Water: Drinking

The homestead's water system efficiently collects rainwater from the garage and house into tanks totalling 88,000 L, with a new 70,000 L tank to further boost capacity. This setup, complemented by automatic transfers and moderate usage, ensures a sustainable water supply, even modelling the driest conditions. Added features like a CFA connector and quick link on the large tank enhance versatility for emergency and external use, securing a reliable water source for all needs.

Homestead drinking water is captured off the garage roof into a 4000 L water tank, which is then transferred into the main 15,000 L water tank. Currently, this is gravity-fed to the Home. A 70,000 L water tank is being installed adjacent to the existing water infrastructure. We will augment the water capture by plumbing the rainwater gutters of the house into a 3000 L holding tank underneath the house. Once this tank is full and there is capacity in the top tank, we will automatically transfer water to the top tank.

Our modelling suggests that with every drain fall and capture from the house and garage, we will be able to fill and maintain the 70,000-litre tank with moderate usage. This capacity allows us to increase water usage while maintaining a healthy balance of water in the main water tank. For example, with a daily consumption of 500 L and an average rainfall every month, we will capture in excess of this consumption of 15,000 L per month.

We've also modelled the worst possible rainfall outcome, with the lowest recorded monthly rainfalls used as input into a model where the last monthly rainfalls are used each month. Note that this low rainfall level has never occurred in a single year, but we have used this to test the resilience of our water infrastructure and capacities. The area of greatest risk is late summer, where there is the possibility of very low rainfall in February. That said, going into the year, we can maintain a continuous water supply with only 25,000 L in the tank and a reduced consumption of 270 L per day.

We have also installed two extra outlets on the 70,000 L tank, including a CFA connector and a 2-inch quick link so that water can be used to top up firetrucks, connected to a pump or transferred to portable containers using a 2-inch hose and pump or gravity.

In conclusion, this capacity is more than adequate for maintaining a healthy supply of water to the house, even in the driest of years.

Insights and Implications—Sufficient capacity for drinking water, even in drought.

ACTIONS—Clear invasive plants and install necessary water extraction systems.