Save the rain for a sunny day!
18 May 2007
Greener living is all about embracing nature, but nature can be hard to embrace when it’s pouring down with rain outside. However, even rainwater is a valuable resource and there are many interesting ways to put it to good use in the household which also help support a healthy environment.
The best way to make use of rainwater in this country is to put a water butt or two on your downpipe (from your roof guttering) and save the water for use in the garden. The equipment needed is inexpensive and can be bought from a DIY store. Climate change will bring with it hotter drier summers and wetter winters, so there is good reason for saving water like this earlier in the year before the hosepipe bans begin.
Did it ever strike you as wasteful that water purified to drinking quality standards (with an awful lot of energy used in the process) should be used to flush to toilet? Up to 1/3 of household water is wasted in this way. There are some fascinating systems which collect rainwater from the roof for toilet flushing and clothes washing, and sophisticated systems can even purify it for the bath or shower. Whether this is cost effective for you will depend on whether you have a water meter, how big your roof area is, local water charges, and whether you're building a new house or adapting an existing one. The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) can provide more information.
Flooding is made worse when heavy rain runs straight off the land and into drains and rivers all at once. Finding different ways to slow down that run-off, for example by storing rainwater, helps lower the risk of flooding.
But how can saving water be important in rainy Britain! Water is essential for all living things and its scarcer than you would think, in fact we have much less per person per year than France or Spain. Tap water comes from the river system or ground water and the more we take out, the more stress is put on watery habitats like ponds, rivers and streams. Fish, birds, and other wildlife rely on these and struggle to survive when they dry up or run low.
There are many ways of saving water, but one of the easiest is to put a litre bottle of water (sealed) in your toilet cistern. This will save a litre every time you flush.
For information on rainwater harvesting:
CAT 01654 705950 www.cat.org.uk; www.ecozi.com; www.freerain.co.uk
More water saving tips at www.stwater.co.uk