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Rainwater HarvestingSMS Environmental installs and maintains a variety rainwater harvesting and grey-water recycling and reuse systems. For a quotation please contact us using the details below to find out if rainwater harvesting is for you read the overview here. Rainwater HarvestingRainwater Harvesting is the collection of water that would otherwise have gone down the drainage system, into the ground or been lost to the atmosphere through evaporation. Large surfaces such as roofs or driveways are ideal for rainwater harvesting and can provide up to 100m3 per annum from a medium sized area and can be used to flush the toilet, water gardens and even fuel the washing machine. Rainwater harvesting systems can be installed in both new and existing buildings, and the resulting water used for all purposes except drinking. Is it for me?Before making the decision whether or not to go ahead with a system at home or work, it is worth considering your water needs against the cost of installing and maintaining it. While many businesses, housing developments and schools would see financial benefits, most average households find that the cheap and simple installation of a water butt is sufficient to fulfil their needs, if the requirement is for garden watering only. It is worth evaluating the volume of rainfall that can be collected from roof areas or driveways at the initial stage in order to see whether rainwater harvesting would be economically viable. An SMS consultant can help in this assessment and calculate the viability of a water reuse and recycling system at your premises. How does it work?There are a number of different rainwater harvesting systems available, but a typical example would be rain collected from the roof travelling via a drainpipe into a storage tank (usually underground) once the leaves and debris have been filtered out. A rule of thumb for household water use is to size the tank at 5% of the rainwater supply or of annual demand, using the smallest of the figures. As the water is not suitable for drinking, it can be used to supply toilets, outside taps etc. through a separate pipe network. A control unit monitors the water level in the storage tank and can display this information to the user. If levels drop too low, the system switches to the mains water supply and if it gets too high, an overflow trap allows floating material to be skimmed off to a storm drain. Will it save me money?Reduced water usage has environmental benefits and while rainwater harvesting has the potential of significant financial savings, this depends heavily on a number of factors.
How much will it cost?Cost is very much dependent on your building and its usage; however typically in a system fitted into a domestic house there is an initial outlay of approximately £1500 for a basic system and plumbing and fitting costs can exceed £1,000. How much money saved depends on the supply and demand for water, maintenance needs and the lifetime of parts before they need replacing. SMS Environmental have estimated savings of over 14% of water used by the average household, but due to the relatively low cost of mains water in England and Wales the payback time may be quite lengthy. Larger projects such as housing developments, industry and agriculture will have a much shorter payback time and savings could run into many thousands of pounds. What do I do now?These questions and answers are designed as a quick guide as to whether a rainwater harvesting system is the right thing for you. If you want to know more please contact using the details at the bottom of the page.
If rainwater harvesting is not for you or your business at this particular time, there are still many ways that you can cut down your water use with very little outlay. Water butts can be bought for around £20, dripping taps can be fixed for pennies and the amount of water flushed down the toilet can be cut by up to a third. Something as simple as turning off the tap while you clean your teeth can save half a bathful of water per day if done by a family of four. |
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