All the Water from Your Roof

[nightshade]

It intrigues me that modern houses are not built as standard with energy saving or water saving devices
Water is one omission in particular,I can remember seeing films where in the middle of a desert a cave leads to a cistern of cold clear water.
Gibralta is an island with little or no water except what it catches as rainwater and stores in cisterns,so why do we not do it? water butts take up a lot of standing room comperable to what they hold so why not build a simple corrugated metal box and line it with butyl to either fit into an unused space or bury it in the garden this could hold several 1000 ltrs
and although my idea is a little,(ok a lot) simplistic you get the drift this bulk rainwater collection should become standard but no doubt the water companies would want a cut
and the government would tax it
Would it have an overall effect on the enviroment I wonder

[Tormentil]

My MiL used to have a system similar to that on her allotments, many years ago.

[nick_rowe]

It's staggering that roof water collection is not made compulsory for new builds. It's so simple and can provide the default supply for all toilet flushes and garden use, but topped up by mains if needed.
The government should introduce new building regs to cover this asap.

[speckled wood]

Not a new idea, something I read was that when the now long demolished Sheffield Victoria Railway Station was built in the 1850s the rainwater was collected off the roof to flush the toilets.

Truthfully we could save a lot of water by simple measures, saving the bath water to flush the toilets (as done in Japan) is one option.

[nightshade]

I seem to remember seeing on some coastal buildings grooved concrete slabs that collected sea-mist (by condensing it) or rainwater to add to a cistern /resevoir

[nightshade]

The issue of rain water storage is a big issue in Texas and called rainwater harvesting
I found this submarine tank sys.Rainharvesting Systems - Rainsava rainwater storage tanks
on a uk site now that is a lot of water!

[Airehead]

Solar panels likewise.
The snag is, I for one can not afford a new house even without them, and I am sure that both solar panels and water collection with the necessary filtration and goodness knows what other legally enforced safeguards would surely double the price.

Re taxation - my understanding is that once you start using any water source that exists on your property, you pay rates for it.

[glsammy]

We collect our rain water from our small shed,(sorry, my sophisticated bird hide!) This simply falls into two 45 gallon butts. It supplies all our Garden watering needs throughout the year.
As were a semi-detached, we've no down-pipe from our roof, otherwise we'd have a larger butt to get that as well.

[nightshade]

Nothing to stop you adding one

[Wild-Woman]

During the interval at a RSPB meeting the other night, when we had an almighty thunderstorm, we stood in the doorway watching across from the church hall to the church , several of us mentioned about how much water was coming off the church roof. There wasn't a water butt in sight. A member will be mentioning at their next gathering at church. Big roofed buildings like this really ought to be doing something about water harvesting. It's common sense really. Julie

[glsammy]

Originally Posted by nightshade

Nothing to stop you adding one

Not without redesigning the entire roof guttering, and installing the correct soak away for when the butt may be full.
At least our shed collecting system supplies us with all our garden watering needs.
We're on metered water and our overall usage is very low. We saved a huge amount when we changed to metered.

[DL]

I have worked in construction in England, Scotland and Ireland for many years and find that there are many aspects of building regulations/control in England that you would never get away with in other parts of the UK or many other parts of mainland Europe.

This includes issues relating to the sighting, efficency and saftey aspects of buildings.

Stuff rules lets streamline the proccess of chucking lots of them up quickly

[Earth Hart]

Originally Posted by glsammy

Not without redesigning the entire roof guttering, and installing the correct soak away for when the butt may be full.
At least our shed collecting system supplies us with all our garden watering needs.
We're on metered water and our overall usage is very low. We saved a huge amount when we changed to metered.

Some friends of mine have 5 butts, each linked to the other, so when one becomes full the water just gets siphoned into the next butt. To sort your guttering out would cost you about £10 - £20 depending on the length of down pipe needed + gutter and joints. Hope you have a ladder, all thats left is a bit of work.

[Chalk Downlanders]

Originally Posted by nightshade

It intrigues me that modern houses are not built as standard with energy saving or water saving devices

I have strong feelings about this and other similar brilliantly simple ideas. The answer to your question is that most politicians are oooooooooooooooooooooooooo and certainly not worth the oxygen the use up.

[speckled wood]

Originally Posted by Chalk Downlanders

I have strong feelings about this and other similar brilliantly simple ideas. The answer to your question is that most politicians are oooooooooooooooooooooooooo and certainly not worth the oxygen they use up.

I don't know, I think I would throw 50p in the tin for the Beast of Bolsover.

[Chalk Downlanders]

Originally Posted by speckled wood

I don't know, I think I would throw 50p in the tin for the Beast of Bolsover.

?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????

[speckled wood]

Originally Posted by Chalk Downlanders

?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????

MP Dennis Skinner (famed for his farewell comments to Maggie Thatcher).

[speckled wood]

Originally Posted by Airehead

Solar panels likewise.
The snag is, I for one can not afford a new house even without them, and I am sure that both solar panels and water collection with the necessary filtration and goodness knows what other legally enforced safeguards would surely double the price.

Re taxation - my understanding is that once you start using any water source that exists on your property, you pay rates for it.

I understand that there were taxation issues at one time that were related to the perceived "loss of revenue" to the relevant utillity. As I believe that this issue has now to addressed by revised legislation that encourages environmentally friendly options.

[Varan Komodosky]

I was astonished - as a young lad - when I went to live in Germany. The difference between their energy saving and water saving devices and ours where phenomenal! They had double glazing systems - as standard - in their houses and triple glazing in some circumstances. They used solar to heat water. They used auto-off switches in public areas of buildings. Street lighting was reduced on autobahns/major roads after a certain time of night when the traffic fell. I believe it was an offense to drive a heavy goods vehicle on the autobahn at the weekend, although that might be a red herring. This would be the late 70's, at the tail end of the energy crisis.

[nightshade]

If anyone would like to do the math area of the roof etc in relation to the average rainfall
(both sides of the roof)

[Susie]

Originally Posted by nightshade

water butts take up a lot of standing room comperable to what they hold so why not build a simple corrugated metal box and line it with butyl to either fit into an unused space or bury it in the garden this could hold several 1000 ltrs
and although my idea is a little,(ok a lot) simplistic you get the drift this bulk rainwater collection should become standard

I think that is a grand idea, Nightshade. I'm (hopefully) moving to a fairly modern house shortly and the backgarden is fairly small. I don't want to lose space for plants to a large waterbut but your suggestion of an underground tank, to which I could attach a hand pump, for my gardening needs is inspired.

I'm also hoping to get solar panels fitted in time. About half the cost will be covered by grants, and it will take approximately eight to ten years to recoup what we will have to pay out, but it will be worth it.

What are your opinions on wind turbines? I know it is a controversial subject. (apologies if this has been covered in another thread, I have yet to read them all)
_____________________________

Blessed are the cracked, for they let in the light. Blessed are the those who laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.

[Paul mabbott]

No, you're only rated on what you get from the mains

Originally Posted by Airehead

Re taxation - my understanding is that once you start using any water source that exists on your property, you pay rates for it.

[speckled wood]

Originally Posted by Paul mabbott

No, you're only rated on what you get from the mains

I recollect some issues back in the 1970s when the large water utillities were formed and separated from county control, at this time one of my farming relatives who did not have a mains supply (water came from borehole) was billed for the water used on the grounds that the utillity "owned" the water he was pumping from the borehole..

[speckled wood]

Originally Posted by Susie

What are your opinions on wind turbines? I know it is a controversial subject. (apologies if this has been covered in another thread, I have yet to read them all)
_____________________________

Blessed are the cracked, for they let in the light. Blessed are the those who laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.

There will be controversy whatever, we need to separate this issue from those of damge to the natural enviroment and that of "damage" to the view, all too aften we are faced with the "not in my backyard syndrome" rather than any genuine concern for the potential environmental impact.

Locally there are plans for clay extraction and then for waste infill when the clay has been extracted, I could not help but notice how many of the more voiciferous protesters had large 4x4s which occupied the same roadspace as a transit van and had gasguzzling engines of 4.5 litres ie twice the size of the engines in the transits, or how much litter was left behind after the protests, I was also interested to note that some of these same "environmentalists", were also active participants in the fuel protests.

[Paul mabbott]

Yes, that's probably true in some case - if they bored the hole then it's "theirs"! Same, of course, also applies to drainage ditches - the water companies charge for these as well as for sewage and other waste removal. *But* if you save rainwater, that's all yours ....

Originally Posted by speckled wood

I recollect some issues back in the 1970s when the large water utillities were formed and separated from county control, at this time one of my farming relatives who did not have a mains supply (water came from borehole) was billed for the water used on the grounds that the utillity "owned" the water he was pumping from the borehole..