As we all know, water is very important to our everyday lives. People get water from different sources. Recently people using water supplied by their council have experienced a dramatic increase in their bills. This is probably partly due to the state of the economy but more particularly because the cost of supplying water has increased. In Australia frequent floods and droughts have impacted water supply and inflated the cost. The construction of desalination plants to safeguard against the effects of drought has increased as well as the need to repair and maintain water supply systems adversely affected by floods. As a result people are looking for alternatives that they could use to supplement their fresh water needs as well as looking for ways to conserve water.

Rainwater tanks are a good way to collect and store rainwater for later use, the method simply involves collecting rainwater and directing it into large containers where it is stored for future use. Only about a hundred years ago rain harvesting was one of the major ways that people obtained the water that they needed, but the concept is older than that. Thousands of years ago, traditional people obtained water by making a funnel from banana leaves to direct the rain into coconut husk containers. Of course this method does not have the capacity to collect and store larger quantities of water. Rainwater tanks can help you to store hundreds or thousands of litres of water suitable for many different household purposes.

There are several methods that you can use to gather and store water for your daily needs. The most common set up is the following. The first thing you need is the collection surface, which is usually the roof of the house (or a section of roof). Guttering which usually diverts the rain water in the stormwater system, is used to transport water into the downpipe connected to the designated storage vessel. The vessel can be an above or below ground tank, and may be made from polyethylene, concrete or steel. Some filtration is used to help ensure that the water in the tank, and the water going into the house, is clean. A First Flush Diverter and a post-tank filter are usually recommended.

Another method of collection is via ground catchments. If you are going to store large amounts of rainwater, then this method may be your preferred option. A catchment area is excavated and then water coming from underground may be filtered with large rocks. The water is channelled into a reservoir where it is collected and kept for future use.

There are other, less common methods. One is simply making use of a subsurface dyke. The dyke is created to prevent the ground water from flowing away. The major aim of this is to increase the water levels in a water reservoir.

You can always contact a plumber if you want to set up a more elaborate process. Getting professional advice is always a good idea, especially if you want to make sure everything you have is installed properly. Most plumbers will be happy to come out to your property and provide you with a quote based on your specific needs.