Do our water butts contribute to the water shortage

[lottie dolly]

Now, ..after I have consumed the water which the Water Company has kindly loaned to me, how and where would they like me to return it??

Answers on a Postcard only please to you local Water Co.

a-a

you can put some on your compost heap and water the lawn after a bath ext,then there is the other thread on here about humanure ,we could do with a laughing smiley,

[quark1]

I would say absolutely NO to the question posed.

Most water butts either harvest the rainwater drained from gutters or that which falls and is channelled into storage.

The main reason we have water shortages is the fact that so many water companies in the South especialy have sold off reservoirs etc for developers to build upon. So hey-ho you have a house built on a natural flood plains - what numpty sanctioned that or should I say how much was the backhander in pounds/euros/dollars - sorry to get on the political but its true Thames Water (at least) has sold reservoir land to housing developers.

You also have the option for 'grey' water (baths etc) to irrigate and probably have some insect repellent as a bonus from the soapy quality!

My fave tip to save water in drought conds is to have a number of bottles of water in the fridge to disregard the run-off to cooler water when drawing for a simple glass of water.

[Potstubsdustbins]

I hate to tell you this but as stupid as its sounds the water companies do own the water.

A farmer whose land I used to shoot over was charged water rates for extracting water from his own private well. The farm house was listed in the Doomsday Book so we can assume the well had been there for some time.

There is in fact no shortage of water it is the greatest recycler ever. There is however a shortage of treated water fit for consumption.

Two of the biggest problems are bog flushing (old bog 2 gallons per flush, new bog 6ltrs per flush). And leaks 20% of all treated water is lost to leaks on the ancient infra structure and a whole lot more to leaks on customers property. If you have a warning pipe (overflow) running don't complain about the lack of water.

As to our water butts exacerbating the problem then the answer is no. The butts are only for temporary storage, when the water is used it will either (a) evaporate and recycle or (b) sink down to the aquifer and recycle.

Colin

[BarleySugar]

If the water that falls on my roof belongs to the water company, why do they charge me for it going down their drains?

(According to my bill, part of the charge is allocated for the purpose of collecting run off water from my property, even though I do have 2 water butts, and therefore do not utilise this facility to it's full extent)

[Potstubsdustbins]

I am not sure whether it becomes their property before it hits the ground, but as above for sure once its there it does belong to them. Thats why you can't extract water from a well in your garden unless you pay rates. More so if you are on a water meter.

Colin

[taff]

I would ask them to tell the rain that it belongs to them and to herd it off my property then. If they can't, it's not.

How ridiculous. No one owns the ocean or the mountains, how can they own water? Fools......

[Potstubsdustbins]

Didn't say it was sensible or even logical or even right. Its is just water authority by-laws and some of those go back to before even I was born and thats a long long time.

Colin

[Bigmallly]

If the water that falls on my roof belongs to the water company, why do they charge me for it going down their drains?

(According to my bill, part of the charge is allocated for the purpose of collecting run off water from my property, even though I do have 2 water butts, and therefore do not utilise this facility to it's full extent)

I'm sure that if you can get a rebate if you collect ALL of your rainwater from your gutters into Butts/Containers without any going into the drains. I had 8 butts set up but because they were connected by rain diverters to the drain pipe, the overflow went down the drain, hence no rebate.

[SarzWix]

My dad's water supply is from a spring on his property and he doesn't pay anyone for it... Well, except for the dudes who put the filtration system in.

[veggiechicken]

I've always had a water meter, ever since they were first introduced. Less bedrooms than people = money saved on your water rates. Plus you are charged for amount of water used + a slightly less amount of water (90%?) which is regarded as sewerage charges.
So, if you reduce the amount of water that you use in the house, you save twice over. In the rebuild of my cottage I had an underground rainwater tank installed to flush the toilets. The water authority cannot measure this water through the meter, so it enters the sewerage system "free of charge".
Win win all the way for me!

[bazzaboy]

I thought the current “understanding” (not sure if it’s actually “rule of law”) in the UK (pos with variations) is that rain becomes the property of the Water Authority once it touches the ground and becomes part of the local water table (which is probably why PTDB’s friend pays for his well)? If you effectively delay rain reaching the ground by temporary collection off roofs and storage in butts and tanks (and as VC’s example suggests, architects increasingly into “water harvesting”) I thought the Water Authority didn't own it until used in a manner whereby it does touch the ground (e.g. watering crops). However, depending how you’re storing and using it, it may come under different legislation (e.g. if using for drinking water, water for farmed animals etc).

I imagine current water shortages, climate change, threatened drought etc might well cause some of this to be modified in law (as already happening in several US States) so we might need to be on our guard regarding any future proposals.....

[Two_Sheds]

the water that falls belongs to our water companies

In Utah you need a licence for a water butt: Collecting rainwater now illegal in many states as Big Government claims ownership over our water

There is in fact no shortage of water it is the greatest recycler ever. There is however a shortage of treated water fit for consumption.

There is a lack of rainfall in the south-east, exacerbated by over-population and over-consumption. Rivers & streams are drying up, but water still comes out of the taps...

Two of the biggest problems are bog flushing (old bog 2 gallons per flush, new bog 6ltrs per flush).

Agreed. Composting toilet: zero water. Even putting just your wee on the compost heap saves flush water and is great for the heap.

If the water that falls on my roof belongs to the water company, why do they charge me for it going down their drains?

They're charging you for them having to treat it again: filtering, bleaching etc.

I'm sure that if you can get a rebate if you collect ALL of your rainwater

"Those most likely to qualify for a rebate are people who use their water to fill swimming pools or ponds, or who use large amounts on their gardens. Provided they can prove that the water they use does not go down the drain, they can apply for a special exemption from their sewerage bill."
Sewerage bill rebate could prompt compensation claims - Telegraph

More info here: https://www.thameswater.co.uk/cps/rd...hs.xsl/566.htm

[salome2001]

In Utah you need a licence for a water butt: Collecting rainwater now illegal in many states as Big Government claims ownership over our water

"Those most likely to qualify for a rebate are people who use their water to fill swimming pools or ponds, or who use large amounts on their gardens. Provided they can prove that the water they use does not go down the drain, they can apply for a special exemption from their sewerage bill."
Sewerage bill rebate could prompt compensation claims - Telegraph

More info here: https://www.thameswater.co.uk/cps/rd...hs.xsl/566.htm

Now THAT makes sense!!!! Those who use massively more amounts of (non-metered) water than your average (non-pool etc) house get a REBATE ???

With regards to the OP, surely them minuscule percentage of rainfall that ends up in water butts is insignificant. Saying that it contributes to a water shortage is like saying that emptying a bucket of rainwater into the ocean will cause a salinity crisis.

Maybe we should be looking to countries that have real droughts, ie, caused by no rainfall, rather than infrastructural stupidity. Like Australia. Where the government has been subsidising people to install waterbutts- we are talking 2000-10000 litre containers- to save their own rainwater. Where you are not allowed to use hosepipes at all, including to wash the car (commercial car washes use recycled water), "grey" water is routinely used to water the garden, people grow appropriate native plants in their gardens... and this is NORMAL.

(and everyone gets obsessed with the levels in the reserviours!!)

[snuffer]

Just down the road from me, water is pouring from a leaking water main. Severn Trent are aware of the problem but, as yet, have done nothing about it. Hundreds of gallons of good clean drinking water going to waste and they want to limit my time in the shower.

They don't realise I'm a big guy with a greater surface area, than most, to wash. I need more than the prescribed four minutes.

[veggiechicken]

I have an idea for a water saving device. Its a big waterproof bag - I'll call it a Body bag!!. When you want an all over wash you step inside the bag and pull it up to your neck. Its attached to the shower hose so the bag fills up with the minimum amount of water needed to cover your body. The flow of water switches off automatically when it reaches neck level. You can splosh around as long as you like inside your bag but no more water can come in. A foot operated switch opens an outlet in the bag, the water runs away into an outside storage butt for use on the garden, or you can step out of the bag, refasten the top and use the water to flush the loo by connecting it to the cistern.
Dragons Den, anyone?