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Rainwater tanksRainwater Tanks

Rainwater tanks are a great way to help conserve the Gold Coast’s drinking water supply and can provide a valuable source of water for your home.

Rainwater tanks are an important part of the Gold Coast Waterfuture Strategy that provides a blueprint for managing the Gold Coast’s water supply over the next 50 years. Our target is that rainwater tanks will provide 20 million litres of water per day to our city by 2056.

Uses of water from rainwater tanks

Homes that have access to the town (reticulated) water supply can use rainwater for:

  • Watering the garden
  • Washing the car
  • Other outdoor uses
  • Cold water tap of the washing machine in the laundry
  • Flushing the toilet (except in the Pimpama Coomera dual reticulated area where recycled water will be available)
  • Topping up the swimming pool

Please note: If you connect your tank to internal plumbing fixtures then you will require plumbing approval and connection to the reticulated town water supply to provide a continuous water supply for back-up purposes. To find out more please contact the Plumbing & Drainage Services on (07) 5582 8393.

Queensland Health does not recommend the use of water from rainwater tanks for drinking or food preparation if a town (reticulated potable) water supply is available.  For more information see the external website link Queensland Health document 'Managing the use of Rainwater Tanks' (46kb).

In areas where the rainwater tank is the sole supply of water, Queensland Health recommends that all users of the water follow the advice contained in the external website link enHealth Council document ‘Guidance of the Use of Rainwater Tanks' (396kb) to optimise the quality of the water supplied from these tanks and manage risks to human health.

New home owners

The Queensland Government has introduced new mandatory water saving targets for applications lodged for construction of new houses in South East Queensland from 1 January 2007.  For more information on the targets see external website link the Department of Infrastructure and Planning website.

Rainwater tanks are one way to achieve the water savings target. Other options include dual reticulation, communal rainwater tanks and stormwater reuse. To find out more see the external website link Local Government and Planning website (78kb).

Voluntarily installed tanks

There are no minimum size requirements for voluntarily installed rainwater tanks, however the size of the tank may affect your eligibility for a state and/or local government rebate.

It is the tank owner’s responsibility to ensure that the rainwater tank is installed according to state and local government requirements and to obtain any necessary approvals. For further information contact Plumbing & Drainage Services on (07) 5582 8393.

Rebates

To encourage residents to voluntarily install rainwater tanks, Council and the Queensland Government offer rebates on the installation of rainwater tanks (terms and conditions apply). To find out more see our Rebate Information.

For further information

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