by 20 per cent through the installation of rainwater harvesting for irrigation. The project is expected to deliver a return on investment within five years.http://www.leicester.gov.uk/housing/PDFs/HumberstoneGolf.pdf
Filed in Climate Change, Water, rainwater harvesting One Response so far
rainwater harvesting on 17 Nov 2008 at 10:02 am #
With BREEAM assessments, its important to note that many of the rainwater harvesting systems in supplied in to the UK might not actually qualify. This is mainly because of the way the size of the tank and filter efficiencies are calculated.