Anyone on Tank Water only?

[Kangaron]

G'day all, I'm about to start a new build in country Victoria, on the outskirts of town [Goldfields Shire].
I have a sewerage point 5 metres from the fencline 
However,
The nearest water main is approx 150 metres away acroos a bitumen road.
I can't get a resonse from Coliban Water [working from home/office unattended/no answer to emails] and the local
plumber states that more than likely they will want to extend the main [which means they do the work @ $50k + at my expense]
I'll have 400 m2 of roofline [ave rainfall per annum of about 500mm] which equates to 200,000 L per year.
I have heaps of room and was thinking of 3 x 33,750 tanks.

Has anyone experience with living of tank water only where town water is nearby?
I expect once over a certain tank size a stamp duty/permit fee will kick in?
If so was it a smooth process dealing with authorities.

ps, local planners are in the same boat as the water people, just can't knock on a door atm, and speak to anyone.
Any input appreciated.

[beigewagon]

We have town water connected, but choose to only use rain water we collect on site. We have 2 x 18000 lt tanks that fill from approx 210-220m2 of roof area. Family of two adults only. The whole house is run on tank water (showers, toilets, washing machine, dishwasher, kitchen, etc.)

We have only run out of water once in 12 years when the cistern of one toilet, in a shed, stuck and ran water non stop for several days.

Beigewagon.

[beigewagon]

Forgot to add, we live in Latrobe Valley, in Gippsland, Regional Victoria.

[Inland_Sailor]

I've lived in a rural setting on tank water for 40 years, so I've got a bit of a handle on it! I've 54,000l storage on notionally 650mm average and 350 m2. I do kart drinking water from a municipal stand pipe when the  water levels have dropped over the drought years and dry periods to ensure we don't run out.
You should be generally OK with that amount of water for the house but it depends if you are going to use it only for the house or for the garden or pool as well.  [Ours is just household use]
Of course adding adding shedding to the catchment will also help greatly.

There are figure on what the average home uses per person, but I think there very generous. and must be calculated on having a water supply.

In Summer [when your watching your water usage] my household of 3 uses approx 2000l per week, but about  1000l of that can be used by the evaporative air conditioner. S our actual consumption is approx 1000l or so, which is about 50l per person per day.

In your case, you may be able to hook into the town water by running your own private line, [not a main], done in poly, which is done in many places.
Is there ground water available? Many country home have 2 cold water feeds with a bore/spring/creek water for the garden, flushing the toilet, rinsing dishes, clothes washing and evap cooler. This then can save most of the tank water for drinking, cooking and hot water.

Hope this helps with your thinking!

[austastar]

Hi,
    May be different at your location, but Taswater consider you "connected" if the water mains is wìthin 40m of your boundary. Usage, if connected is metered, but the supply charge applies if you are within reach of the mains.
Cheers

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[rags]

Around 30 years ago I built a house in the NSW Blue Mts on a block that had no water. We went all out and got a tank built onsite by this company https://www.panthersconcretetanks.com.au/
Our tank was 150 000 litres and it was the best think we did, When the house was finally extended and garages added we had sufficient roof area to fill the tank, and we never ever ran out and always had a supply in times of bush fires, so much so that the rfs could tanker out of our tank. We usually averaged around 1000 mm rain annually so rain fall was sufficient just needed to collect it.
Best thing about the tank was that we squared the lid up to give me a 9.8 metre concrete slabs which I could build my workshop on.
As a plumber I have done plenty of both rain tank jobs along with septics and I often said if I was offered a choice between a sewer connection or a water connection, I would take the sewer every time.

[Bird]

Stand pipe and hose if theres a hydrant point close by to fill ya tanks... only occasionally of course.

[Pete79]

Yes, tank water only here.

Just under 200m2 of roof.
Our average rain fall is around 1500mm per year. Currently sitting on 999mm so far this year.

2 tanks with 50,000L total was not quite enough.
We installed a third tank a few years ago and now with 75,000L storage fingers crossed we shouldn’t have to buy or cart our own water for a while.

1 tank lasts around 8 weeks on average at our house with 4 adults and 2 kids.
Right about now we would normally start watching our water usage to make sure we have at least one tank full to get us through September/October and then just hang out for the first storms in November.

In really bad years we’ve had to use a 200L bladder in the back of the ute and cart our own water from town every day.
It’s not a good feeling having totally empty tanks and every water tanker in the whole region has at least a 3 week wait on deliveries.
That 200L bladder got us through some horribly dry October/Novembers for a couple of years now.

[Kangaron]

Stand pipe and hose if theres a hydrant point close by to fill ya tanks... only occasionally of course.

Can't get access to the stand pipes if you have town water nearby (if you are connected or not) but water is relatively cheap.
I should have added to the OP the town water is not the best an we can't drink it.

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[edz]

One of these https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-TnZhvM1EI  for the hard times

[Jeepers Creepers]

Tank only for us.... 52,000lt worth of storage.

We are NOT in a high rainfall area, so I do call in a water truck if I have to, maybe once or twice a year.

$130 for 13,000lt of natural spring water from Coominya Trucking.....

[GeoffA]

Tank only for us.... 52,000lt worth of storage.

We are NOT in a high rainfall area, so I do call in a water truck if I have to, maybe once or twice a year.

$130 for 13,000lt of natural spring water from Coominya Trucking.....

Seems pretty good to me. Cheaper than our quarterly excess water bill from City West Water....

[Watty2975]

We are tank water only. About 300m of roof collection space into 20000gallons of tank space.

Family of five living off that plus topping up pool etc. average rainfall is approx 1150mm per year.

[Jeepers Creepers]

Seems pretty good to me. Cheaper than our quarterly excess water bill from City West Water....

Two trucks are 12,700 and one is 13,000, so far, i've scored the extra.

There are two guys near/ish to each other, both offer Spring Water, even have it on their business cards and crap.
I guess it must be spring water, although, I have had a delivery during summer. 

[GGV8Cruza]

Tank water for us only. 50000 of drinking water. 40000 of garden water. Never run out in 6 years. We have a large roof and have upgraded the system to catch all we can.

GG

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[Kangaron]

Thanks for all the replies this far.
For those in Vic, any permits needed for the larger tanks?, or council permission/permit required?

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[Rowlie]

We have an in ground 96,000 litre tank and around 350sq m of roof. I also have 2 poly tanks of 20k and 10k on other buildings. We live from the concrete tank and I can't imagine ever running out. There is a 100mm main running past our gate (on the wrong side of the road) but for some reason the previous owners chose not to tap into it. The road is going to be sealed soon so I have decided to get connected now. Nowhere near the distance you are looking at. Perhaps 15m to a meter then 40m to the house connection. The plumber has to expose the main then the supplier has to do the tapping. The plumber then bores under the unsealed road to the meter before digging his trench to what was the connection from the tank. Concrete tank water is higher in calcium than poly I understand but being in ground is handy. Its not particularly expensive ie <$10k. But a bit different to your scenario. I think I would persevere with trying to contact your supplier. Then you will at least know for sure.

[Inland_Sailor]

One of the bonuses of tank water is that you get to drink sweet water and never have a difficulty with getting a lather. When your on tank water, you really notice the chlorine smell of supply water!

[austastar]

....... you really notice the chlorine smell of supply water!

Hi,
     Especially in Adelaide!
Scum on the top of a cup of coffee really put me off.
Cheers



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[Kangaron]

The plumber has to expose the main then the supplier has to do the tapping. The plumber then bores under the unsealed road to the meter before digging his trench to what was the connection from the tank.   Its not particularly expensive ie <$10k. But a bit different to your scenario. I think I would persevere with trying to contact your supplier. Then you will at least know for sure.

I'm familiar with the connection woes, the most expensive part is traffic management.
Anyways
Have decided on tanks as we both love rainwater.
Planning dept at the shire office is "unsure"
Water supplier dosn't want to know about tanks.

Looks like I'll just go ahead.

[Bird]

I'm familiar with the connection woes, the most expensive part is traffic management.
Anyways
Have decided on tanks as we both love rainwater.
Planning dept at the shire office is "unsure"
Water supplier dosn't want to know about tanks.

Looks like I'll just go ahead.

what do others do in the region?

[Kangaron]

Used to be able to run 50mm poly from the main, that is now illegal.
Can't use a plumber I just found out, has to be a main extension done by an authorised consulting engineer.

Waiting for a call from said engineer now,

Lots of hoops to jump through, This block is classed as residential, so MUST connect to town water.
Min $25k Max $50, depends on what is underground [think I'll be on hand with detector].
Not happy but at least Govco is kicking in 25 large.

[bmwfreak]

Lived for 9 years out near Jeepers. Had 4 x 22,000ltr tanks, with the two of us. Never emptied one tank, let alone 4 of the buggers. Roof area was around 500m2 in the house and two sheds.
Now live in a country town, with even less rainfall, with 2x6000 gallon underground tanks and town water(?). The town water is mostly calcium and rots any storage type equipment within 5 years of installation. Can’t drink it, can’t wash in it and can’t shower in it. Our tank water however is as sweet as honey. Current roof area is 253m2. Again, plenty of water for two adults, for everything.

[Hoyks]

I have mains water to the front fence, but use tanks 90% of the time. From the meter to the house is just 1" poly pipe, If I was doing it I'd go 1.5" as it gives significantly more flow.

The meter was broken when we first moved in, so didn't use any town water at all for a few years . We get charged $80/quarter for just having a meter, usage is on top of that.

Tank wise, we have a 5000L and a 15000L on the house and another 3000L on the shed. Its not enough if we get no rain for 2 months. The new house is getting a 22700L, so I'll have tanks everywhere and hopefully enough water.

I try and leave the 3000L full for an emergency supply that a fire truck can quickly connect to, as the other tanks won't do much if the power goes out and the town supply will run a garden hose, but not much more. Its a good idea to have the quick coupling type that your local brigade use on a reserve tank, just in case.

[Pete79]

Lots of hoops to jump through, This block is classed as residential, so MUST connect to town water.

That’s interesting.

We are rural, but the 12 acre block next door to us is residential, I know that our neighbors are only on tank water.

I have heard that some councils will charge you for water in your rates if their town supply runs past your property, regardless of if you are actually connected to the mains or not.
But I haven’t actually heard of councils saying you can’t live in tank water and must connect to the mains.