Page Comparison

Introduction

A tank is a type of storage used in domestic, commercial and/or industrial settings Tank node in an urban Deveoper Scenario is used to store water collected from surface runoff or sources such as greywater or blackwater waste streams. Once stored the water can be released in a controlled manner, and/or used to supply water demands.There is a trend towards installing domestic rainwater tanks in urban areas to capture roof runoff and supply a roof surface. This stored water can be accessed to supply e.g. non-potable water demands. The benefits of using water sourced from

Once linked, a rainwater tank include:

• reduced reliance on potable water supply, thus deferring potable water system upgrade or expansion and increasing the security of supply from existing water sources;
• stormwater retention/detention;
• urban water quality improvement via retention and diversion of stormwater to the sewer and garden areas, thus reducing the volume of stormwater pollutants discharging to the catchment watercourses; and
• protection of urban streams, through reducing the duration of elevated flows.

Rainwater tanks are most efficient when the retained water supplies multiple water demands within a household, eg toilet flushing, garden irrigation, filling or topping-up swimming pools, clothes washing and other appropriate non-potable uses.

In many areas health departments do not expressly prohibit rainwater tanks supplying drinking water, however, guidelines typically recommend avoiding drinking rainwater where a reticulated potable supply is available.

Tank construction

Rainwater tanks are usually constructed from plastic, or galvanised steel, and are located above-ground adjacent to the sides of a dwelling or building. Where space is limited, tanks can also be installed below-ground, under-floor and in-slab - in these situations, tanks are often constructed from concrete or impermeable plastic membranes.

Conceptualisation

Conceptually, the operation of a rainwater tank is identical to the operation of any tank-based storage infrastructure. The simulation scheme developed is generic in its applicability to all forms of tank-based storage. The tank can be a supply to all water end-use demands within a household.

The Tank node allows for the inflow of rainwater from a roof as well as the provision of trickle top-up from the mains supply, triggered to start and stop at a user-specified tank level.