Home water tanks are good for your garden, your hip pocket and the environment

With all the focus these days on water conservation, it seems a shame to use valuable drinking water on the garden. Home water tanks harness the water nature provides, so why not take it advantage of them?

"If you're looking at using a home water tank for storing water for the garden then you need to work out whether the size of tank you'll need is practical for the space you've got," says Nicholas Marks from Wet Earth, an online shop selling irrigation equipment, including water tanks.

In other words, gardens need a great deal of water to survive, and the sort of home water tank you'd need to store all that water – especially over a long period of time, which might be necessary in drought years – would be considerable. A 10 metres x 10 metres garden would require something like 5000 litres of water per week in summer. That's assuming you water your garden, including the lawn, twice a week. A 5000 litre tank would be around 2 metres high, 2 metres wide and 1 metre long, which is a pretty large object to fit into an average domestic yard.

This doesn't mean that water storage tanks are impractical for all domestic gardens. It simply means that you need to do your research (including likely rainfall totals for your area: figures are available on the Bureau of Meteorology website) before deciding to install one. Nicholas points out that home water tanks come in a vast range of sizes, shapes and materials, with different versions suitable for different applications. Some tanks can be buried underground, while others are made from flexible material – known as bladder tanks – and can be fitted beneath verandahs and deck areas.

Home water tanks can also be installed prior to the construction of a house, often beneath the dwelling. It's possible to have a series of tanks underneath your house, with an overall capacity of 10,000 to 15,000 litres. Prices vary according to the materials used, the warranties that come with the tank, the associated pumps and fittings, and whether you collect the tank yourself or have it delivered. Most states require a licensed plumber to install them, which adds to the cost too. 

There are systems available that recycle grey water and a combination of mains water, recycled grey water and rainwater is something worth considering. Talk to an expert today, and see how you can help your garden and the environment by taking advantage of the benefits home water tanks provide.