Rainwater Harvesting

Rainwater Harvesting - collection diagram Rainwater Harvesting is slowly gaining in popularity in Ireland.

Although we are blessed with a lot of rainfall and in most years there are no water shortages it would make economic sense to use our abundant rainwater to flush toilets, shower or to water gardens, rather then let is wash away while expensive purified water is used for these purposes.

According to the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, each person in Ireland uses an average of 150 litres of water per day, 45 litres of this is used to flush the toilet.

A small office with 10 employees can use up to 108,000 litres of drinking water per year to flush the toilet!

As it costs €2.07 per m3 to treat water in Ireland (€1.06 per m3 for water supplied and €1.01 per m3 for wastewater discharged), saving purified water for drinking purposes would provide a lot of savings for the cash-strapped Irish economy.

Although water is still supplied for free in Ireland, the plans to introduce charges are in place and many homes have already had water meters installed.

Benefits of Installing a Rainwater Harvesting System

Benefits of rainwater harvesting:

Can save up to 85% mains water usage for commercial buildings
Reduces water bills*
Increases sustainable water use
Adds value to property
Payback can be as little as 3 years
Low maintenance
Soft rainwater creates no limescale
Rainwater best for landscape irrigation
May offer a storm water management solution

*All non‐domestic water users in Ireland pay water rates. Rates are calculated on usage which is monitored via a water meter installed on the property.

Watertech – Rainwater Harvesting Systems Installation Services

Rainwater Harvesting systems can range from simple tanks to state of the art system where the rainwater can be brought up to drinking water standards which is very useful where no local authority water main exists or where well water is difficult to access.