Water Saving

A slimline water butt

A water butt is simply a method of collecting water from a roof via a gutter. Rain water that falls onto a roof runs down the slope into a drain/ gutter and then into a down-pipe. The down pipe usually drains straight into a main drainage system or a soak-away underground. A water butt with added diverter takes the water from the down-pipe and then stores it for use on the garden.

What’s the point in installing a water butt? Well, the idea is pretty simple really. In the UK (and other countries worldwide), we’re charged by the volume of water we consume through the tap. Water we receive through the mains has been treated with Chlorine and filtered to remove pathogens as well as sediment. That’s why it’s so clean and we’re charged by the volume we consume. The network of pipes and treatment plants throughout your country need to be maintained and some of this is charged back to each of us. On that basis, by installing a water butt, we’re reducing the cost of our homes.

There’s another reason for using water butts for storing water. As an alternative to using tap water on garden plants, rain water has the added benefit of nutrients that would otherwise have been removed at the treatment plant. The addition of water butts at the base of down-pipes where there is a high density of housing can help prevent localized flooding where drainage may be inadequate for heavy rain.

Water Butts Available:

Slim line Water Butts:

These offer a great solution where space is limited around a down-pipe. They usually come with the addition of a diverter. Slim line water storage containers are limited in size

though and usually hold about 100 liters.

Child Proof Water Butts:

Child Proof versions of the water butt have safety lids so that your child can’t get inside it and (as you’d expect) injure him or her self. They are sometimes available with a stand as well. As with the slim line water buut, these are simply hooked up to the down pipe of your gutter.

Down pipe Connector:

The down pipe connector is inserted into the line of the down pipe from your gutter. You’ll need a saw to cut your down pipe in two, taking out a section of the pipe about 100mm

A downpipe Divertor

high. Into this gap, you insert the diverter and attach a flexible hose between that and the top rear of your water butt. Water running down the inside face of the down pipe is then caught by the lip that is formed by inserting the divert or. This then channels the water into the pipe running into your water butt. If it rains too hard, the water will gush down your down pipe and not be caught by the diverter, in turn preventing overflow of your storage system.

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