Rainwater Harvesting at Upton, Northampton

Contribution to sustainable development and people’s quality of life:

This projects addresses water-supplies and storm-water management issues on a major eco-friendly housing development underway at Upton, Northampton.  It does so by reducing mains-water consumption by around 40% on 120 homes currently under construction, and by attenuating (storing & re-using) storm-water thus reducing the pressure on the storm-water infrastructure.

Organisation: Freerain Limited

Sector: Private

Location: Collingham, Newark, Nottinghamshire

Start Date: 2006

Duration: 1 year

Summary: The housing development at Upton, Northampton is an exemplar of sustainable development, being the largest and most advanced project of its kind undertaken in the UK to-date.

The Freerain rainwater harvesting system has been specified for 120 houses being constructed by Miller Homes and Cornhill Estates to ensure that these homes meet the sustainability criteria specified for the development.

The systems do so by replacing 40% of mains water consumption with harvested rainwater, and by helping to meet storm-water run-off criteria.

Background: Freerain is one of the leading UK brands for rainwater harvesting systems; our systems are built for cost-effectiveness, ease of installation, and reliability in-service.  From the end-users perspective the systems are virtually maintenance free and indistinguishable from using mains-water for non-potable applications. 

Freerain’s track record includes supply of a wide-range of commercial systems, supply of hundreds of domestic systems to self-builders, and supply of domestic systems to a number of developers.  Currently, for example, 120 systems are in the course of being delivered to Messrs Cornhill Estates and Messrs Miller Homes for their ongoing housing development at Upton, Northampton.

Project results:Freerain, rainwater harvesting systems are used in a wide variety of applications, ranging from simple garden irrigation during times of drought, through systems designed to satisfy a typical household’s demand for non-drinking water, up to systems for commercial and/or public buildings with a very high demand for toilet-flushing or fleet-vehicle washing water.

On the Upton, Northampton development, the systems have been sized to meet nearly all of a household’s requirements for non-potable water, thereby reducing annual mains-water usage by around 40%.  The systems will also help attenuate on-site water during heavy down-pours, thus helping to address two principal planning concerns on new developments – water shortage & storm-water management.

Keywords: Sustainable housing; Freerain; rainwater harvesting; rainwater re-cycling; Gusto; Eco homes; sustainable urban drainage; SUDS.

Contact Details:

Terry Nash

Freerain Limited

Millennium Green, Business Centre

Rio Drive

Collingham

Newark

Notts

NG23 7NB

Tel: 01636 894900
E-mail:terrynash@freerain.co.uk

Web:www.freerain.co.uk or  www.gustohomes.com or

www.gustogroup.biz

Uploaded: 12 April 2006