Rainwater and Grey Water Capture

Introduction to the Project System Application Operation How The Systems Were Sized What Else Has Been Considered?
Introduction to the Project We have designed and installed two sytems  - the first a rain and grey water capture system at a home in South Africa. This is an area of semi-desert and the design captures winter rainfall and grey water all year round. This permits watering of the small gardens which provides relief from the natural vegetation which surrounds the property.  - the second application was designed to capture rain only from the large flat roofs of a building in Portugal and is used as a top up water for the swimming pool. Top
System Application South Africa   A 2500 litre water tank was installed under the garden and downfall pipes from the roof guttering and wastes from all sinks and showers were connected to the tank with a gathering system if 110 and 50mm pvc tubes.   A small lift pump was installed in the tank with a 32mm outlet to an outlet above a return drain.   Portugal   Due to the nature of this hilly site a water tight membrane was installed in the southeast corner of the building below the plant room. This membrane was extended up the walls to the plant room floor level giving a irregular hexahedron shape of 30000 litres capacity. All downpipes from the 4 flat roofs were connected to the tank and a small lift pump inserted in the tank and connected to the swimming pool pipework Top
Operation South Africa Many irrigation systems are automatic using proprietry equipment. However these water every part of the area irrigated. Also labour costs are low in. Therefore we agreed upon a manual sytem using watering cans to specifically target individual plants. Simple but effective. Portugal Here there is a fully automatic system as the pool is an overflow pool and requires close control of water level. When the levelling system calls for water the pump is switched on until the required level is achieved. A low level switch in the tank prevents the system running dry and water is taken from the bore hole. Top
How the Systems Were Sized South Africa The system was sized on the basis of the smallest underground tank available Portugal The system was sized based on the available space  Top
What Else Has Been Considered? No system is maintenance-free. Scheduled inspections and cleaning of the systems will be made to ensure that the pumps are clean and trouble free. Chemical control of the water is required to prevent algae and micro organism growth For more information contact Mearsecroft Created and updated by Spiders Webs