If more houses had water butts, it could help with drought, flooding and water pollution

A small rain tank could supply 15% of a household's total annual water consumption on average across the UK. Alexander Knyazhinsky/Shutterstock

Earlier this year, southern England experienced its driest July on record. The drought affected many parts of the UK and grew so acute that Thames Water’s hosepipe ban will remain in force into 2023.

But rainfall in August was heavy. The volume of rain caused outdated drainage and sewerage systems to overflow, degrading the quality of many of the UK’s rivers.