Whether they begrudge paying regular amounts to the water company, they hate to see a free resource going to waste or they want to make their lives a little greener, many people like the idea of becoming independent of the mains water supply. With it being Water Quality Month we thought we’d take a look at how practical is it to do this and if can you really make significant savings.
The basics
There are a few simple ways that you can start reducing the amount of water you use. Modern toilet flushes, for example, use less water each time, thus cutting your consumption. You can also look at getting a water butt to collect the water which runs off your roof and use it to water the garden.
Although rainwater can’t be used for drinking, if you can collect enough of it, it can be used for tasks like flushing the toilet, thus cutting the amount of clean mains water you use. It is possible to get filtration or chemical treatment systems that can clean up rain water and make it drinkable. However, you’re getting into pretty serious territory here, and it might actually be cheaper to buy your drinking water in bottles.
Out of town
If you live in the countryside, you might be lucky enough to have access to a well or a spring from which you can source your water. You need to consider carefully what will be required in terms of pipes, pumps and so on to bring the water into your home. This also requires consideration of what will happen in the winter months. Do the pipes need to be protected so they don’t freeze, for example? And of course, you also need to think about how you’re going to dispose of waste water.
Disposing with waste water pump
Disposing of the wastewater is in many ways a more difficult task than exploiting free alternative sources of water. Again, if you’re in the countryside, you may be independent of the main sewer system thanks to something like a septic tank.
You may still need to have a waste water pump in order to remove water from where it’s not needed, especially if gravity won’t do the job for you. Note that for waste water you need a specific type of pump that is able to cope with contaminant particles without getting clogged up.
Of course, if you want to be truly eco-friendly, you might want to consider whether you can power the pump using solar- or wind-generated energy.
It’s not easy being green
There’s a lot to consider if you’re thinking about becoming independent of the mains water supply. Yes, there are advantages in terms of freedom, ongoing costs and being kinder to the environment. On the other hand, you need to think carefully about the practicalities of going ‘off-grid’, as well as the costs and complexities of setting up your own water systems. Going completely independent is a big undertaking, but there’s a lot you can do to start reducing your dependence on mains water, and much of it is relatively straightforward.
Find out more about waste water pumps and start your journey to being water independent.
