Rainwater Harvesting System in a large school building

Rainwater Harvesting Systems

Rainwater Harvesting Systems provide a sustainable water supply through the process of collecting, filtering, and reusing reclaimed rainwater from the roof area of a building. Rainwater Harvesting Systems are also considered an effective Sustainable Urban Drainage (SUDs) solution to mitigate localised flood risk.

The importance of Rainwater Harvesting Systems is growing as the National Infrastructure Committee announced that the UK would need 4 billion litres of additional water per day by 2050.

Stormsaver Rainwater Harvesting Systems are designed, built, and tested by our team here in the UK meaning all our solutions are tailored to your bespoke site requirements.

See our solutions below.

Rainwater harvesting diagram showing an above ground tank with controls next to a building

Commercial Rainwater Harvesting Systems

Commercial Rainwater Harvesting Systems are designed to provide a sustainable, non-potable water supply to multiple points of use. Commercial Rainwater Harvesting Systems are an ideal water reuse solution for buildings with a high occupancy and a large roof area, including hospitals, schools, universities, offices, student accommodation and many other building types. Learn more here.

rainwater harvesting for housing developments

Community Rainwater Harvesting Systems

Community Rainwater Harvesting Systems collect and reuse reclaimed rainwater from multiple homes within a housing development. Reclaimed rainwater can provide a sustainable water supply to toilets, washing machines, and garden taps. Community Rainwater Harvesting collects from multiple roof areas and is channelled into a central water storage tank which also counts towards mandatory on-site attenuation capacity. Find out more about how Community Rainwater Harvesting Systems work here.

A rainwater harvesting diagram. water being collected into a central tank and feeding recycled water in the building.

Retrofit Rainwater Harvesting Systems

Retrofit Rainwater Harvesting Systems to are designed to improve water efficiency within existing buildings. There is a common misconception that retrofitting a rainwater harvesting system within an existing building is too complex and costly, yet this is not always the case. Find out more here.

a control unit of a rainwater harvesting system

Added Value Options - Rainwater Harvesting

Looking for additional filteration, UV disinfection, installation services, or monitoring units for rainwater harvesting on your project? Our added value features are designed with over two decades of experience in the water reuse industry. Discover more information and view technical data sheets here.

How Rainwater Harvesting Systems Work Video

Useful information for rainwater harvesting systems

Rainwater harvesting systems come in many shapes and sizes depending on the building type. Commercial, community, and retrofit systems are just some of the types of buildings where Stormsaver can help provide a rainwater harvesting solution. We have extensive experience in providing bespoke, UK-manufactured systems for many high-profile buildings around the UK. Below is some useful information about rainwater harvesting systems that will help to achieve optimum water savings on your project.

Roof Requirements

Rainwater harvesting systems can be used to collect rainfall from many types of roof surface materials. Materials including, slate tiles, clay tiles, concrete tiles, metal sheeting, and rubber materials are all ideal roof materials to collect rainwater from. Rainfall can also be collected from planted roof areas; however, collection yield will be lower, and a dye system may be required to prevent discoloration.

Guttering Requirements

Standard downpipes or siphonic drainage can be used for delivering rainwater from the surface of the roof to the main storage tank. Buildings utilising siphonic drainage will need to break the siphon prior to rainwater entering the main storage tank. It is recommended that leaf guards be used on the collecting down pipes as an additional layer of filtration to prevent larger roof debris from entering the rainwater harvesting system. Rainwater harvesting systems operate best when they are collected from a roof surface only; therefore, sealed gullies at ground level should also be used to prevent surface water contamination from entering the rainwater harvesting system.

Storage Requirements

Rainwater harvesting systems can be supplied with an above or below-ground storage tank. Tanks can be supplied as a single-piece or sectional tank where multiple components are connected to create one large tank. Stormsaver calculates the size of the main storage tank of a rainwater harvesting system based on 18 days of storage in accordance with the British Standard for rainwater harvesting (BS EN 16941:2018). Larger, non-pressurised rainwater harvesting systems also include a secondary break tank which is sized based on the hourly demand of the building to provide a failsafe water supply in the event of a failure.