Drought Proofing the Home Garden
Episode: #3 07/04/07
Presenter: Neville Passmore
Neville’s ambition has been to build a sustainable home for his family. So while there is a fair bit of work still to be done to his new home, the basics are in place.
The house is built on a solar passive design with a solar hot water system on the roof that allows the sun to warm the terrazzo floor in winter and blocks the hot sun from getting into the house in summer.
Then there is the most precious resource for a gardener - water. Water is precious and wherever you live its imperative to make the most of every available drop. The average person uses about 100 litres for showering, clothes washing and teeth cleaning per day.
So between Neville and his family a lot of water could be wasted, but Neville has a waste water re-use system that gives him a 600 litre resource for his garden; water that would normally have gone to waste.
The treated waste water is pumped into a distribution valve which sends it out to one of four stations. It ends up going through a purple coloured dripline hose which lies on the soil surface under the mulch so evaporation is minimized.
From the laundry and bathroom, water is treated by filtering to remove lint and hair then pumped out into a four station K valve which distributes the water in a sequence to four separate irrigation areas of the garden.
Finally it is delivered to garden beds in the purple coloured dripline hose which sits on the soil surface. This is then covered in 100 mm of mulch to prevent contact with the treated water by kids and pets.
With Neville’s house having such an enormous roof area rainwater harvesting is a very practical way to go for new houses being built but it is also a possibility for existing houses.
To be of real value, size really matters. After winter it is not uncommon for areas of Australia to experience a 6 month gap between rainfall. So Neville’s 8000 litres of underground storage can supply the internal needs of his house for a whole 10 days.
With a system like this, rainwater can be used to replace scheme water for drinking water, in the kitchen, flushing toilets and topping up the garden supply. Engaging a consultant makes a retrofit like Neville’s manageable and it may also help you to qualify for available subsidies.
Costs vary fairly dramatically depending on site logistics. Neville’s water harvesting exercise is going to cost around $5,000 and the grey-water storage and distribution system will cost about the same. In times of changing climate Neville thinks it is a great long term investment for anyone.
Government subsidies are available for a number of these water conserving measures, so check out your states water board, by visiting their website:
Queensland Water Commission: http://www.qwc.qld.gov.au/
Western Australian Water Corporation: http://www.watercorporation.com.au/
Victoria – Our Water Our Future: http://www.ourwater.vic.gov.au/ourwater
New South Wales Water Board: http://www.sydneywater.com.au/
South Australia Water: http://www.sawater.com.au/sawater
Presenter: Neville Passmore
Neville’s ambition has been to build a sustainable home for his family. So while there is a fair bit of work still to be done to his new home, the basics are in place.
The house is built on a solar passive design with a solar hot water system on the roof that allows the sun to warm the terrazzo floor in winter and blocks the hot sun from getting into the house in summer.
Then there is the most precious resource for a gardener - water. Water is precious and wherever you live its imperative to make the most of every available drop. The average person uses about 100 litres for showering, clothes washing and teeth cleaning per day.
So between Neville and his family a lot of water could be wasted, but Neville has a waste water re-use system that gives him a 600 litre resource for his garden; water that would normally have gone to waste.
The treated waste water is pumped into a distribution valve which sends it out to one of four stations. It ends up going through a purple coloured dripline hose which lies on the soil surface under the mulch so evaporation is minimized.
From the laundry and bathroom, water is treated by filtering to remove lint and hair then pumped out into a four station K valve which distributes the water in a sequence to four separate irrigation areas of the garden.
Finally it is delivered to garden beds in the purple coloured dripline hose which sits on the soil surface. This is then covered in 100 mm of mulch to prevent contact with the treated water by kids and pets.
With Neville’s house having such an enormous roof area rainwater harvesting is a very practical way to go for new houses being built but it is also a possibility for existing houses.
To be of real value, size really matters. After winter it is not uncommon for areas of Australia to experience a 6 month gap between rainfall. So Neville’s 8000 litres of underground storage can supply the internal needs of his house for a whole 10 days.
With a system like this, rainwater can be used to replace scheme water for drinking water, in the kitchen, flushing toilets and topping up the garden supply. Engaging a consultant makes a retrofit like Neville’s manageable and it may also help you to qualify for available subsidies.
Costs vary fairly dramatically depending on site logistics. Neville’s water harvesting exercise is going to cost around $5,000 and the grey-water storage and distribution system will cost about the same. In times of changing climate Neville thinks it is a great long term investment for anyone.
Government subsidies are available for a number of these water conserving measures, so check out your states water board, by visiting their website:
Queensland Water Commission: http://www.qwc.qld.gov.au/
Western Australian Water Corporation: http://www.watercorporation.com.au/
Victoria – Our Water Our Future: http://www.ourwater.vic.gov.au/ourwater
New South Wales Water Board: http://www.sydneywater.com.au/
South Australia Water: http://www.sawater.com.au/sawater
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