WO2020039172A1

WO2020039172A1 - Rainwater attenuation apparatus and method

Info

Publication number: WO2020039172A1
Application number: PCT/GB2019/052319
Authority: WO
Inventors: Andrew Turner
Original assignee: Andrew Turner
Priority date: 2018-08-20
Filing date: 2019-08-19
Publication date: 2020-02-27
Also published as: GB2591395B; GB202103749D0; EP3841256A1; GB201813517D0; GB2591395A

Abstract

A rainwater attenuation apparatus (10) and method of rainwater attenuation are disclosed. The apparatus (10) includes a vessel (12) for containing a volume of liquid and having an inlet (16) for receiving rainwater from a rainwater collection system (18). There is a first outlet (24) for connection to a surface water sewerage system. The flow of collected rainwater through said first outlet (24) is determined by a remotely controlled first valve (28). A second outlet (56) and tap valve (58) allow the rainwater to be drained for other uses. The vessel (12) is formed from plurality of tubes (50) arranged in a grid formation and connected by a manifold (52). Bundles of partial tube lengths connected end to end to create a significant height and volume of vessel (12)..

Description

Rainwater Attenuation Apparatus and Method

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for rainwater attenuation and relates particularly, but not exclusively, to a Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS) for use in between a building, such as a domestic property, and a surface water sewerage system.

When land is built on, for example, when a series of homes are built in a housing development, the land often changes from being provided with little or no formal drainage to a multiplicity of nonporous hard surfaces from which rainwater is directed to a rainwater sewerage system which in turn is connected to a river system. As a result, once the housing development is completed, the speed at which rainwater passes from the land and into a river is increased, which can result in downstream flooding.

Devices such as water butts can be provided to collect rainwater from the roof of the building. This assists in rainwater attenuation, that is the delaying of the rainwater from transferring from hard surfaces, such as roofs, into the freshwater sewerage system. However, water butts generally suffer from the disadvantage that they are small in volume and once filled overflow. All additional rainwater then flows into the freshwater sewerage system and the water butt is no longer providing any attenuation of the rainwater. Furthermore, the rainwater gathered from a water butt can only really be used via a watering can.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention seek to overcome or alleviate the above described disadvantages of the prior art.

According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a rainwater attenuation apparatus comprising: a vessel for containing a volume of liquid, having an inlet for receiving rainwater from a rainwater collection system and a first outlet for connection to a sewerage system; and a remotely controlled first valve for controlling the flow of collected rainwater through said first outlet.

By providing a rainwater attenuation apparatus including a remotely controlled valves, the advantage is provided that an organisation responsible for the sewerage system is able to create capacity in a widespread rainwater attenuation network in advance of forecast heavy rain. Where a network of such apparatuses are provided attached to a multiplicity of buildings, the vessels can each hold a large volume of water collected from the buildings' hard surfaces such as rooves. Under normal circumstances, this collected rainwater can be used for any suitable purposes. For example, in a domestic building the collected rainwater can be used for watering the garden. However, in the event of forecast heavy rain, the vessel can be emptied by opening the remotely controlled first valve and draining most or all of the water from the vessel. This previously collected rainwater flows through the sewerage system before the forecast rainwater hits the sewerage system from other sources such as roads. The now empty multiple vessels can refill with rainwater, thereby reducing the rate of water entering the sewerage system when the forecast rain arrives. The impact of using a multiplicity of the apparatus as described above is to recreate the slower transfer of water from contacting the ground to arriving in the sewerage system and the rivers. These systems slow the rate of transfer of water thereby at least partially recreating the system prior to the introduction of hard surfaces such as building roofs.

In a preferred embodiment the vessel comprises a plurality of tubes. By using a plurality of tubes, the advantage is provided that the weight of water in each tube is not very large and the thickness of each tube can be significantly less than would be necessary to form a single vessel containing the same volume as a multiplicity of tubes. Furthermore, the use of tubes allows on-site construction, making the transportation of the vessel significantly easier than where a single large vessel is used. Tubes which can be used in this invention include, but are not limited to, guttering downpipe tubes especially those with a square cross-section. These tubes are already in production removing production set up costs and the production costs for extrusion of these tubes is significantly less than for moulding of large single vessels. Also, in the event of damage occurring to one of the tubes the rate of flow of water from that hole should not increase as the tubes are unlikely to allow propagation of the hole.

The plurality of tubes may be arranged in a grid formation and connected by a manifold.

By using a grid formation formed into a manifold, the advantage is provided that different arrangements of the tubes can be easily provided to create different shapes of vessel to suit different situations. For example, an arrangement of one or two side-by-side tubes lined up along the whole length of a building and extending up the whole height can produce a vessel with a very large volume but which only adds a very small addition to the length or width of the building.

In a preferred embodiment the tubes comprise a plurality of partial tube lengths connected end to end.

By using partial length of tube, the advantage is provided that sections of the vessel can be formed and connected to one another. For example, a grid network of tube lengths can be formed into a block and these blocks stacked on top of one another with suitable ceiling provision provided between them. This in turn allows very large vessels to be created with large storage capacities. These taller vessels also create a greater pressure which can be utilised via the second value and outlet to power a hose or grey water system.

The apparatus may further comprise a second outlet and a second valve for controlling the flow of collected rainwater through said second outlet.

By including a second outlet and a second valve, the advantage is provided that the water contained in the vessel can be extracted or other uses, such as watering the garden or to a grey water system of a building. This in turn saves water and cost for the building owner particularly where water usage is metered .

The second valve may comprise a tap and/or a hose connection .

By including a hose connection, the advantage is provided that a garden hose can be attached to the outlet. Where a large capacity vessel is used with significant height, the further advantage is provided that the water pressure to the hose can be sufficiently high for use as though a garden hose connected to mains water. As a result, the water contained in the apparatus can be used more easily for many more purposes that a water butt of the prior art.

The apparatus may further comprise an overflow and the overflow may be connected to the sewerage system.

In a preferred embodiment the remotely controlled first valve is operated via a wireless connection and more preferably comprises Wi-Fi.

In a preferred embodiment the first valve comprises a variable opening valve which may have a maximum opening diameter of at least 40mm. By having a variable opening valve with a large diameter the advantage is provided that the valve can be fully opened to maximise the flow of water into the sewerage system. This allows a controlled purge of the system to be undertaken to assist in the clearing and cleaning of the sewer.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of rainwater attenuation comprising the steps :

providing a plurality of rainwater attenuation apparatus comprising a vessel for containing a volume of liquid, having an inlet for receiving rainwater from a rainwater collection system and a first outlet for connection to a sewerage system and a remotely controlled first valve for controlling the flow of collected rainwater through said first outlet; connecting said apparatuses to a plurality of rainwater collection systems on a plurality of buildings;

allowing said vessels to fill with rainwater when said remotely controlled valves are closed; in the event of forecast significant rainfall, causing said remotely controlled valves to open to discharge at least a majority of said collected rainwater from said vessel through said first outlet to said sewerage system; and causing said remotely controlled valves too close and allowing said vessel to at least partially refill with rainwater from said forecast rainfall.

In a preferred embodiment the first valve comprises a variable opening valve and the method comprises the further step of selecting at least some of said plurality of rainwater attenuation apparatuses and substantially fully opening said variable opening valves. Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, and not in any limitative sense with reference to the accompanying drawings in which

Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a water attenuation apparatus and system of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a close-up view of a portion of the apparatus of figure 2;

Figure 4 is a schematic sectional side view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a schematic plan view of a portion of the embodiment of figure 4;

Figure 6 is a sectional side view of an alternative portion of the embodiment of figure 4;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a portion of the apparatus of figure 2.

Referring initially to figure 1, a water attenuation apparatus 10 includes a vessel 12 for containing a volume of liquid, in particular rainwater 14. The vessel has an inlet 16 for receiving that rainwater from a rainwater collection system 18 such as a gutter 20 attached to a building (not shown) which flows via a downpipe 22 through the inlet 16 and into the vessel 12. A first outlet 24 from the vessel 12 is also provided and this is used to connect the vessel to a sewerage system. The details of the connection to the sewerage system depend on the circumstances where the vessel is located and the building to which it is connected. However, this connection is preferably to a surface water sewerage system which directs rainwater from buildings and roads to a watercourse such as a river. The details of the connection to the sewerage system, whether direct or indirect, are not part of this invention and likewise the connection of the rainwater collection system 18 does not form part of this invention, as long as rainwater from hard surfaces are directed to the vessel. Also forming part of the apparatus is a remotely controlled first valve 28 which is used to control the flow of collected rainwater 14 contained within the vessel 12 through the first outlet 24 and on into the surface water, sewerage system 26. The first valve in this embodiment is a variable flow valve having an maximum open diameter of up to 40mm allowing the flowrate through the valve to be varied by changing the size of the opening through which the water flows.

A power supply in the form of a battery 30 is provided which is most preferably recharged via a solar panel 32 located on top of the apparatus 10. A processor 34 controls the opening and closing of the first valve 28 in response to transmitted signals received by a receiver 36. The receiver 36 can be any suitable signal receiver including, but not limited to, any radio frequency receiver, a mobile telephone network receiver or a Wi-Fi receiver. As a further alternative, the receiver 36 could be replaced with a wired connection to the Internet, for example, via a router located in the building to which the apparatus 10 is connected. Furthermore, the battery 30 and recharging solar panel 32 can be replaced with any other suitable power supply which can provide sufficient energy to operate the processor 34 and open and close the valve 28. These components together allow the remote operation of the valve 28.

In addition, a pressure metre 38 at the base of the vessel is used to determine the pressure of the water in the vessel 10 which can be used to estimate the volume of water contained therein. A flowmeter 40 is also provided to calculate the amount of water which has passed through the vessel 10. Also provided within the vessel 10 is an overflow 42 which is directly connected to the surface water sewer 26. This overflow limits the total volume of water that can be contained within the vessel to an upper limit indicated by the waterline 44.

Referring to figures 2 and 3, the embodiment of the rainwater attenuation apparatus 10 shown therein has the vessel 12 formed from a plurality of sub-vessels in the form of tubes 50 which are connected together by a manifold 52 (which is shown schematically in figure 4) . The manifold 52 has a plurality of channels 54 which are connected together and joined to the outlet 24 ahead of the remotely controlled first valve 28 (which is not shown in figure 4) . The tubes are set out in a grid arrangement in the manifold 52, for example, as schematically shown in figure 5, an arrangement of 4x4 tubes are used. These tubes 50 are of the type used in domestic drainage, such as those used in downpipes from guttering. The use of pipes with a square cross-section of this type makes the most efficient use of space by minimising the gaps between the tubes 50.

Referring again to figure 3, as part of the manifold 52 and located before the remotely controlled valve 28, is a second outlet 56 which is provided to allow the draw off of water from within the vessel 12. The second outlet 56 is provided with a second valve in the form of a tap 58 and is most preferably provided with a hose pipe connector, such as a snap-fit connector, allowing a hosepipe to be used for distribution of the collected rainwater 14. As an alternative or in addition, the vessel can be connected to grey water system of a house and the pressure created by the height of water can be sufficient to use the rainwater for refilling toilets for flushing.

Referring now to figure 7, a more detailed example of an arrangement 60 of the tubes 50 is shown which allows shorter lengths of tubing to be formed together into blocks which can be stacked together as shown in figure 2 to create a significant height of water contained within the vessel 12. This has the advantage that the pressure of water contained within a vessel which has significant height, for example, one or two storeys of a building, is sufficient to push water through a hose at a rate which is similar to that seen with domestic mains pressure, allowing it to be used effectively in the garden for many purposes. The tubes 50 shown in figure 7 are formed into an 8x8 arrangement with a base 62 and top 64 which are identical or different depending on their intended use. The topmost top 64 acts has a roof and has the solar panel 32 mounted thereon. The bottommost base 62 acts as the manifold 52. The tops and bases have recesses 66 (see figure 5) which are shaped to receive the tubes 50. For onsite construction the recesses are partially filled with a suitable sealant such as silicone 66 and the tubes 50 inserted. The top 64 and base 62 are connected by tie rods 68 which pull the top and base into engagement with the ends of the tubes ensuring a waterproof seal. Adjacent arrangements 60 are connected using bolts 70 with suitable seals 72, such as a rubber mat perforated with sixty-four square holes, located between. Each arrangement 60 is formed separately on site and then the four arrangements are stacked on top of each other and connected to the manifold 52 as seen in figure 2.

Operation of the rainwater attenuation apparatus 10 will now be described. Once installed, the apparatus operates with the remotely controlled first valve 28 in a default closed condition. As a result, when rainwater hitting the roof of a building and entering the gutter 20 of collection system 18. It runs into the downpipe 22 and through the inlet 16 into the vessel 10 by entering one of the tubes 50. Rainwater entering one tube is distributed amongst all of the tubes via the channels 54 in the manifold 52 and, as a result, the tubes fill uniformly until they reach the height of the overflow 42 which extends up through one of the tubes 50. At this point the vessel has reached its maximum capacity. Typically, this capacity for a device of the type shown in figure 2 is 1000L. Any additional rainwater entering the vessel flows through the overflow, bypassing the vessel and entering the surface water sewer 26.

Water can be drawn from the vessel via the second outlet 56 by opening and closing the second valve, tap 58. When the tubes 50 of the vessel 12 are full the pressure is sufficient to operate a garden hose. Water exiting the apparatus through the second outlet will not directly enter the freshwater sewerage system and will most typically be used when rain is not expected for purposes like watering the garden. As a result, the objective of rainwater attenuation is achieved and further capacity is created within the vessel for receiving and attenuating further rainwater.

The apparatus 10 is one of a multiplicity of such apparatuses connected to buildings in a network at known locations with the outlets of these apparatuses connected into the surface water sewerage network of a utility provider. This network of apparatuses is monitored and controlled by a computer system 80 of the utility provider. At any given time, the volume of water stored in each vessel can be determined via the water pressure metre 38. The receiver 36 is in two-way communication with the computer system 80 of the utility provider via the receiver's connection to a router 82 and the Internet 84. This data for the multiplicity of apparatuses 10 allows the utility provider to know the total water stored at that time.

The computer system 80 of the utility provider receives information from a weather forecaster computer system 86. When that forecasting indicates a rainfall exceeding predetermined criteria in an area containing a multiplicity of the apparatuses 10, decision is taken, either manually or automatically, to create capacity within the network of rainwater attenuation apparatuses to receive and store a predetermined volume of rainwater. To do this a portion of or all of the network of apparatuses are partially or completely emptied. The time at which this emptying takes place depends in part upon the total volume of water stored so that this water has passed through the sewerage system before the next rainwater arrives.

This emptying is achieved by sending a signal from the computer system 80 of the utility provider via the Internet 84 and the respective routers 82 to the receivers 36. The processors 34 receiving the signal from the receiver 86 causes the first valve to open to a predetermined diameter, typically providing an aperture equivalent to a 10-12mm bore through the valve, allowing the rainwater contained within the tubes 50 of the vessel 12 to empty via the outlet 24 flowing into the surface water sewerage system 26. When this process is undertaken sufficiently far in advance of the forecast rain, this water can have passed through the sewerage system and into watercourses long before the forecast rain water arrives. Once sufficiently empty the first valve 28 returns to the default closed condition. This can either be in response to a further signal received from the utility providers computer system 80 or via an internal mechanism which uses the pressure sensor 38 to determine that the vessel 12 is empty. When the forecast rain arrives and enters the rainwater collection system 18, the vessel 12 refills, thereby attenuating that volume of water for later discharge as previously described.

It is often the case that the utility provider responsible for the surface water sewerage system is also a supplier of water. The use of the second outlet 56 reduces the volume of mains water used thereby potentially saving money for the household. Because the apparatus 10 provides further advantages for the utility operator further financial incentives can be provided to the household to encourage the installation and use of such apparatuses.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the above embodiments have been described by way of example only and not in any limitative sense, and that various alterations and modifications are possible without departure from the scope of the protection which is defined by the appended claims. The system can also be used to maintain and clean the sewerage system open opening the variable bore first valve up fully (to 40mm bore) to cause the maximum flow of water though the system to act as a purge. Sections of the sewer can be purged by the coordinated opening of the apparatuses of various buildings along that section of the sewer. This can be further enhanced by coordinating it with a light flow from rainwater in the system from rain occurring as the purge takes place thereby further increasing the flow. This causes a rush of water to that section of the sewer without risking flooding.

Claims

1. A rainwater attenuation apparatus comprising: a vessel for containing a volume of liquid, having an inlet for receiving rainwater from a rainwater collection system and a first outlet for connection to a sewerage system; and a remotely controlled first valve for controlling the flow of collected rainwater through said first outlet.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said vessel comprises a plurality of tubes.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said plurality of tubes are arranged in a grid formation and connected by a manifold.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said tubes comprise a plurality of partial tube lengths connected end to end .

5. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, further comprising a second outlet and a second valve for controlling the flow of collected rainwater through said second outlet.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said second valve comprises a tap.

7. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said second valve comprises a hose connection.

8. An apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising an overflow.

9. An apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said overflow is connected to said sewerage system.

10. An apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein said remotely controlled first valve is operated via a wireless connection .

11. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said wireless connection comprises Wi-Fi.

12. An apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein said first valve comprises a variable opening valve.

13. An apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said variable opening valve has a maximum opening diameter of at least 40mm.

14. A method of rainwater attenuation comprising the steps: providing a plurality of rainwater attenuation apparatus comprising a vessel for containing a volume of liquid, having an inlet for receiving rainwater from a rainwater collection system and a first outlet for connection to a sewerage system and a remotely controlled first valve for controlling the flow of collected rainwater through said first outlet;

connecting said apparatuses to a plurality of rainwater collection systems on a plurality of buildings to form a network of attenuation apparatuses;

15. A method according to claim 14 wherein said first valve comprises a variable opening valve and the method comprises the further step of selecting at least some of said plurality of rainwater attenuation apparatuses and substantially fully opening said variable opening valves.