So, it’s official. Another Auckland water shortage faces us this summer and already a ban on watering our gardens is in place. What to do?
Fortunately Auckland Council has recently made it much easier for householders to beat Auckland’s water shortage by capturing rain from their roofs and storing it in tanks for garden and other outside use.
Depending on the size and location of your tank you may not need a building consent and will not have to pay resource consent fees.
The Council website has some very useful resources. All the rules and regulations can be found here.
General information is here.
A list of suppliers is here.
Ways to harvest the rainwater from your roof and get it into your tank can be found here.
In principle, a rainwater collection system is simple: rainwater is collected from your roof and stored in a tank until you need it.
To collect rainwater for watering the garden, you might not need anything more complex than a 44-gallon drum or a 200-litre rain barrel with a tap or connection to a soak hose.
Generally, systems for outdoor use only rely on gravity with no need for pumps.
A rainwater harvesting system, also known as a rainwater collection system or rainwater catchment system, doesn’t need a huge tank to make a difference – even a rain barrel will reduce your outdoor water use and provide water in an emergency.
For garden watering, you can install either a rain barrel (generally about 240 litres) or a rainwater tank (500+ litres).
The more you water your garden, the bigger the tank you’ll need.
Tanks are often dark-coloured to prevent light penetrating the tank and encouraging algal growth.
The challenge will be to get your tank in while there is still a chance of rain and you can get it full to the top.
