Rainwater Harvesting For Schools Can Save Serious Money

by Matthew Rolph⁽¹⁾
http://www.scpenvironmental.co.uk

One of the sectors that is quickly becoming interested in the concept of all types of energy reduction and eco-friendly systems such as solar power and rainwater harvesting is the education sector. Schools and colleges use a great deal of water from the mains, especially large schools with over a thousand students. With this amount of students, teachers and support staff on site, schools and colleges have noticed that the costs involved to just provide flushing toilets has increased exponentially over the last few years. This is why using a system to provide recycled rainwater could be a solution that allows schools and colleges to save money and utilise this revenue somewhere else.

One of the advantages of running a large school or college is that there are likely to be many buildings, and that in turn increases the total roof area. A large total roof surface means a large catchment area, that rainwater can be effectively and efficiently harvested from, and that in turn can provide enough recycled water to supply the entire school. In dry summer months, when rainfall is at it's lowest, water supplies can easily be supplemented with mains water, and any rain harvesting system for a school will incorporate a backup system that can be put into place so that mains water is only used when the recycled rainwater level is low. The system can also be overridden so that water can be taken directly from the mains if necessary.

The system employed for schools and colleges will include large underground storage tanks that allow for considerable water storage. Being underground they are totally safe and impossible for students to access. These water storage tanks can be fed by downpipes leading from the surrounding buildings and other catchment areas, and it will be surprising how much rainwater harvesting you can gain from just a small area. As well as roofs, other areas can be used for rainwater harvesting, although some areas such as paved areas are unsuitable as bird and animal faeces can easily contaminate them.

Once your rain harvesting tanks are in place and full you can then begin to use your recycled rainwater to supply external taps, flush toilets, and supply water for other cleaning tasks. You'll find the savings to your budget and to the environment is considerable, in addition saving mains water can only be a good thing, especially in the summer when hosepipe bans are in place in the community.

Matthew Rolph is Managing Director of SCP Environmental Ltd who specialise in rainwater harvesting. Matthew Rolph wants everyone to be aware of the benefits that rainwater harvesting provides. Visit www.scpenvironmental.co.uk to see how you can benefit from this and help our natural environment.

Article submitted Monday, January 09, 2012 & read 3 times.

Leave your comments through Blogz:

No comments yet.

1-0-0-0-2-ADSO

Most Recent