6 East Steps to Harvest Rainwater for Your Garden

Following a wet and windy May Bank Holiday, Wavin Plastics is urging gardeners to harvest future rainfall rather than letting it simply drain away.

The change in Britain’s climate is expected to result in more sudden bursts of rain during the summer months – not enough to replenish reservoirs and natural aquifers, but plenty for green fingered enthusiasts in their upkeep of a healthy lawn and garden.

As the UK’s leading supplier of water management solutions, Wavin Plastics advises gardeners to fit a simple rainwater harvesting system.

“Summer storms and downpours can provide an excellent on-going source of water for the garden, providing the right system is in place,” said Denise O’Leary, customer marketing manager at Wavin Plastics. “For example, with the use of an OSMA Rainwater Diverter Kit, which can be fitted to any water butt, rainwater can be collected in an efficient and sustainable way. A garden sprinkler on the other hand is not nearly so environmentally friendly - it uses in excess of 1000 litres of drinking quality water every hour. This seems excessive when you consider that plants and gardens thrive perfectly well with rainwater.”

Available in black, grey, white and brown, the OSMA Rainwater Diverter Kits can be fitted to household downpipe guttering. The kit includes a top seal fitted to prevent splash-back and an overflow to divert the water back into the downpipe – stopping the water butt from flooding when full. The kits can be easily fitted using regular household tools and can be used in conjunction with water butts that can be found at most garden centres and DIY stores.

Fit an OSMA Rainwater Diverter Kit in just six easy steps:

1. 1. Position water butt at required height next to downpipe
2. Cut away a 30mm section of downpipe, 30mm below the top rim of the water butt and insert the downpipe connector
3. Drill a 26mm hole 80mm down from the top rim of the water butt
4. Fit the water butt connector and washer from the insider
5. Fit the nut from the outside: tighten nut to form a seal
6. Cut the connecting hose to the required length and fit between butt and downpipe connection