Households across the borough living in properties at high risk of flooding are being invited to apply for free water butts
Waltham Forest Council is extending its offer of free, self-emptying water butts to all households in the borough.
Through the council’s Lower Floods Campaign, residents can get a water butt installed in their front or back garden at no cost.
Water butts slow the volume of rainwater from entering the drainage network, thus reducing risk of flooding in and around properties.
The campaign will install 500 water butts across the borough, increasing flood resilience across communities collectively, particularly in areas at risk of extreme weather events. Collecting rainwater sustainably also gives residents an option of watering their garden and supporting trees and planters in their neighbourhood without turning on a hose or a tap.
According to Waltham Forest, more than 1,500 water butts have already been installed in neighbourhoods in areas at high risk of flooding. Previous phases have focused on the Fillebrook Catchment around Wood Street, Upper Walthamstow and Leytonstone, as well as the Dagenham Brook, Lea Bridge parts of Leyton and Chingford Hatch.
The council also says that due to these butts more than 150,000 litres of rainwater heading for local drainage networks has been slowed, stored and diverted.
You can apply for a free water butt installation, as well as other water saving equipment though the Lower Floods online application form. The offer is open to households across the borough, with priority given to neighbourhoods at high risk of flooding.
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