Water harvesting

[Bill HH]

Do we actualy know the savings we make by harvesting water?
Cost is not the only consideration of course, many believe rain water is better for our plants.

I have done some very rough calculations on the back of a fag packet as it were.

Southwest water say 1000ltr of water including the cost of sewerage removal is roughly £5 (I remember when it was 68p).

So a 250 ltr butt saves you £1.25 before the costs of downpipes and the butt itself.

A 250 ltr butt is about £30 and the water downpipes depend on your situation, but say £10.

So before you save a penny you have to have saved 32 Butts full.

I have to wonder if that £40 couldnt have been better spent on other things.

There are other considerations of course, on an allotment you could be exempt from the sewerage charge. You could be getting much cheaper storage vessels etc. Your water may be cheaper Southwest is the dearest of all.

[TrialAndError]

Good observations and thanks for the calculations - impressive work!

For me and my fellow allotmenteerers though there is another element to be taken into account. Total lack of supply unless we capture it ourselves. I don't know how many allotments are in the same situation however but ours has no water supply unless we collect it ourselves.

That doesn't detract from the very valid observations you make, just our particular situation.

[Potstubsdustbins]

For me it's not to do with cost (I am not on a meter) but the need for rainwater for my blueberries.

Potty

[veggiechicken]

For me, its a matter of principle. Why let water be treated then use it on plants. Same argument about flushing loos with treated water. Its an unnecessary waste of resources.........and I'm on a meter so I'm not paying for watering the garden.
I have a couple of bought water butts but also use blue barrels and anything that I can scrounge. All the pipe work has been done using pre-used pipes.

[fishermann]

The Carnivorous plants I have in the greenhouse need rainwater, the tap water where I live is so hard you could knock nails in with it.

We are also on a meter, why pay to water the garden when you can collect it free of charge.

Dave

[Bren In Pots]

We've not a meter but I still save all the water I can, its like recycling, or collecting leaves it's all part of doing your bit.

[Bigmallly]

If I'm not mistaken, I don't think Bill is against collecting or recycling water. He is just comparing the cost of using tap water to collected water assuming Butts & Piping have to be bought.

[veggiechicken]

A cubic metre (water and sewerage) in Wales is about £3 and the council sell water butts for £20 so, on the back of an envelope, that about 30 fills of a water butt @75p saving per butt - but, once you've done that, all the rest is free

[Bill HH]

A cubic metre (water and sewerage) in Wales is about £3 and the council sell water butts for £20 so, on the back of an envelope, that about 30 fills of a water butt @75p saving per butt - but, once you've done that, all the rest is free

I would collect it anyway simply because I think plants do better on it. However we seem to be paying through the nose in the Southwest for mains water. Our council offer cheap Daleks but not water butts which seems strange. Having just installed two butts and a lot of piping, bends etc i was begining to wonder if i would ever see a return on this.

[mothhawk]

I would collect it anyway simply because I think plants do better on it. However we seem to be paying through the nose in the Southwest for mains water. Our council offer cheap Daleks but not water butts which seems strange. Having just installed two butts and a lot of piping, bends etc i was begining to wonder if i would ever see a return on this.

Not really strange when you consider that you recycling green waste saves the council the cost of removal and disposal, while you saving rain-water is no financial gain to them at all. It's the water company that should offer cheap barrels, but then that would reduce their income from water sales, so they have less motive for doing it

[Alison]

It would actually be cheaper for me to use mains water as I'm not on a meter and had to buy butts and pipework but I'd always rather use non-treated water as it's just not right to let wastewater be treated to potable standards when it's totally unnecessary. As somebody above has said, I have no water supply at the plot so have to harvest there anyway.

[solway cropper]

I have 3 butts connected in series so as one fill it then flows into the next one, etc. It still isn't enough to supply all my containers in a hot summer like the last one but it goes a long way. Two of the butts I got cheap from the local council and the other was freebie so I'd say the cost was irrelevant over the years I've had the system. As others say, it's not really about the cost. I prefer not to drown my plants in chlorine, aluminium sulphate and whatever else they put in tap water.

[Shadylane]

I worked out the cost of water a while back as we'd had a drought, our butts were empty and the inlaws' neighbour was making fun of us for filling our jerry can at their house (as they're not on a meter) to take to the plot for the toms. I realised it wasn't worth the hassle considering how much 25 litres cost and also took note of how many times our butts would need to be filled before we started to save cash.

But like everyone has already said, it's more about preserving what comes down from the sky for free and not wasting a natural resource. We don't have a water supply on the plot either, so have to rely on the skies.

[Bill HH]

But of course there is no shortage of water in this country, only a shortage of the means to store it (Resevoirs) due to a lack of investment. Rain that we dont catch is not wasted but ultimately returns to the sea. So there is no ecological argument for saving rain water only cost and preference to use it rather than the potable drinking water. Those reasons may be enough for some. But dont have the illusion that you are conseving valuable resources.

[Alison]

But of course there is no shortage of water in this country, only a shortage of the means to store it (Resevoirs) due to a lack of investment. Rain that we dont catch is not wasted but ultimately returns to the sea. So there is no ecological argument for saving rain water only cost and preference to use it rather than the potable drinking water. Those reasons may be enough for some. But dont have the illusion that you are conseving valuable resources.

I take your point that we don't lose it but there is a very valid environmental reason for saving rain water. It takes a lot of energy to treat water (pumping, dosing, manpower and much more) and the addition of chemicals is gradually having an effect on the water course although not as bad as all the antibiotics etc that get flushed down the loo when people pee them out