Hope Underwood had a simple idea that most of us have probably thought about at least once. Why does all that rainwater rushing down our gutters just disappear into storm drains when we could be using it? The Northumbria University graduate turned that thought into something real with her Mains to Rains system, a retrofit kit that works with whatever drainpipes you already have.
The beauty of Underwood’s strategy is that it doesn’t ask you to rip apart your house. Traditional rainwater harvesting means calling contractors, getting permits, and watching your savings account shrink. This system just clips onto your existing guttering and starts diverting water into storage containers. No major renovation, no headaches with planning departments, just a straightforward upgrade that starts working immediately.
Designer: Hope Underwood
Water bills keep climbing, and most of us feel it every month. At the same time, we’re seeing these wild weather swings where it either rains constantly or not at all. Underwood’s system makes both problems a bit easier to handle. When it pours, you’re capturing water that would otherwise overwhelm storm drains and cause flooding. When drought restrictions hit, you’ve got stored rainwater ready for the garden.
Anyone who gardens seriously already knows that plants prefer rainwater over the stuff that comes out of your tap. Treated mains water has chemicals and minerals that plants could do without, while rainwater is naturally soft and chemical-free. Garden centers sell “rainwater conditioner” products that try to replicate what falls from the sky, but why pay for imitations when you can collect the real thing?
The wider picture makes this even more appealing. If enough people in a neighborhood started capturing their rainwater, it would take pressure off both the water treatment plants and the storm drainage systems. Local flood risks go down, water infrastructure gets a break, and everyone saves money on their bills. It’s one of those rare situations where doing something good for yourself also helps everyone else.
Underwood’s work is quite practical. She didn’t try to reinvent water collection from scratch or create some high-tech gadget that needs an app to operate. She looked at what people already have and figured out how to make it work better. That’s the kind of thinking that gets adopted because it fits into people’s real lives without asking them to change everything. The Mains to Rains system shows how effective solutions often come from tweaking what’s already there rather than starting over. Underwood took a basic concept that’s been around forever and made it accessible to regular homeowners who just want to cut their water bills and maybe help their tomatoes grow better.
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