If you live in a rural area - and let’s face it, if you are reading this paper, you live in a rural areas – there’s a good chance you rely on tank-water and or you collect rainwater for drinking and household use.

Rainwater is relatively safe to drink as long as it is collected and stored correctly in order to minimise the risk of contamination.

It is vital you ensure there is no way for animal or human waste to entre the source of supply – and don’t forget to keep it covered from bird droppings as well. If you are collecting rainwater from your roof, check there are no lead flashings or lead-based paint products causing elevated lead levels in collected water

Be aware of spraying times and remember spray drift can land on the roof and be flushed into tanks with first rains.  Get professional advice about installing a first flush diverter – this will  flush the first couple of hundred litres of water collected to avoid possible contamination.  Leaves falling into the tank can decompose and cause taste and odour issues – so clear the area of trees if possible.

If you can, use a  two tank system is better than one large tank, as the first tank can be used primarily as a settling tank with the second tank being the draw off.

It is best to  avoid piping design with  sections of pipe that will contain standing water before the tank. During hot dry spells organic matter within the water can decompose and then be forced into the tank following the next rain, causing strong taste and odour issues.

Your system should be cleaned and disinfected every 6-12 months including the guttering.   It’s a good idea at this point to open the scour valve to remove any accumulated sludge.  Disinfection can be achieved by calculating 167ml of household bleach per 1000 litres of water (167ml= 2/3 cup). Leave it in the tank for a few hours before flushing to waste.

It pays to be sensible when it comes to drinking water.  As tempting as it might be to believe rain water is uncontaminated and pure – the trip from cloud to glass can meet with more than a few possible contaminants.  Don’t despair however as there are ways of reducing the risk of contamination of roofwater.  Be sure you  collect drinking water only from non-toxic surfaces so check for lead, chromium or cadmium in its paint, nails, flashings or soldering.  If you’re in doubt, avoid using water from your roof for drinking. Paints used for roofs should be labelled “suitable for potable water supply,” as should pre-finished roofing materials. The same applies to pipe and storage materials.  Because rainwater is slightly acidic it can react with and leach uncoated metallic roofs – if you have a roof of this style make sure it has been  pre-coated or painted.  Some concern has also been raised about the suitability of PVC pipes for water collection, because of the possibility of chemicals leaching from PVC. Good alternatives are polybutylene and polyethylene. Use the latter in areas of high exposure to UV light.  Reducing the distance the water has to travel to a minimum helps avoid degradation and underground lines to the water tank are more difficult to clean and maintain so should be avoided if possible.

To avoid organic contamination - plant matter, animal droppings and any dust or dirt contained in the -  fit self-cleaning rainwater strainers to all downpipes connected to the tank or at the inlet of the tank. Just remember to check them periodically  The  inlet from the downpipe to the water tank should be easily detachable to ensure you can discard the water when you clean or paint the roof and pipes.  Reduce animal access to the roof by maintaining a gap of at least two metres between tree branches and the roof, and by avoiding aerials that overhang the roof.

One easy way to conserve water is to collect water for outdoor use and toilet flushing. There are various options ranging from a simple 44 gallon drum under a downpipe for garden use, to more complex systems with  pumps and filters. By raising the drums off the ground by about a meter you should create sufficient pressure to operate a low pressure gravity fed irrigation system. This is an excellent method of using the roof water off garages, garden sheds and other small buildings.  By utilising a system like this you won’t have to worry about your vegetable or rose garden suffering during the height of summer.  You’re not confined to using the water for gardens or flushing toilets either.  It’s not difficult to gravity feed water to a washing machine.