Somerset Pumps News

9th January 2011

Somerset Pumps has taken on two new Pump Engineers to join the fast-growing team.

December 2010 - Rainwater Harvesting - Making the most of the world's most precious resource in a time of Climate Change.

We are lucky - and perhaps complacent about our water here in the UK. Our water is somewhat cheaper than in many countries and only 22% of domestic properties are metered. It is a tradition for our European neighbours to laugh at us for our wet summers - and let's face it, 2008, 2009 and 2010 have been just tha!. Yet, believe it or not the UK is classified as having insufficient water.

Because of our population growth and need for more and more housing, that has put an ever increasing demand on our water supplies. Madrid and Istanbul have more water available per person than London.

The latest Environment Agency report warns that Britain’s rivers, which provide 70% of our water, will drop 15% in volume over the next 40 years.

Global warming is accepted now whether man-made or cyclical, and so we must make the best use of our precious water and prevent the situation deteriorating. Householders need to reduce water consumption by a third.

One significant way to do this is Rainwater harvesting or rainwater collection. The Code for Sustainable Homes which came into force in May 2008 actively encourages the installation of rainwater harvesting.

Currently 30 to 50% of the 160 litres of water each person uses a day need not be drinking quality water. Rainwater collection from our own roofs would greatly reduce consumption.

Collecting rainwater also contributes towards avoiding floods. Social housing now has to meet level 3 of this Code, targeting a daily use of only 103 litres per person per day. But whether as a householder or a concerned professional, we can move ahead on our own account without waiting for official rules and regulations.

And whether with a 200 litre water butt to water seedlings or a 10000 litre storage tank linked to the home, we can all maximise our use of rainwater and relieve the water shortage in this country.

A 2003/04 survey of English Housing found that 18,908,000 households have a garden, patio, yard, roof terrace or large balcony: just think how much water we could save if everyone used rainwater!