MenuRainwater Harvesting
Drought, hose pipe bans, reservoirs and river levels at all time lows – there’s no shortage of
media coverage on the subject of water shortage.
For this reason at Simmply Clean we are keen to promote what we believe to be an
excellent and exciting development – Rainwater Harvesting.
There are so many activities that need water – domestically and commercially, but do all of
them require water of drinkable (potable) quality?
Think about washing the car, watering the garden, cleaning paths, patios or greenhouses – none of these need potable water. Commercially, activities like WC flushing, irrigation
systems, laundry equipment, car wash machines and fire sprinkler systems – these can all be
accomplished by the use of stored non-potable water, i.e. rainwater that is harvested.
In essence that is how rainwater harvesting works – you collect rain water from roofs,
gullies and downpipes, then store it in an underground tank and connect to where you need
it so that it’s on demand whenever you turn on the appropriate tap or garden sprinkler
system etc.
Although the concept is simple, there are factors to consider before installing a rainwater
harvesting system. For this reason the British Standards Institute (BSI) has produced BS
515:2009 Rainwater Harvesting Systems – Code of practice (BS 8515:2009).
It is essential to adopt a detailed and thorough attitude towards rainwater harvesting.
Designing the right system means considering a number of variables – flow rates, high
demand periods, overall demand and yield plus of course you will need to ensure adequate
filtering of the harvested water to keep your stored rainwater clean and clear.
Although the above BSI code has been produced, not all of the variables are fully covered
within – it simply outlines what are considered minimum standards for rainwater harvesting
systems but is nonetheless a very handy guide.
So, when it comes to determining what size of rainwater harvesting system you need, and
to make sure you get the best performance from your system the following factors need to
be carefully considered and balanced:
- How much rainwater do you get?
- How much rainwater will you need?
- How much can you spend?
- How often will you get overflow?
- How might you want to develop rainwater harvesting further in the future?
The answers to these questions will enable you to figure out what system and size of
rainwater harvester you need.
To get some really helpful guidance and to see how the calculations are made based on the
above factors we recommend visiting UK Septic Tanks and particularly their page “How to
Size a Rainwater Harvester” – this will show you how to apply the figures and also take you
to some excellent rainwater harvesting systems.
Whatever your needs, we feel sure that UK Septic Tanks will be able to help – as well as Rainwater Harvesting systems such as the Rainbox Water Harvesters, a great value for
money range of versatile, compact harvesters, they also supply and install garden irrigation
systems – another practical way in which rainwater can be harvested, stored and then used
to great advantage in the face of increasing water shortages and costs.
For example, at UK Septic Tanks you will find Garden Angel Garden Irrigators – a range of
superbly constructed, easy to install garden irrigation systems which come in a variety of
sizes designed to suit any gardener’s needs.
We can’t put it any better than UK Septic Tanks – as hose pipe bans kick in and water costs
soar, with a rainwater harvesting system…. “you’ll be laughing all the way to the bird bath”!