Last update: 18th May 2026
The terms and conditions provided on this page, and any pages it links to, explain the terms that householders agree to by enrolling in this scheme.
Our Rainwater is delivering this downpipe disconnection project on behalf of Anglian Water Services Limited and Southend on Sea City Council as part of the Catchment to Coast Project.
Householders on the target street with suitable roof areas, downpipes, and guttering will be eligible for this scheme.
You must ensure that you have the permission of the property owner for any works undertaken through our services. We recommend that you get this permission in writing and keep a copy for your records.
We, our partners, and our installers, cannot be held responsible for any problems arising from a failure to obtain and evidence this permission.
Eligible householders are being offered a free slow release rainwater tank that is plumbed between the downpipes draining from the roof and the drainage network on their property. There are a number of different types of tank available, and Our Rainwater staff will help select the most suitable tank(s) for your property.
The tank, fittings, and installations are being offered for free to eligible householders. There is no charge to householders for any aspect of this scheme.
After installation the tanks, fittings, and other elements of the installation, except Our Rainwater’s monitoring equipment, will belong to the recipient householders. We ask that householders allow access to the installations for Our Rainwater and/or Anglian Water staff to allow for maintenance for 36 months (3 years) following installation.
You must ensure that you have the permission of the property owner for any works undertaken through our services. We recommend that you get this permission in writing and keep a copy for your records. We, our partners, and our installers, cannot be held responsible for any problems arising from a failure to obtain and evidence this permission.
All installations include tank monitoring devices that measure how your tank is performing at
slowing the flow of water into the drainage network. This helps us to evaluate the impact of the scheme, and improve the design of our tanks for future schemes.
Our mission is to help learn how these attenuation devices can help communities mitigate flooding and sewer overflows, so it’s important that we monitor as many installations as possible. As such, if you aren’t happy to have a monitoring device installed, then we may offer your slow-release rainwater tank to someone else.
For up to 36 months (3 years) after the installation of a tank monitor Our Rainwater or Anglian Water may contact you to to arrange the maintenance of the installation and/or recovery of the monitoring device. This should have little impact on the performance or look of your rainwater tank.
Tank monitors remain the property of Our Rainwater, and we ask that householders avoid disturbing them as this can limit the accuracy of the data that they collect.
One of the available interventions is a “smart” water-butt that stores rainwater for reuse, but releases a proportion of it automatically shortly before rainfall to make space for more water.
These “smart” water-butts are made up of the water-butt itself, a level monitoring device, an electronic release valve, and a communications unit. Each smart water-butt is powered by its own solar panel. As with the other interventions, all of this becomes the property of the recipient householder as soon as it is installed. Where you have also agreed to have one of Our Rainwater’s tank monitors, this will remain the property of Our Rainwater and may be removed once it has finished collecting data.
The only information recorded by this equipment is the water-level in the tank, which is sent directly to the provider (IZEapps Ltd, trading as Enki-O). No personal data, video, audio, or any other data is recorded, transmitted, or otherwise processed, so there are no privacy concerns associated with this system.
Our Rainwater and Anglian Water are the points of contact for this scheme, and all communications regarding the scheme will come from Our Rainwater or Anglian Water staff. If you have any questions regarding the scheme please get in touch with them for assistance.
Our Rainwater will be conducting the installations, and will contact you to arrange the installation itself. Our Rainwater staff will carry identification cards, and will never ask for payment for any element of their work.
If you wish to withdraw from the scheme prior to installation, please contact Our Rainwater as soon as possible using the contact details at the bottom of this page, or by replying to any email from us.
Once installation has taken place, you agree not to remove or alter the installation during the first 36 months (3 years) following installation (see “What happens after the installation?” below).
Your rainwater tank(s) will slow the flows into the drainage networks and help store rainwater for a sunny day, so we would like it if you could keep the rainwater tank in place for as long as possible.
From time to time Our Rainwater may contact householders to inform them of new schemes in their area, or to invite householders to share further details about their engagement in the scheme.
By accepting an installation of a slow-release rainwater tank, you agree that for the first 36 months following installation, Our Rainwater and Anglian Water Services Limited may request access to the installation in order to check that it is working as effectively as possible. This is very useful as it helps us to improve this scheme and develop future schemes. You also agree not to remove or alter the installation during this 36 month (3 year) period.
If your tank has been fitted with monitoring equipment, then within or shortly after the 36 month monitoring period Our Rainwater may contact you to arrange recovery of the monitoring device built into it. This will have no impact on the performance or look of your device, and will give us vital insight into the effectiveness of this scheme.
There is no ongoing warranty for the materials provided as part of this scheme, and the ongoing maintenance, repair, and disposal of the tank and fittings is the responsibility of the householder.
Your tank and fittings will be installed by insured and qualified Our Rainwater staff. They will ensure that the work that they conduct is safe and sound. In the extremely unlikely event that the installation work has caused damage to your property then Our Rainwater will be liable for remediation. Should you have any concerns about any work undertaken by Our Rainwater staff please do get in touch.
In no event will Our Rainwater or Anglian Water Services Limited be liable for damages arising out of the use of the rainwater tanks and components provided under this scheme, nor for damage caused by severe whether for which the installation is not designed.
In delivering this scheme, Our Rainwater will collect and process personal data (such as your name, address, and contact details) in order to administer your installation and communicate with you about the scheme.
The location of completed installations may be shared with Anglian Water Services Limited so that they can evaluate the effectiveness of the scheme, but personal data such as names, email addresses, phone numbers, or other contact information will not be shared.
Your data is processed in accordance with applicable data protection legislation, including the UK GDPR. For full details of how your data is used, retained, and your rights in relation to it, please refer to Our Rainwater’s Privacy Policy at ourrainwater.com/privacy-policy.
If you have any questions, concerns, or feedback about this scheme, please get in touch with Our Rainwater • on our website: ourrainwater.com/contact-us • by email: [email protected]
• by post: Our Rainwater Limited, The Innovation Centre, Rennes Drive, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4RN