Gardening Australia – September 2019

Whencalculatingthepricetoinstall

awatertankathome,considerall

thelikelycostsandtimeinvolved.

Buyingatankisalsoagoodtime

tolookattheconditionofyourroof

andguttering,toensuremaximum

catchment.Leakingandblocked

guttersresultinwaterbeingwasted,

asitwon’treachthetank.

BREAKDOWNOFCOSTS

Tank(ortanks)

Waterpumpandfittings

Deliveryoftanksandpump

Plumbingandinstallation

Preparationofsite(levelwith

gravelorconcretepad)

Electriciantoinstalloutdoor

powerpointforpump,andto

connectpump

BUILDINGPERMIT

Checkwithyourlocalcounciltoseeif

youneedabuildingpermittoinstalla

watertank.Generally,abuildingpermit

isrequiredifthewatertankispartof

newwork,includinganextension,oris

largerthanacertainsize.Theremay

alsoberestrictionsonhowclosethe

tankcanbesitedtoaboundary.

INSTALLATIONCHECKLIST

tryingtodecidewhichtypetoget,asthe

choiceissimplyamatterofmakingthe

followingseriesofdecisionsandtaking

allthecostsintoaccount.

Thefirstdecisioniswherethetankwill

go.Althoughtanksarenowmoreattractive

thaninthepast,theyareusuallyputina

spotwheretheywillbeasunobtrusiveas

possiblebutclosetothesourceofwater,

suchasthehouse’srooforoutbuildings.

Whenconsideringthebestlocation,

rememberthetankneedstobelower

thanthelowestsourceofwater.

Popularsitesincludebehindagarage

orshed,alongthesideofthehouse,or

underanelevatedverandah.Itmaybe

possibletoconnectalltheroofareas

toasingletank,oraseriesoftanks,to

maximisethevolumeofwatercollected.

Whereitisdifficulttocollectallthe

water,positionthetankwhereitgets

ausefulamountofrainwater.

FROM OPPOSITE

 is slimline metal tank looks attractive and takes up little room in a courtyard garden;

manufactured from food-grade polyethylene, this poly tank has been installed on a level,

stable base – as required for all tanks – to catch run-o from the patio roof.

PHOTOS

ALAMY, POLY TANK PHOTO COURTESY OF STRATCO.COM.AU

BARASTOC

NATIONAL CHOOK

HEALTH WEEK™

9 TH – 15TH SEPTEMBER

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