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Why Buy Rainwater tanks in a Drought?

By Dave C

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 21Jan2008
Word count: 471
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One of the most common questions we are asked is 'What is the point of a rainwater tank in a drought?'

It's a good question. If it doesn't rain then a water tank does not help you much unless you have another way to fill the tank. The thing is that most true droughts occur inland whereas most of the population lives near the coast where it does rain. Sure we sometimes have dry winters where we get below average rainfalls but even if you were to receive half of the average rainfall it should be enough to keep your tanks full for most of the year, if not all of it. This of course depends on the size of your rainwater tank and how much water you use but providing you have a reasonable size tank you should be right.

For example, if you live in Melbourne where water restrictions are amongst the most severe the lowest rainfall in recent years was around 400mm. With a roof harvest area of 200 square metres you would collect around 80,000 litres. Melbourne also has a fairly consistent rainfall throughout the year which is great for regularly topping up your tank. Based on this it would be enough to provide an average house and garden with about 50% of the water supply, or in other words, reduce you mains water usage by 50%! Even if you have a small block or apartment you can make a difference. Superwall slimline modular rainwater tanks can easily fit down the side of the house or against a wall so you don't lose valuable space. They are also the only tank to have a completely flat finish so they look like a normal wall.

The next question we get asked is "If it rains so much, then why do we have water restrictions?"

Another good question and quite a detailed one. The simple answer is that most of the mains water is stored in dams. This kind of storage does have a lot to do with drought and rainfall. Catchment areas direct water that lands on the soil and directs it towards the dam. Often these catchment areas are further inland where drought and low rainfall is more common than the coast. If it doesn't rain for some time then the soil in the catchment areas will dry out. When it does rain then the first rain is soaked up in the soil and does not make it into the dams. If it doesn't rain again for a while then this process repeats itself. Meanwhile the water is still being consumed and unless decent rain falls then it will simply run out. That's why it is important to get water tanks so you can take responsibility for your water usage and take pressure of mains supply.

Dave is General Manager at Superwall Systems an innovative water tank company based in Perth, Australia which produces the Supertank- The world's only structural water tank. Build your house out of water

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