Our award-winning Green Garden is inspired by the sustainable management and recyclability of rainwater. It sets out to promote the principles of 'Downstream Thinking', encouraging the management of rainwater in our gardens and urban spaces to help reduce the risk of flooding.

Devon garden designer Tom Simpson, said: “ The South West Water Green Garden encourages communities and residents to think about the sustainable management of water in our gardens and wider urban environment to reduce flood risk.”

The garden will be rebuilt at our headquarters in Exeter. It will become a part of our wider sustainable rainwater management demonstration project which showcases how we manage the flow of surface rainwater from our main building and car park.

Image credits: RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show

Water butt disconnection

If your roof is connected to the combined sewerage network, your downpipe will drain into the ground through a drain grate.

Disconnecting this pipe can be quite a simple process. You could consider doing this yourself or alternatively it would be a straightforward job for a builder or landscape gardener.

There are different options to suit your garden. The factsheets on the right give more detail about some of the considerations.