Rainwater for any gardener is precious, but when your water butt overflows, it can be frustrating to see all that rainwater being wasted. Here are five practical ways to keep excess rainwater under control.
1. Correctly fit a rainwater diverter
The idea of a rainwater diverter is that the rainwater runs off your roof, down the downpipe and diverted in a water butt. If fitted correctly, when the water butt reaches capacity, the diverter should overflow back down the downpipe and into your ground drainage.
2. Install a Water Butt Overflow Kit
If you would rather distibute the overflow rainwater else where in your garden, then a Water Butt Overflow Kit might be solution for you. Designed to prevent overflowing, it safely redirects surplus water away from your water butt, allowing it to flow into a nearby drain or onto your garden, helping to prevent water pooling around your property.
3. Add a Second Water Butt
Purhaps you'd rather collect the overflow, you might consider installing a second water butt. This could be either installed next to your existing one or in another part of the garden using the Water Butt Overflow Kit mentioned above.
4. Upgrade to a Larger Water Butt
A water butt that regularly overflows suggests that it is not big enough for its location. Consider upgrading your water butt to a greater volume. Many regular water butts start at around 100 litres - one of our popular slimline water butts holds 400 litres. Our larger water butts hold upto 1500 litres.
5. Keep Gutters, Filters and Outlets Clear
Leaves, moss and other debris can restrict the flow of water through a downpipe. A blocked filter, linking pipe or overflow outlet may cause the water butt to spill over even when an overflow system is fitted. A gutter brush or rainwater filter diverter can help prevent larger debris from entering your water butt.