Rainwater tanks can make a huge difference to mains water consumption as demonstrated by one Melbourne household even through some of the driest times on record. Stuart McQuire (authour of Water Not Down the Drain, published by the ATA), Wendy Orams and their two teenage daughters have used an average of just four litres of mains water per person per day over the last year.

This is just 2.6 per cent of the Victorian Government’s target of 155 litres per day. They have shown that even through periods of drought there can be enough water without using desalinated seawater or water taken from other catchments.

Nearly all the water used in Stuart and Wendy’s house is rainwater or recycled water from the site. Only two taps in the house are mains water, the kitchen cold water tap for drinking and cooking, and the cold water tap on the bathroom basin for brushing teeth. The rainwater is used for showers (hot & cold water), the laundry, all water via the hot water system, and some of the garden taps. Recycled water is used for toilet flushing and also for the garden.

Stuart and Wendy started diverting greywater to the garden in 1992 and got their first rainwater tank in 1994. In 2003 after being awarded a Smart Water Fund grant to see how far they could go in cutting mains water consumption, they installed new rainwater and greywater systems. Now the house supplies its water needs almost entirely through rainwater and recycled water from the site. Their rainwater system uses four rainwater tanks to store up to 20,000 litres of water. The Envirowater greywater recycling unit installed in the front yard of the house also doubles as a water feature and produces water clean enough to use on the vegetable garden.

According to Stuart, “Our experience is that rainwater tanks can be the main source of supply even through some of the driest times on record. While we’d all like more regular rain, we’re keen to challenge the perception that it’s not worth having a rainwater tank. Rainwater tanks save huge amounts of energy and greenhouse emissions compared to desalination or centralised water recycling. They also connect you with your local environment and can cut your water bills dramatically”.
Stuart points out that most households would benefit from a rainwater tank.

“Even a relatively small rainwater tank can be used to supply water for toilet flushing and the laundry, with mains water back up used for times when there isn’t enough rain”.

Using less in the first place is a key to sustainable water use. If rainwater and greywater are included with mains water, then the overall water use at Stuart and Wendy’s house has been 77.5 litres per person, per day or half the Victorian government’s target of 155 litres per day.

They have cut their water use with a water efficient shower, a water efficient washing machine, dual flush toilets and by using mulch on the garden.

Stuart and Wendy’s house also features solar electricity, solar hot water, a permaculture style
garden, composting and chooks.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 11th, 2008 at 2:38 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.