Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Mar 29, 2011 12:21 pm Hi everyone! Myself and my partner are currently investigating rural blocks outside melbourne on which to build our first home. Very excited about the prospect but I can see that this process is going to be a very steep learning curve! My (probably first of many) question is about water on rural blocks. The property we are keen on (and I believe actually most of the available rural blocks around the area) has no mains water or sewerage connection. We want the house to have pretty good eco-credentials anyway so have no problem shelling out for a sewage treatment system onsite but am unsure about the water situation. I know that a rainwater tank can provide water for toilets, laundry, garden etc. but what about our drinkable water? Do we have to purchase this from a supplier and store in a seperate tank? Are there systems which can treat rainwater to drink? I'm concerned that in a dry country we will be at the mercy of whatever the local supplier wants to charge for drinking water supplies! Can someone please give me an idea of the options for drinkable water sources on a block with no mains connection (if indeed there are options)? Also, a secondary question on this subject is the sewage treatment facility - does this need a mains connection to work? Does anyone have any other suggestions/concerns that we should be considering when planning to build on a block without this service? (FYI, it will just be a small land parcel - 1-2 acres so will not have a dam or fresh water source) I hope I'm not doubling up a thread on here, I have looked around and cant seem to find an answer to my query. Thanks in advance for your help! misty Re: Drinking water options when mains connection not availab 2Mar 29, 2011 12:34 pm You have nothing to worry about re drinking water. I grew up in the bush and our only water was caught off the colour bond roof into a concrete inground tank (120,000 litre tank). The only filter was a plastic screen to catch the big chunks, otherwise it was untreated. I ended up fine (others may not agree). Re: Drinking water options when mains connection not availab 3Mar 29, 2011 1:00 pm Rainwater is the most delicious water ever! My inlaws are on a farm 1 hr from Perth, they have a dam to service their livestock and citrus trees, but they rely on rainwater for all household water & drinking water - nothing at all wrong with it and it actually tastes 200% better than any Perth water I've ever had The road to success is always under construction House completed April 2011 - slowly making it a home... Re: Drinking water options when mains connection not availab 4Mar 29, 2011 1:34 pm You can get a whole of house filter (google it) which filters all of you water from the rainwater tank. This makes the water purer than mains water which means tastes better, soap and shampoo work better and appliances last longer. With septic system, does not need to be connected to mains water and many many different types available. Do a search on here and you will lots of threads about septics and the different types. Building tip No. 3: A raft slab will not get you down a river. A waffle pod slab does not go with maple syrup. My building thread https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=53000 Re: Drinking water options when mains connection not availab 6Mar 29, 2011 5:32 pm My parents use their 45,000 underground tank to service their entire house. The only thing they said they'd do 'next time' is not put it underground ... after recently flooding their HSTP flooded and the sewage seeped into the tank which was under all the flood water. Filters have made it all drinkable again, but it's not something they even thought about before the floods. ~ trying to build our dream home by the sea ~ Re: Drinking water options when mains connection not availab 7Mar 29, 2011 5:59 pm There are a few articles here about rainwater including how to calculate how much you can collect http://www.anewhouse.com.au/?cat=98 Regards Brian The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: Drinking water options when mains connection not availab 8Mar 30, 2011 4:04 pm We have trickle feed where we live off tank water except for the main tap in the kitchen which had to be connected to the mains, the kids go out of thier way to avoid that tap for drinking water and go into the bathroom to get the water because "It tastes better" I can't give an objective opinion about the flavour of the water as it is not "Beer flavoured" But all rainwater systems also have to have meshes on gutters to stop bugs/leafs etc from getting in, and they need cleaning to keep up the quality of the water. The other thing that could be an issue is if you have a month or so without rain and the water in the gutter pipes (it sits in part of the pipe at just under the level of entry into the tank) start to get a bit of algee, but the solution to this I was told by the guy who provided the tank was to set up a hose for the furtherest away gutter from he tank and just run water around the system for about 10 mins to freshen the stuff in the downpipes, and you don't lose much water (only first flush amount) and keeps it fresher. If I was to win Lotto, I would build with a different builder, now to win lotto Re: Drinking water options when mains connection not availab 9Mar 30, 2011 6:06 pm I agree with all of the above! Nothing beats rain water I grew up on a farm with out any services, we had 3 rain water tanks and a dam, I couldn't drink the town water when I moved into town after that, it was so yuck! I still love rain water now, and its free (so long as it keeps raining). For the septic system, you don't need access to any council sewerage systems. I am pretty sure the septic breaks down all the waste matter and then it is released via hoses (as clean water) onto plants or where ever you want it to go (correct me if I am wrong, this is the set up at our place). Re: Drinking water options when mains connection not availab 11Mar 31, 2011 9:08 am MIsty, we moved into our place on an acre last Christmas Eve. We are on septic and tankwater. The tankwater is fantastic and we also have an inbuilt filter tap in the kitchen (only because it was part of the package!). Deemaree Kyndylan Capers: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46852 My blog: http://www.sufficientlysufficient.blogspot.com/ if it's the look that you're not happy with, the easiest option would probably be to spray paint it all into the same color as the walls so it blends in. there might not… 3 4251 Hi all I'm currently building a duplex in Sydney and we need to do a new water connection to the second unit. 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