TANK TALK

If you want to maintain a healthy lawn, veggie patch or garden bed, install a rainwater tank

- KAREN BOOTH

The goal for gardeners should be to be as sustainable in their practices as possible, which means reducing reliance on mains water for irrigation. One very effective way you can do this is by installing one or more rainwater tanks. There are above-ground tanks of myriad shapes, sizes and colours and below-ground tanks, which are ideal when planning a new garden as they can be buried under the lawn, a paved area or the pool without the expensive excavation involved in a retro-fit.

Various factors come into play when selecting a tank. There’s budget, of course, but with the number of rebate programs around this can take the financial sting out of buying and installing a tank. Space is another consideration, which can be more of an issue in established gardens. Then there’s roof size and condition, the average annual rainfall in your area and what you want to use the tank water for (irrigation, other outdoor chores such as car and dog washing, or flushing toilets and providing water for the laundry).

IT’S NOT JUST THE TANK YOU NEED

As the water that accumulates in the tank is collected from the roof of your house, available roof area is of critical importance when working out what size tank it can support. The type of roof is also important as it can affect water quality; same for gutters. Roofs and gutters in older homes that have been coated with leadbased paint can be a source of contamination. Similarly, a newly painted roof is not ideal for water collection. The first few run-offs should always be discarded.