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Uses for rainwater

Rainwater is an excellent alternative to mains drinking water and can serve a number of purposes around the home. Here are a few ways you can make use of rainwater.

Watering your garden

The percentage of household water used in gardens across Australia is between 25 to 50 per cent, generally depending on a household's geographic location.

To save on this water consumption, a rainwater tank would be a great source for operating your sprinkler or water system, provided that it isn't connected to or topped up by the drinking water system.

Large rainwater tanks tend to be more beneficial as you can store more water to get through long dry periods without using potable water. Where space is an issue, you may wish to consider a different style of tank or installing two smaller tanks.

Toilet flushing

An average person uses 30 litres of water in the toilet per day or 210 litres per week. And with up to 12 litres being used per flush, connecting a rainwater tank to the toilet system can lead to major water savings.

You can install an automatic diversion directly from mains water if the rainwater tank is empty.

Alternatively, a trickle top-up system uses a float valve to measure how much water you have in your tank. When the water level gets too low, mains water will trickle into the tank to top it up.

In the laundry

You can save a large amount of water by connecting your washing machine to your tank.

Washing machines can use in excess of 150 litres of water per load and most households do five to six loads per week. Using a 4.5 Star water-efficient washing machine with 7kg capacity will cut back water consumption to 60 litres per wash and reduce the amount of rainwater needed.

Saving water in the bathroom

There are many simple ways we can save water in the bathroom.

Learn more