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Rainwater Harvesting Information
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- What should I look for in a Rainwater Harvesting System?
The most important thing is that the tank is made in one piece, NOT in two halves that are joined together. A one piece tank cannot leak.
The other important thing is that the pump is located in the tank, NOT the house where the noise it makes every time water is drawn can be very annoying. Pumps in the tanks PUMP water, which is what they are designed to do, wheras pumps in the house DRAW water which is inefficient as they were never designed to do this.
Make sure that the system works even during a power cut as a lot of systems do not.
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- Is rainwater harvesting a new idea?
Here in the UK we have always collected and stored rainwater for household use until recently, when mains supply became the norm. Most houses had steel rainwater tanks, fed from the gutters, and the rain was used for laundry, washing-up, washing floors, and even for drinking by some people. In the early 1960's, my rural primary school had a rainwater tank which was the ONLY water supply for the whole school!
Modern rainwater harvesting systems have only been seen in the UK since the Millenium, but in Germany, they have been popular for over 15 years. Water is a relativley expensive commodity in Germany, and rain harvesters are often grant aided, so the market has grown rapidly. Many UK system are German, but although the Germans use one-piece tanks, for ease of transport they ship them to the UK in two halves and they are assembled on-site. This vastly increases the potential for leaks.
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- Are there any regulations governing rainwater harvesters?
Rainwater harvesting has a new British Standard for the design of harvesting systems - the BS8515 2009. Many companies have yet to adapt their systems to meet these new regulations, so beware. Drainage is currently covered by the Building Regs. Section H which can affect rainwater harvesting system design eg. soakaway or city drain connections for the tank overflow. Other regulations, enforced by the water supplier, also apply. These are, in England and Wales the Water Supply Regulations 1999 (Water by-laws 2000 in Scotland and Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002) The essential requirements of the regulations specific to rainwater harvesting are; (1) no cross bonding of rainwater piping with potable supply pipes (2) prevention of backflow to potable water supplies according to CEN EN1717 or air gaps type AA/AB/AC etc (3) the clear marking of rainwater pipes according to WRAS # 9-02-05 and (4) material specifications, where contact with wholesome water is permissible meet the prevailing approved list.
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- Which developments best suit the rainwater harvesting system?
The full house system is designed for new-build as the cost of altering the plumbing of existing houses can be substantial. Existing properties can utilise the garden and outside loo and tap systems. If you are building an extension, then it is possible to use the full house system for any toilets there, as with new-build. The tank can be installed either at the groundworks stage or at the end, but the plumbing must be done at first fix.
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- What drains can I connect to my rainwater harvester?
Only connect the ROOF drains, Surface drains are too contaminated.
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- How easy is it to install a rainwater harvester?
You will need a minimum 3 ton machine to dig the hole (and do the drains) and a plumber for the 1st and 2nd. fix plumbing. It is no harder to install than a sewage treatment unit. You may not require concrete and it can be installed under a driveway (cars only)
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- What can I use rainwater for?
At the moment, you can use rainwater for flushing toilets, doing domestic laundry (NOT commercial, nursing home, hospital, etc), washing cars, yards, paths, floors, irrigation, watering livestock, fire extinguishing, and most other non potable purposes except bathing.
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- Can I use rainwater for drinking?
Not YET but WTE Ltd. is currently working on a system which will enable rainwater to be used for ALL purposes in the home, including DRINKING WATER!
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- Are any grants available?
Not for Domestic use but for Commercial purposes, rainwater harvesters qualify for the Government ECA scheme, which provides rainwater harvester grants and allows the whole cost of the harvester to be offsett against tax in the year that it was purchased. See your accountant.
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- What is the maintenence required?
The filter needs to be checked regularly for blockages, eg, leaves, as rainwater will by-pass the tank if the filter is blocked. Apart from that, the whole system needs checking once a year (like your central heating boiler) to see if anything requires replacing, but usually, the components should last about 10 years. Once evey 7 years, the tank needs to be emptied (usually in a dry period when little water is inside) and the inside walls power washed.
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- What is the installation cost?
For a domestic system installed as part of a new-build development, the extra cost is about £700. The hole needs to be dug for the tank, but little concrete is used, the cost is minimal. The plumbing work would have to be done anyway, so no extra cost is invovled.
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- How quickly can you supply a rainwater harvesting system?
As soon as your funds are cleared.
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- What are SUDS?
SUDS stand for Sustainable Drainage Systems and are the new guidelines (soon to be mandatory) for drainage. Please see SUDS page.
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- Why should I buy a rainwater harvester from OASIS?
OASIS is a family company which was established in 1993. We have over 100 years combined experience of fitting underground tanks and the younger generation are passionate about rainwater harvesting and its development in the UK. All our work is guaranteed and our tanks have the longest warranty of any tank sold in the UK. We supply only top quality equipment and are only a phone-call away at all times, including evenings, weekends and even Christmas Day, should you have a question, query or problem. Initail surveys are FREE within 100 miles of York. Design is FREE. We pride ourselves on our customer care and try to give the best advice we can - advice that we would give to ourselves.
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