pave-it page twelve

water harvesting

rainharvesting
with permeable
paving
The Hazeley School in Milton Keynes – featured in an earlier issue of Pave-It separate excavation, spoil removal,
(May 2006, page 8) – used concrete block permeable paving in a number of bespoke storage chamber, selected
innovative ways including controlling the flow of water down a steeply backfill and significant pipe
sloping site, providing clean runoff for wildlife ponds and preventing newts connections. And, of course,
and other wildlife disappearing down gully pots. The next phase focuses on maintenance requirements are
permeable paving as a collector and cleaning mechanism for rainharvesting, minimised.
described by Bob Bray.
EXTENSIVE POTENTIAL
Robert Bray Associates, in association IMPORTANT BENEFITS A minimum of two SUDS treatment
with SEL Environmental and stages using protected filters within the
A pump chamber delivers cleaned
Rainharvesting Systems Ltd., have pavement structure provide both silt
rainwater to a header tank for toilet
developed a rainharvesting model that removal and bioremediation of oils and
flushing in the school buildings. The
uses roof water, playground runoff and other contaminants in the runoff. Water
system offers a number of cost and
rain falling directly on permeable is stored below ground at relatively
maintenance benefits, as well as an
paving to provide a low maintenance low temperatures, so that risk from
effective sustainable water resource
rainwater use facility for the new bacterial contamination is reduced,
management solution. Firstly, the
Hazeley School complex. which is similar to systems used
permeable pavement provides a
The system relies on rainwater collection and surface filter function throughout Europe for this type of
collection from replacing the function. This rainharvesting system is
low pollution in-pipe filters particularly suited to developments
risk surfaces, Robert Bray Associates has been generally with large rainfall surface collectors,
including roofs designing SUDS schemes since
associated with low risk sources of runoff and a
and playgrounds.
1996, including Motorway Service
rainharvesting significant non-potable use of water
The permeable
Areas such as Oxford and Hopwood
that require following risk assessment – such as
– early EA ‘demonstration sites’, schools (using playgrounds) or
pavement regular
housing, public parks and schools. commercial developments (using car
collects direct The practice is at the forefront of
maintenance.
rainfall, runoff All the parking). It is hoped that this
innovation and promotion of this
from adjacent available installation will act as a template for
new approach to managing rainfall
hard play rainwater is the use of concrete block permeable
on development sites. Bob Bray
surfaces and collected at pavements as passive collectors and
has presented conference papers on the subject and
roofwater Hazeley, treatment systems for rainharvesting
contributed to a number of guidance documents, notably
(directed onto the new ‘SUDS Manual’ CIRIA 697. including the in future.
the paving from typical 15%
‘shoes’ on wastage
downpipes, discharging across surface experienced with normal rainharvesting
channels). The collected rainfall passes systems, and surplus water overflows
through the joints in concrete block directly to the SUDS system within the MAINS BACK-UP

permeable paving, bedded on 6mm grit construction. In terms of construction,

and a filter geotextile, directly into a the geocellular box system replaces PRE-FILTERS

geocellular storage box. This sub-base voided stone avoiding PRESSURE

SWITCH
polypropylene geocellular box is
enclosed in a second filter geotextile,
with a waterproof polypropylene UV UNIT
geomembrane to the sides and base, TOILET
to form an open topped tank. The tank IMPERMEABLE PERMEABLE PAVEMENT IMPERMEABLE FLUSHING

can overflow at the edges into the

existing SUDS system. This
GEOCELLULAR BOX
arrangement filters and treats the PUMP CHAMBER
water before it passes into storage or
overflows to the SUDS system.