subject: Main Benefits And Advantages Of Recycling Rainwater [print this page] Rainwater harvesting is fairly alien to most people living in the UK. Apart from the odd gardener who collects water in a water butt for keeping his lawn green in the summer, we really don't spend much time thinking about recycling rainwater. Matthew Rolph, who heads up SCP Environmental Ltd is trying to educate people in a way of thinking that has actually been around for thousands of years in human civilisation, but has mostly been forgotten along with the invention of mains water supplies and the sheer convenience that a mains water system provides. That way of thinking revolves around rain harvesting and the organised collection of rainwater in order to protect the environment and save money for consumers and the community.
One of the main benefits of using rainwater harvesting systems, is of course to save money. From a consumer's point of view, rain harvesting is free. Rain falls from the sky and can be collected for use in many different ways. It is clean water that is not taxed and is available for everyone to use. From a larger, community point of view, it costs money to provide a clean supply of water to homes and businesses, and the construction and repair of water pipes and the general infrastructure ultimately costs the tax-payer money. The more people that can use recycled rainwater for their water needs, the less mains water that needs to be supplied. This means less strain on the system, and less energy is used. You may be thinking that the water company will produce the same amount of clean water regardless, but if rain harvesting is taken up by enough people, then it will make a difference and ultimately the water boards will be able to reduce costs, and could in turn pass those savings on to consumers.
The other advantages for rain harvesting are in obvious environmental issues. Energy is needed by water boards to purify and sanitise water to make it suitable for mains water supplies. In addition, chemicals are also used to purify water supplies to make water fit for human consumption. Some of these chemicals find their way in concentrated form into the environment, which can be harmful for birds, animals and plants. The more we can use recycled rainwater and the more we manage to save mains water, the less energy we ultimately expend, and the less chemicals are needed.
