Talk:Rainwater harvesting in the United Kingdom

Possible references for the article
After some intense Googling, I've begun to compile a list of articles which seem to be suitable for a UK-specific article on rainwater harvesting. I'll leave them here both for myself and for others to use in the future.


 * "The Telegraph - Drought: a gardening survival guide for a dry season"
 * "BBC - What's the best way to store rainwater?"
 * "BBC - Water butt sales up in southern England over drought fears"
 * "Waterwise - Rainwater Harvesting"
 * "Centre for Water Systems, University of Exeter - A pilot study into attitudes towards and perceptions of rainwater harvesting in the UK"
 * "FMWorld - Rainwater harvesting"
 * "MTW Research - Rainwater Harvesting Market Research & Analysis Report UK 2008-2012"

If you've done a little research and you're feeling too tired to add it to the article, feel free to dump your links here so that other people can use them. -NorsemanII (talk) 21:28, 1 August 2012 (UTC)

Some additional references:


 * "Cath Hassell - Rainwater Harvesting In The UK A Solution To Increasing Water Shortages?" (PDF)
 * "Cath Hassell - Save Rainwater - Save Money!" (PDF)
 * "Richard Roebuck - Rainwater Harvesting Literature Review" (PDF)
 * "Olympic Delivery Authority - Rainwater harvesting at the Velodrome"
 * "Bristol and Region Archaeological Services - BaRAS Excavations", mentions the unearthing of five 19th-century rainwater tanks in Bristol
 * "University of the West of England, Bristol - Evolution of Building Elements - The Services of Victorian and Edwardian Houses 1850-1914"
 * "Post-Medieval, Industrial and Modern - Water supply, sewerage and drainage", says rainwater was commonly used to wash clothes in the 18th century
 * "Museum of London - The Mikveh", describes a 13th-century bath filled with rainwater (a mikveh to be precise) which was dug up in London
 * "Derbyshire UK - Hartington", describes a 13th-century market center which built meres to store rainwater
 * "Undiscovered Scotland - Housesteads Roman Fort", describes a 2nd-century Roman fort which harvested rainwater
 * "Castles of Wales - Carreg Cennen Castle", mentions rainwater harvesting was used by a 13th-century castle
 * "English Heritage Teacher's Kit - Orford Castle", describes a 12th-century castle which collected rainwater
 * "English Heritage Teacher's Kit - Warkworth Castle", describes another 12th-century castle which collected rainwater

The references to castles and forts using rainwater harvesting might make an interesting addition to the article. The discussion of why and how 18th and 19th century people used rainwater should also be interesting. -NorsemanII (talk) 04:19, 13 August 2012 (UTC)

Unreferenced and non-UK-specific content
The article originally contained a great deal of content which was unreferenced and did not refer to the UK specifically. I've moved that content here for two reasons. First, if anyone finds references for it, they might want to move this content to the main rainwater harvesting page. Second, if anyone finds UK-specific citations to mix with this content, then it might be suitable to return it to the page. I've changed the headers so that all of the original headers are now a subheader of this message. -NorsemanII (talk) 18:12, 14 August 2012 (UTC)

Below ground tanks
Larger systems often use below ground tanks, the advantages of these include;
 * Large tanks do not take up room or ruin aesthetic appeal of a garden.
 * Water stays at a cool, constant temperature underground and there is no exposure to sunlight- this makes bacterial action very unlikely, leaving the water clear and odorless.
 * Underground, the systems are frost protected, so do not need to be emptied when freezing temperatures occur.

Above ground tanks
Large, above ground tanks are best used when water will be used quickly, for example on farms with a large water demand. Leaving the water in above ground tanks exposed to heat and light for elongated periods of time can encourage bacterial growth, discoloration and even health risks.

Delivery methods
Three distinct methods are used to deliver water. All involve pressure sensitive electrical pumps.

Direct feed
The simplest system to install and often the least expensive to purchase. A pump is submersed within the outside tank. As the pump is pressure sensitive, the pump operates whenever a pressure drop is registered. For example when a garden tap is opened, or when a toilet is flushed the pump will start. The pump will switch off when the pressure builds up again within the pipe. If the systems are being used for domestic use, a mains backup device must be installed. This activates should water in the outside tank reach a critical level. The device usually uses a solenoid valve attached to a mains water supply. A float switch within the tank detects when water supplies are depleted, mains water is delivered into the tank.

Rain management units
Rain management units are widely used within Europe in countries such as Germany. The systems are large, wall mounted units containing a non-submersible pump. The system works on a similar principle to a direct feed system, except the water is drawn from the tank into the house. Systems such as this are less common in the UK as they are better situated in houses with basement space as the system makes noise due to the pump whenever water is drawn.

Header tank systems
Many systems in the UK work by pumping water up to a header tank than gravity-feeding appliances such as toilets and washing machines. There are vast benefits to this as should there be a power outage or pump failure the header tank will over ride to mainswater- so toilets will always flush. Many header tank systems use considerably less energy as the pump does not run every time an appliance is used. Electronic level sensors within the header tank mean the pump only runs when the header tank is completely empty.

Rainwater Harvesting for drinking water
Due to the readily accessible drinking water supplies compared to some less developed nations, harvested rainwater is rarely used for drinking in the UK. As the water is classed as nonpotable, the water must be treated and tested, sometimes leading to a costly process compared to using mains water due to comparatively low volumes using the economies of scale principle. Such systems such using UV filtration and reverse osmosis are available for areas where mains water is unavailable.