What’s rainwater harvesting and why is it important? We aim to answer those two central questions in this article, detailing the big benefits of harvesting rainwater at home, both to your bank account and the environment.
Firstly, let’s explain what rainwater harvesting actually is. Put simply, it is the collection, storage and use of natural rainwater that lands on your property, often for domestic purposes. There are various forms of rainwater collection and rainwater storage, both of which combine to provide a free valuable resource to homeowners around the UK. The stored rainwater can be used for many tasks around the house, from washing clothes and toilet flushing to outdoor activities like cleaning cars and watering the garden. These days, rainwater harvesting is becoming more and more popular, as the benefits of collecting rainwater become more well-known.
Now you understand the basic of rainwater harvesting, we’ll delve into the reasons why you should consider rainwater harvesting for your home.
Why Collect Rainwater?
The primary reason to collect rainwater is to reduce your reliance on the mains water supply. By harvesting rainwater, you can conserve water, especially during dry periods. This can help alleviate pressure on water resources and reduce your water bills. The harvested rainwater will be a big benefit to your home if droughts become more regular, as scientists predict.
Reasons for Rainwater Harvesting
Let’s now take a more detailed look into what we believe are the top 5 reasons why rainwater harvesting is important and should be a part of your home ecosystem.
1: Water Conservation
Rainwater harvesting is an effective way to conserve water, particularly in regions with water scarcity, which are likely to become more commonplace in the UK and around the world. By collecting rainwater yourself, you can reduce your reliance on local water supplies, helping to preserve this precious resource for generations to come.
2: Reduced Water Bills
All utility bills seems to be going up and up and up at the moment, so homeowners everywhere are looking at ways to conserve their utility usage. By using rainwater for non-potable purposes like watering plants and flushing toilets, you can significantly reduce your water bills. This is one of the big benefits of collecting rainwater as it can lead to substantial cost savings over time.
3: Great Water Quality
Rainwater is naturally soft and free from chlorine and other chemicals that are put into our mains water supply to treat it and make it safe for human consumption. Rainwater is actually better for your plants, often improving their health and aiding growth, while the soft rainwater can also benefit your household appliances long term.
4: Environmental Benefits
Rainwater harvesting also helps reduce stormwater runoff, which can lead to erosion of the earth and pollution of local waterways. By capturing even just a relatively small amount rainwater, you can help protect your local environment and improve the quality of the water in streams, rivers and lakes which marine wildlife rely on.
5: Increased Self-Sufficiency
In the modern age, we are all looking for ways to increase self-sufficiency as traditional streams of resource become less certain. Rainwater harvesting will increase your home’s self-sufficiency, making you less reliant on these external water sources. This can be particularly beneficial in areas with unreliable water supplies, areas of potential conflict or simply anywhere during water shortages.
Why Rainwater Harvesting is Good for the Environment
As we all become more and more aware of the climate crisis and how we are affecting the environment, any way we can find to help the environment should be encouraged. Rainwater harvesting is a sustainable practice that has numerous environmental benefits, which one of the biggest reasons why rainwater harvesting in on the rise. By collecting rainwater, you can:
- Reduce Stormwater Runoff: Stormwater runoff can carry pollutants, such as fertilisers, pesticides, and oil, into waterways. Rainwater harvesting can help reduce this pollution by capturing some excess rainwater before it reaches storm drains. This also carries the benefit of potentially reducing local flooding.
- Conserve Water Resources: By reducing your reliance on mains water supplies, you can help conserve water resources, especially during dry periods which will become more common as global warming continues to take hold. Collecting rainwater reduces your indirect carbon footprint and will increase your environmental sustainability.
- Protect Water Quality: Rainwater is naturally soft and free from chemicals, making it a healthier alternative to treated mains water that comes out of your taps for many purposes. By using rainwater, you can help protect water quality and reduce the amount of chemicals released into the environment.
Why Rainwater Harvesting is Important
To make the importance of rainwater harvesting for our future abundantly clear, let us spell out the four main reasons why rainwater harvesting is important. There are advantages not just for you and your loved ones, but also the wider community and Earth’s environment.
- Water Security: By collecting rainwater, you can ensure a reliable water supply for your home, even during droughts or water shortages. As we have alluded to, all the evidence suggests these shortages will only become more common as the climate warms and populations rise, putting more strain on governments and local councils.
- Cost Savings: While requiring an initial upfront investment, introducing rainwater harvesting onto your property will significantly reduce your water bills, saving you money in the long run.
- Environmental Benefits: As mentioned earlier, rainwater harvesting can help protect the environment by reducing the effects of stormwater runoff and conserving valuable water resources.
- Community Resilience: By adopting rainwater harvesting practices in your home and encouraging friends, family and neighbours to follow suit, communities can become more resilient in the looming face of climate change and more regular water scarcity.
Types of Home Rainwater Harvesting Systems
So now you know why you should invest in rainwater harvesting, let’s discuss some of the ways you can do it, highlighting the various systems and installations you can consider. There are several types of rainwater harvesting systems that can be installed in homes, some are more advanced and so more expensive than others.
- Water Butts: Water butts or rain barrels are simple and affordable systems that collect the rainwater that lands on your roof and store it in a large barrel or butt. They are ideal for small-scale domestic rainwater harvesting and are often used to store water to be used to water plants and gardens. You can find decorative water butts to fit within the overall aesthetic of your garden, many of which are available here at Owls Hall.
- Rainwater Harvesting Systems: Large-scale rainwater harvesting systems collect rainwater from your house garage or shed rooftops and store it in large underground rainwater tanks. This harvested water can be used for a variety of purposes, including flushing toilets, watering lawns, washing clothes and even drinking water, providing it has been properly treated.
- Diversion Systems: You can also find simple diversion systems divert rainwater from the roof gutters and downpipes into specific areas, such as gardens or rain gardens. This can help to reduce stormwater runoff and improve soil moisture. Of course, this method does not give you the opportunity to use the water around your property.
Hopefully by reading this article you will fully understand how by implementing rainwater harvesting at home, you can contribute to a more sustainable future and reduce your environmental impact. We at Owls Hall Environmental specialised in rainwater harvesting solutions. We provide and install state-of-the-art rainwater harvesting systems, plus stylish water butts and rainwater tanks. Buy your rainwater harvesting solution online today or contact us for more details.