Futures Forum: Transition Exmouth and community energy >>> >>> Jurassic Coast Energy initiative
Here is another piece from their latest newsletter:
RainShare
All water is precious but processed water costs in money & carbon footprint. RainShare is a social enterprise established by Dr. Sarah Ward to help people share roof run-off.
RainSharers share the run-off so that its entry into sewers is avoided or slowed. It also means they save drinking water by using a quality of water that's more appropriate than highly treated drinking water for a lot of other things (flushing toilets, watering gardens or allotments, washing-down driveways and so on).
So if you want to put that rain-water to good use, contact Sarah. http://www.rainshare.co.uk/
Sarah underpins the work with the research she undertakes at Exeter Uni. No only but also: Sarah has just done a swimathon for Sports Relief, raising over £600!
Transition Town Exmouth | Dealing With Climate Change and Peak Oil
Here is the 'about' page from the Rainshare project:
RainShare? What? Why? (visit our blog page to learn more...)
Do you have a roof? Yes? Then when rainfall hits it you generate runoff.
Do you use your runoff? Yes? Good. No? Then it normally runs into a sewer.
Do you know how much a sewer costs to expand or build new? No? Well it's expensive!
If we can keep runoff out of sewers then it means they will spill less dirty water into rivers & they may last longer too.
RainSharers share the runoff from their roofs so that its entry into sewers is slowed. It also means they save drinking water by using a quality of water that's more appropriate than highly treated drinking water for a lot of practices (flushing toilets, watering gardens or allotments, washing-down driveways and so on).
Do you use your runoff? Yes? Good. No? Then it normally runs into a sewer.
Do you know how much a sewer costs to expand or build new? No? Well it's expensive!
If we can keep runoff out of sewers then it means they will spill less dirty water into rivers & they may last longer too.
RainSharers share the runoff from their roofs so that its entry into sewers is slowed. It also means they save drinking water by using a quality of water that's more appropriate than highly treated drinking water for a lot of practices (flushing toilets, watering gardens or allotments, washing-down driveways and so on).
Too much runoff? Not enough? Go on, join us today and become a RainSharer!
Still not sure? Here's a couple of examples of how a project might work:
Project A - Commercial/non-domestic - a large company-owned warehouse has a huge roof that generates a lot of runoff, but only one toilet to flush, therefore the supply vastly exceeds demand. Next door is a small office tower block with a small roof, but lots of toilets. The warehouse owner agrees to share the runoff with the office block owner (whether the runoff is free or for sale, is decided on a case by case basis). The rainwater harvesting (RWH) storage tank sits within the building boundary of the office block. All equipment and installation and maintenance costs are covered by the office block management company. RainShare would help with costs for eligible organisations (CICs, charities etc - ask us for eligibility details);
Project B - Residential/domestic - a terraced house owner wants to implement RWH, as they use a lot of water, which does not necessarily have to be drinking water quality (they can save money on their water/sewerage bills). They have a small roof and so the supply-demand balance from their property alone does not provide a suitable cost-benefit or payback period for implementing a RWH system. They ask their next door neighbour/s if they can connect their gutters/downpipes from their roofs to the RWH tank on their property, in order to catch the runoff and use it. They pay for the modification/installation costs (or RainShare helps by providing a subsidy - ask us for eligibility details). The installation is easily reversible, should either homeowner move/no longer wish to participate.
 | Sarah Ward
Sarah Ward established RainShare in 2014, whilst on maternity leave waiting
for her first child to arrive! She'd had the idea for a number of years (she
works in the water management sector) and his delayed arrival gave her a bit
of time to apply for some social enterprise funding from specialists UnLtd. She
won some 'Do It' funding and never looked back.
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Rainwater Harvesting
Sarah's worked with water since her geography GCSE at school. But in 2006 she did a PhD (doctor of philosophy qualification) on rainwater harvesting and RainShare eventually sprang out of that. She's always loved water though, having grown up in Cornwall splish-splash-sploshing around in streams, rivers, lakes, reservoirs and the sea! Sarah can provide bespoke workshops (see flyer opposite), but unfortunately isn't funded to do these for free anymore, so please contact her for a quote.
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 | Alternative Water Supply Systems
Sarah has co-produced a book on alternative water supply systems like
rainwater harvesting and grey water reuse.
You can buy it here (sadly it's a bit expensive - the publishers set the price,
not me unfortunately!)
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About - Rainshare
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