DIY Rainwater Harvesting ?

[andymet87]

Hi all,

We are just about to start work on extending and renovating our cottage that dates from 1780... We're doing everything including replacing the floor slab so can do some relatively major stuff without it being an absolute nuisance...

We have a brick well in the garden a few meters from the house, I call it a well but it was originally built a couple of hundred years ago to store water, it is domed at the top and probably has a good 2m+ diameter. The gutters from the cottage drain into it. Originally water was probably extracted using a bucket and later a hand pump was added. The principle purpose was apparently to provide water for the livestock that lived on the land.

We haven't yet tested how deep it is but we think it is about 5m deep...

I'm wondering if there is a way I can use this stored water in the house for flushing toilets and/or anything else... and whether it would be cost effective to do so.

My initial idea is to do the following:

• get a pump sat near the bottom of the well/store
• have a water storage tank in the loft
• gravity feed to toilets & ?????

I'm aware that this approach wouldn't have any filters installed but is that an issue? Moreover am I just making life complicated for very little reward (in terms of reduced water bills) considering the cost of electricity to power the pump?

All thoughts would be gratefully received. Thanks in advance.

 

[big-all]

round here [surrey]water about £2 a ton or 1000L so 500 for £1 ' 50=10p or 5Lper penny or spend a penny when you spend a penny

 

[andymet87]

I'm in Sussex with South East Water... It's a shame as I don't think it will economically viable, especially given the pump would need to send water up 10m+ to get to the top of the house from the bottom of the well.

 

[RichA]

Would it be possible top feed the tank from the rain/gutter/downpipes without going via the well? e.g. with an off-shoot like used for a water butt.

 

[big-all]

i wash my hands into a bowl in the sink and fill the toilet cistern with it not to save money but because it gauls me flushing the toilet with fresh clean drinking water whilst others in the world are dying from "bad " water

not every decision is financial

 

[bernardgreen]

Containers for harvesting rain water can be above ground level reducing the power required for pumping water up to a loft tank and gravity will take water to irrigat the garden when necessary.

Maybe divert the roof drainage into containers above ground level and revive the well. It may well be that the well water is drinkable while roof drainage is not.

 

[andymet87]

Would it be possible top feed the tank from the rain/gutter/downpipes without going via the well? e.g. with an off-shoot like used for a water butt.

Afraid not - the style of the house means the gutters are lower than head height upstairs....

i wash my hands into a bowl in the sink and fill the toilet cistern with it not to save money but because it gauls me flushing the toilet with fresh clean drinking water whilst others in the world are dying from "bad " water. not every decision is financial

Thanks for the input and I get your point but I'm afraid I won't be doing this... not appropriate for a modern family home. Me exploring whether I can do this is for the same reason (not wanting to waste water), but at the end of the day it must make financial sense too...

 

[andymet87]

Containers for harvesting rain water can be above ground level reducing the power required for pumping water up to a loft tank and gravity will take water to irrigat the garden when necessary. Maybe divert the roof drainage into containers above ground level and revive the well. It may well be that the well water is drinkable while roof drainage is not.

Good thought but limited/no space for any alternate storage. I think I've got to use the well or it's a non-starter...

 

[muggles]

If you value saving the planet over saving money then rainwater harvesting is the way to go. It's never going to pay for itself

 

[boringoldcodger]

The Centre for Alternative Technology (in Machynlleth, Wales) reckons that it's pretty difficult to justify rainwater harvesting to flush domestic toilets:
http://info.cat.org.uk/questions/water-and-sewage/can-i-flush-my-toilet-rainwater

Cheers, Graham

 

[dilalio]

We worked on a house that had rainwater harvesting for the toilets. I only worked on the wc end of the install so didn't get fully involved but they had a system which sent water direct to the cisterns rather than via a secondary storage such as your tank in the loft. I can find out more about it but there was also scope to switch over to mains water when the 'well' was dry and also to divert over-supply when it was full and still being fed by ground water. There's also the chance of dirty water in the bowls, even with filters... Not sure what effect this can have on inlet diaphragms and flush valves!

 

[Agile]

If you have a solar panel and a battery then you can generate your electricity to power the pump.

The loft tank can be supplied through a float switch to power the pump. That still needs to be protected against dry running by a pressure switch on the output so it locks out if powered and no output pressure.

Then a mains supplied float valve connected so the float only operates when the tank level is very low.

So it will not be justified on account of the actual saving but a nice feeling to use the rain water.

I have a similar but internal tank under the kitchen in my 1890 terrace. About 2000 mm deep and 1200 mm diameter. Used to be hand pumped for washing and toilet flushing with a bucket. Old lady who lived next door told me about it. Drinking water from horse drawn bowser.

Tony