In message , Bob Hobden
writes

"cineman" wrote
Hi,
Got my overgrown water bill today.
On the reverse it states I could reduce my bill if I do not allow surface
water to drain into sewers.
NOW how much storage would i need to conserve the rainfall from my roof.
Any ideas?

I thought most houses in the UK were built with soakaways for rain water.
Ours always have.

There are usually two separate drainage systems, foul sewers and surface
water. The former feed to sewage treatment plants whilst the latter
drain into local streams and rivers. This is a major cause of flooding
in many areas. When rain falls on open fields it takes days to soak into
the water courses which rise slowly and can cope with the rate of flow.
Replace the fields with houses and suddenly the rain is into the water
courses within minutes. Before privatisation this was always considered
by the Rivers Authority in any housing development planning application.
Not sure if it is now.

On your water bill you will have up to 3 separate charges, water supply,
sewage and surface water/highway drainage according to your particular
situation.
--
hugh
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