We’re obsessed with butts

Waltham Forest Council is piloting a new programme to lower flood risk, supporting local communities in areas of the borough most at risk of flooding. Around 500 households in Wood Street, Upper Walthamstow, Forest, and Leytonstone are being offered water butts and water-saving devices, which can be installed free of charge as part of a community-led approach to reducing the risk of flooding in the borough.

This pilot is part of a wider programme to reduce flood risk as much as we can across Waltham Forest.

Councillor Clyde Loakes, deputy leader and cabinet member for climate said: “We are going street to street in areas of the borough we know are at particular risk of flooding and collectively, we can significantly reduce the chance of people’s homes being damaged in the future.

“That’s why we are providing and installing specialist equipment, including 500 slow-release water butts free of charge to reduce the amount of rainwater that ends up dropping in these high-risk areas.

“This initiative can help us sustainably hold and drain rainwater equivalent to letting a hosepipe run for four days, getting your car washed 500 times, or running the bathroom tap for an entire week. It’s also the same volume of an astounding 175,000 pints of beer.

“The council is proud to be working with local flood action community groups to reach out to as many eligible residents as possible and successfully reduce the risks and impacts of flooding.

We’ll be contacting eligible residents in the coming weeks so please consider getting involved. Not only can you protect your own home from flooding, the action you take can help us build a collective resilience that will benefit the whole community.”

The slow-release water butts on offer to eligible residents are specially designed to collect rain from roofs and drainpipes and hold a large volume of water during downpours. They self-empty slowly and sustainably afterwards, reducing pressure on the drainage system. Households can have them installed in their front or back garden – they can also act as a source to water your plants or lawn. Installations are being carried out by the council’s trusted maintenance provider Service Store.

In fact, by installing 500 water butts in these areas over the coming weeks, up to 100,000 litres of water could be held back from drains in some of the most at-risk areas for flooding during heavy rain. Also, by getting all internal water-saving devices installed an average household could save around 30,000L a year - reducing flood risk for the whole neighbourhood and lowering your water bills.

Local resident Emma is one of the first homeowners to benefit from the pilot. She added: “Our water butt was installed quickly by the team who were helpful and informative. The hose is very useful as it goes directly into the flower beds, meaning the flowers are watered readily. It also doesn’t need any maintenance which is a bonus. The kids love filling up bowls and watering cans from it to water the plants now.

“It’s environmentally friendly and so we like that we can save on water for the garden - especially useful in hotter and drier periods. We are also excited that this project is being run out and that the more of us that get a water butt, the greater benefit it will be in terms of flood prevention - it feels like a community project.”

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