At A Glance:
- Location : Snowdon, Snowdonia National Park, Wales
- Contractor: Carillion
Products Supplied:SPEL Rainsave rainwater harvesting and utilisation system comprising of:
- SPEL Tankstor rainwater storage tank can be any of our Tankstor range, from 2,000 litre to 300,000 litre within a single unit
(interlinking the tanks for modular capacity is also available) - SPEL have a range of single and dual pump Rainsave filtration and pumping systems with a range of flow rates, sized dependent on the predicted usage.
- This project utilised a single pump as the demand for water was usually low and only in the months of May to October (when the visitor centre is open)
- Dual pump system is recommended to preserve the pumps for as long as possible.
Opened in 2009, this incredible building, built in the most extreme of locations, is the highest visitor centre in the UK. Thanks to its elevated location and panoramic windows, visitors
can get unbelievable views, without even walking up there thanks to the Snowdon Mountain Railway. It is thought that a shelter has been at the top of Snowdon since 1820! These were
wooden huts which could not withstand the harsh conditions and a new building was constructed in 1935 to help the British Army experiment with radio and radar for the Second World War.
Due to the main Snowdon Car Park at Pen-y-Pass being likely the closest location of mains water to the Snowdon Summit, some 715 meters above, the need for an alternative source of water for the bulk of uses within the new visitor centre and café was required.
A SPEL Rainsave, rainwater harvesting system was chosen to harvest the water (and snow melt!) from the roof of the building and store it for as many uses as possible at Hafod Eryri, including the flushing of toilets and maintenance. The only way to get potable water to the summit is via the train, therefore using harvested rainwater wherever possible is essential.
A SPEL Tankstor 200 Series (1.2m dia.) 10,000 litre rainwater storage tank was chosen as a good size that could hold a good amount of water and was also a small enough diameter and weight so that it could be transported by train to the summit. The water is pumped from the SPEL Tankstor storage tank to the Rainsave RS5S rainwater harvesting system via a single pump at 20 litres per minute to the control panel which incorporates the water treatment elements which are 2 particulate filters taking the particulate micron size down to 5 microns and then the water is treated via ultraviolet light to remove as much bacteria as possible before the water is supplied at pressure into the system.
