The pressure on the fresh water system and our water environment has been increasing, with ever increasing media attention directed towards our watercourses and protected landscapes, such as our globally significant chalk streams. A combination of population and economic growth alongside more extreme weather has put increasing pressure on our water resources, particularly in the South East of England. This research project has looked to determine whether rainwater harvesting in non-domestic properties could be an effective way of reducing non-household demand, associated abstraction and treatment. We have focused on the difference that this could make if implemented at scale, across local authority and regional areas. We intend to take forward this project in the future by considering if there would be additional benefit of this intervention type to surface water management and water quality, which could realise a reduction of combined sewage overflows.
