Today world, in which we need to make more efficient use of
resources, harvesting rainwater is a reasonable option for solving some
water related issues in both domestic and industrial scale. They are
widely used in homes, farms, public buildings such as schools,
hospitals, and hotels and many other facilities.
As urban life
develops, the need for treated water increases, and so do the costs. In
urban water supply systems, all water has to be treated to drinking
water quality but only 1% of water consumption is used for drinking. In
Ireland, daily water consumption rate per person is 148 litres. However,
only 67 litres of this is used for personal hygiene and nutritional
consumption. This means that approximately 80 litres of water per person
on a daily basis do not need to be high quality. For other purposes
such as watering plants, toilet flushing, cleaning or even carwash, rain
water harvesting can be a good, cheap, and environment friendly
solution.
What is the idea behind rainwater harvesting
systems?
It is simply “gathering rain water in a tank” in
its traditional meaning. Today, rain harvesting systems are much more
efficient with the addition of a couple of elements, such as pressure
vessels, pumps and filters. A typical rainwater harvesting system has
the following elements:
- Water catch surface: this is the main element where water is caught,
the starting point of the system. - Channels: to transport water from catching surface to storage tank.
- Filters: these are used to filter particles in rainwater.
- Pumps and pressure vessels: to pressurise water and keep water
pressurised. - Water storage tank: this is the tank where ready-to-use water is
stored. - Piping system: to transport water to the points of consumption.
Although rainwater generally contains less minerals because of the
air pollutants that may dissolve in rainwater, harvested rainwater
should be further treated if it is intended to be used as drinking
water.
How much can you save using rainwater harvesting
systems?
The answer to this question depends on where
you live, i.e. how much rain falls annually, the area of your water
catch surface and your water consumption. However, to make a rough
estimation, you can save EUR1 for each square meter of your horizontal
water catch surface annually. Rainwater harvesting systems are
considered to have a high payback and they generally pay for themselves
in a few years. After that, the more rain means the more you save. On
the other hand, if rainwater harvesting becomes more common there will
also be a reduction in national costs for water treatment. Thus, it can
be concluded that rainwater harvesting contributes to not only
individual utility costs but also national treatment costs, which is a
cost item for taxpayers. For the time being, average price for public
water is less than EUR2 for each cubic meter, but it is estimated that
it will increase to Europe average, i.e. approximately EUR4. Studies
show that, a saving of EUR154 million could be made from water treatment
costs if all Irish household harvested rainwater effectively. These
figures explicitly show the potential of rainwater harvesting to
contribute to budgets both individually and on a national basis.
Installation
and Maintenance of rainwater harvesting systems
Rainwater
harvesting systems should be installed by an expert plumber. Systems
are designed to occupy minimum space especially in your garden. For this
purpose, underground tanks are used. The pipe system is connected to
the intended points of use. Pressurizing and pressure maintaining
elements in the systems allow you to have constant water pressure in
your rainwater pipe system. Rainwater harvesting system elements are
made of durable materials and have a simple technical structure. These
two features result in minimum maintenance requirements for the overall
system. You may only need to clean filters from time to time and maybe
some infrequent maintenance may be required for pumps.
If you want
to start making use of free water, you can contact Futura Energy for
its rainwater
harvesting solutions.
Tags: Harvester