Donegal County Council now has a limited number of Water Butts for sale in the Inishowen area to begin with.
WHAT IS IT?
A 190 litre capacity water butt, or “household water saver kit”.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Thousands of litres of rain fall on your house every year, a water butt is a barrel like tank that can collect rainwater from your roof’s downpipes after rain. It is suitable for a 65mm-diameter downpipe or smaller. The water collected is known as “grey water” and can be used for watering the garden and other household jobs but not for drinking or cooking.
A water butt comes with a stand, a child proof lid and a rainwater diverter kit. When the tank fills with water, rather than overflowing, the excess water is diverted back into the downpipe. A connector kit can also be purchased to link up two or more water butts if you want to collect more water than can be stored in one tank. The water butt has the capacity to hold 190 litres of water and is made from 75% recycled plastic.
It is estimated that outdoor water usage accounts for half of a household’s total usage during the summer. Using a water saver instead of your mains water supply for your garden could mean a 50% saving in the summer months.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
Water Butts can be purchased for €40 each for this trial run.
WHERE CAN I GET ONE?
Donegal County Council are now selling water butts at Carndonagh Public Service Centre for €40 each. Cash Office opening hours are Monday to Friday 9.15am – 12.15pm & 1pm – 4pm.
For more information on Water Butts contact the Environment Section in Carndonagh at (074) 93 73700 or for Water Conservation tips log on to www.taptips.ie and www.donegalcoco.ie.
To reduce your water footprint check out the new Water Calculator on www.taptips.ie this will calculate on average how much you use on average per day or per week.