Garden Water Collection Questions Checklist

Mark on a sketch the parts of the garden that need watering by hand, and note which of them dry out first in a warm spell.

Containers, raised growing areas and new planting dominate the demand, and knowing where they are decides where a store is useful.

Note where water is drawn from now and how far it is carried, and record whether that involves steps, a gate or crossing a lawn.

The carrying distance is what determines whether watering actually happens, and it is the problem a store is really being asked to solve.

Record who does the watering, how often in a dry spell, and whether they could carry a filled can that distance comfortably.

A store placed to suit the roof rather than the person carrying from it does not reduce the work at all.

Note whether there is already an outdoor water point, where it is, and which parts of the garden a hose from it currently reaches.

What already exists sets the baseline, and sometimes the more useful change is at the tap rather than in a new store.

Ask your water supplier and the local authority what restrictions apply where you are during a dry spell, and record what you are told.

What is permitted during a dry period varies, and it affects how much a store is actually relied on.

Any restriction on garden watering and on the use of stored water has to be confirmed with the local authority and your water supplier for your area.

List every roof on the plot, including outbuildings and a porch, and note where each one currently sends its water.

Outbuilding roofs are frequently overlooked and are often better placed for a garden store than the house is.

Go out during heavy rain and watch where water actually leaves each roof, including any point where it overshoots the gutter or runs down a wall.

Watching in the rain reveals in minutes what cannot be worked out from looking at a dry roof.

Note the condition of gutters and downpipes on each candidate roof, and ask a qualified professional what work they would need before anything is connected to them.

A store is often the point at which a long-standing gutter problem becomes obvious, and it is better found now.

Any work to a roof, gutter or downpipe must be carried out by a qualified professional, including any judgement about whether it can be altered at all.

Ask a qualified professional what each downpipe currently discharges into, and whether that route may be interrupted or diverted at all.

Some downpipes serve arrangements that cannot simply be altered, and this has to be established before a position is chosen.

Whether an existing downpipe or drain may be altered is a matter for a qualified drainage professional and, where relevant, the local authority.

Note what falls onto each candidate roof through the year, including leaves, seed and anything from an overhanging canopy, and record how often the gutter fills.

The roof under a canopy delivers a great deal of debris into anything connected to it, which becomes an upkeep task.

Ask a qualified professional what the roof covering is on each candidate roof and whether it raises any question about what the collected water may be used for.

The covering matters to the question of use, and it is one to put to a professional rather than to answer yourself.

What collected water from a particular roof may be used for is a question for a qualified professional and the local authority, especially where anything is grown to eat.

Compare each possible position against where the water is actually needed, and note the carrying distance from each one to the growing area.

A store beside the house may be no closer to the demand than the tap already was, which defeats the purpose.

Ask the supplier what a store of the size you are considering weighs when full and what base it requires, and record the answer rather than estimating it.

The weight of a full store surprises most owners and it governs what it can stand on and where.

What a full store weighs and what base is required must come from the supplier and be confirmed with a qualified professional for the ground concerned.

Note whether the ground at each position is level and firm, and ask a qualified professional what preparing it would involve if it is not.

Ground that seems firm in dry weather can move once loaded, which is a question for someone who can assess it.

Consider how water would be drawn off, and note whether a can could be placed under the outlet without lifting or tipping the store.

If a can does not fit under the outlet the store gets used with a jug, which is exactly the work it was meant to save.

Check that each position does not block a route, a door, a gate or access to anything that has to be reached, including the meter and any outside fitting.

Stores are often placed at the one point on the wall that is also the way past, and moving a full one is not a small job.

Note what each position would look like from the house and from a neighbouring garden, and whether the store would sit against a shared boundary.

A store is a permanent object in a small garden, and its appearance is worth considering while the position is still open.

Establish with a qualified professional where overflow water would go from a store standing here, since a full store overflows for much of the wet season.

Overflow is continuous during wet weather, so its destination matters more than the store itself.

Where overflow water may be directed is a drainage matter for a qualified professional and must be confirmed with the local authority.

Note what lies downhill of each position, including a building wall, a boundary, a neighbour's ground and any area that already stays wet.

Water released at one point travels, and the consequences usually appear somewhere the store cannot be seen from.

Record where the garden is already waterlogged after prolonged rain, and check that no overflow arrangement would send more water to those places.

Adding to an existing wet area is the most common unintended result of collecting water at the wrong end of the plot.

Ask a qualified professional and the local authority what applies where water might reach a neighbouring property, and write down what you are told.

Water crossing a boundary raises questions that are better established before anything is put in place.

Anything to do with water reaching neighbouring land must be confirmed with the local authority and a qualified professional and is never a matter of assumption.

If more than one store is being considered, ask how they would be linked and what happens to the overflow once all of them are full.

Linking stores multiplies the volume but does not remove the need for an overflow destination.

Decide whether water would be carried in a can, run through a hose or moved some other way, and record which, since it changes the position and the outlet.

The method of drawing off determines the height, the position and whether any powered arrangement is needed at all.

Ask a qualified professional what could be achieved from a store standing at that level without any powered arrangement, and record the answer.

Expectations about how water moves from a store are often optimistic, and it is better to ask than to find out afterwards.

Decide whether you would accept anything powered as part of this at all, and if so put the whole question of an outdoor supply to a qualified electrician early.

Power outdoors is a specialist matter and it may rule out or move the position being considered.

Any electrical supply outdoors must be designed and carried out by a qualified electrician, who can also confirm what applies locally.

Note where a hose would run from the store, what it would cross and where it would be kept when not in use.

A hose lying across a lawn or a route is a persistent nuisance, and somewhere to keep it is part of the arrangement.

Consider splitting the storage so some of it sits close to the growing area instead of all of it beside the house, and note what each place would need.

Splitting the storage is often the change that actually reduces carrying, and it is rarely considered.

Ask the supplier what arrangement keeps leaves and debris out of the store, and note who would clear that and how often given what falls on the roof.

Debris entering a store is the main reason the water becomes unusable and the outlet blocks.

Note how each store is covered and whether the cover can be secured, and record how it would be opened by whoever uses it.

The cover is what stands between the store and everything that gets into open water, and it has to be usable as well as closed.

How any store should be covered and secured where children or animals are present is a question for the supplier and a qualified professional.

Ask a qualified professional what questions arise locally about standing water and insects, and record their answer rather than relying on general information.

This depends heavily on where you are, and it belongs with someone who knows the local situation.

Ask what cleaning the store would need, how it would be emptied for that, and where the emptied water would go.

Cleaning requires emptying, and emptying needs a destination, which is the part that is usually not thought through.

Note that material settles at the base of a store over time, and ask the supplier how that is reached and cleared in the arrangement you are considering.

Access to the base varies a great deal between arrangements and is difficult to remedy afterwards.

Consider who else can reach the store, including children and animals, and ask a qualified professional what to consider about its position and restraint.

A store is a container of open water and a climbable object at once, which is a combination worth raising early.

Whether a water store is appropriate where children or animals are present, and how it should be positioned and restrained, is a matter for a qualified professional.

Ask the supplier what should be done with the store in freezing conditions and whether anything needs to be emptied or protected beforehand.

Freezing is the point at which stores and their fittings are most often damaged, and the answer varies by arrangement.

What a particular store requires in freezing conditions comes from the supplier, and any associated pipework question belongs with a qualified professional.

Note that a store is likely to stand full through the wettest part of the year, and check that the base and position suit it being loaded continuously.

Ground that carries a full store in summer may behave differently after prolonged rain.

Record what would happen if the household were away during a dry spell, including who would water and whether they could reach the store easily.

A store that only the owner knows how to use is of no help to whoever is asked to cover an absence.

Consider what happens to water that stands unused for a long period, and ask a qualified professional what that means for how it is later used.

Water that has stood for a long time is a question worth asking about rather than assuming, particularly around a growing area.

Note what the store looks like from the house in the part of the year when planting has died back and nothing screens it.

Screening that works in the growing season often disappears entirely for the rest of the year.

Ask the local authority and a qualified professional what stored rainwater may be used for where you are, particularly around anything grown to eat, and record the answer.

This is determined locally and by the arrangement itself, and it is the question most often answered wrongly from general sources.

What stored rainwater may be used for must be confirmed with the local authority and a qualified professional; nothing here should be treated as an answer.

Ask a qualified professional what would be involved if any collection arrangement were to connect to anything serving the building, and record what they say.

Anything touching a building system is a different order of work and belongs entirely with qualified people.

Any connection between a collection arrangement and a building system must be designed and carried out by qualified professionals and confirmed with the local authority.

If a store below ground is being considered, ask what excavation, access and consents would be involved before taking the idea any further.

A below-ground arrangement is groundwork rather than a garden purchase, and the questions are entirely different.

Excavation of any kind requires a qualified professional to establish what lies beneath, and any consents must be confirmed with the local authority.

Ask the local authority whether anything about your property or area affects what may be added to a wall or roof, and record what they tell you.

Local designations affect what can be attached to a building, and that is worth knowing before a position is chosen.

Keep every answer you are given in writing alongside your sketch, so the same questions do not have to be asked again when a professional is appointed.

Collected answers make the later conversation far shorter and stop decisions being remade from memory.