Rainwater Benefits
The number one reason for installing a rainwater tank in Australia is to save water according to the latest rainwater tank figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics' (ABS).
Rain water tanks and collection systems
Rainwater storage tanks have been a highly successful source of
harvesting water supplies for isolated properties, small communities
and in rural areas of Australia for over 200 years.
However,
in Metropolitan areas there are other factors that need to be
considered to ensure that the rainwater you harvest can be used to its
full potential. Water quality is a potential problem with all roof
water systems due to:
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Atmospheric pollution
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Bird and possum droppings
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Insects and other small animals
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Roofing materials and paints
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Detergents and other chemicals (ie fibrous cement roofs - lime contamination)
Deciding why you want to install a rainwater tank?
A Plumber can advise how a rainwater tank can:
4 factors which primarily determine the reliability of rainwater tank supply are:
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Local rainfall patterns in your area - View the Australian Rainfall Table
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Roof catchment area and down pipe location (you may only be capturing 1/6 of your roof area)
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Demand for water (there might be a better year round use for the water such as toilet flushing)
- Rainwater tank capacity
- Use H2OmeCalc to calculate your household's portential rainwater harvest
Householder / Plumber Checklist
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Measures
to prevent access to children to reduce the risk of accidental drinking
and entry into the tank
-
Ensure
that rainwater is not connected to the reticulated supply, (backflow
prevention - dual check valve)
for further information visit www.greenplumbers.com.au
Maintenance
Filtration and water treatment
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Urban Rainwater Statistical Data Communication
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Proposed Regions
|
Rainfall month of August |
Rainfall
Year to Date (October 2004) YTD |
YTD
Potable water saved by using rainwater |
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NSW
Sydney
Newcastle
Wollongong
|
35mm August |
500mm
YTD
.50x100x.9x1000
= 45,000 ltrs |
Example YTD rainfall 500mm
0.50 x 100m2 x 0.9 x 1000 =45,000 ltrs harvested
A
family of 4 would have had enough rainwater harvested during the past 9
months in Sydney to complete all the laundry washing and toilet
flushing use.
Or they could have had 75 hrs of garden watering
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SA Adelaide
|
35mm August |
YTD 300mm
= 27,000ltrs |
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WA Perth
|
150mm August |
YTD 600mm
= 54,000 ltrs |
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Queensland
Brisbane
Gold Coast
|
25mm August |
YTD 1000mm
= 90,000ltrs |
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Victoria
Melbourne
|
75mm August |
YTD 500mm
= 45,000 ltrs |
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Rainfall data sourced from Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology www.bom.gov.au
Assumptions:
Harvested Rainfall data based on 100m2 roof catchment area.
90% runoff into rainwater storage unit.
Toilet Flushing
Based on family of 4 with 6/3 dual flush toilet suite – using 30,000ltrs / year,
2500ltrs / month
Laundry Washing
Based
on family of 4 people, 4 loads per week, medium automatic top loader -
using 28,000ltrs / year
2350ltrs / month
Garden Watering / other outdoor use
Based on 1 hour water at 10ltrs/min 600ltrs/hr (hand held garden hose)
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Information 
