Advantages and Disadvantages of Rain Water Tanks

Rainwater tanks have many advantages which usually far outweigh any disadvantages. If the water tanks are not used for rainwater harvesting (e.g. due to drought) they can be useful for storing water from other sources, including municipal water, in case of water supply cuts or restrictions.

Although our planet has amazing quantities of water everywhere, much of it is still unusable for drinking purposes. The ocean water and the one of the seas can be of little use due to its high salt content, but we can do a whole lot more with rainwater and what it offers due to its presence in local climate patterns. Rain harvesting  and storing rainwater in water tanks is an excellent way of backing up your groundwater reserves, but this is not a perfect and ideal solution. The following advantages and disadvantages may apply:

 Advantages:

• Rainwater tanks are fairly easy to maintain overall, as it allows you to utilize a great, renewable energy resource that is extremely useful to all. Drinking water is not quite so easily renewable, so this really helps lower the wastage so prevalent in most societies.

• Rainwater harvesting helps reduce the overall water bills, giving you a chance to be free of paying greater sums to water utility companies. This is extremely useful for a lot of smaller businesses and families, as it allows them to lower their overall bills. On a greater, industrial scale this works even better, as it allows harvesting rainwater in much larger quantities.

• It makes it great for irrigation purposes as rooftops can work as an area for catching the water, which can then be linked to a harvesting system and water tank or rain barrel. This makes gravity the driving power here, lowering the use of fossil fuels.

• It helps reduce the overall demand of ground water, as most cities take a serious toll on the drinking water of the areas around them. This greatly helps with the natural balance between our population density and the local biosphere.

• It helps reduce erosion and floods, as rainwater can be contained in a way that doesn’t hurt the environment.

Disadvantages:

• Rainfall can be pretty unpredictable in some areas of the world, so this could seriously inhibit the usefulness of a system like that. You should not depend solely upon rainwater for your water needs, especially in areas where such rainfall is limited.

• The initial costs can be steep for some households, depending on the system and how much benefit can be derived from its use. Much like solar panels, the costs can be negated for the next ten to fifteen years, largely depending on the system itself and the rainfall of your area.

• Regular maintenance is required for rainwater as the tanks can get mosquitoes, algae and worse if you leave them unattended for far too long.

• Some roof types may be a problem for water tanks, as they can allow animal droppings, insects and even chemicals to seep into the water if used for plant irrigation.

• You can also have a limit to water tank storage capacity (sometimes due to space available) that restricts the amount of water you can use. After all, during a heavy, pouring rain the system may not be able to handle the volume released by local weather.

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Guest post by: Susan Papes (Susan is a 28 year old mother of the little John. Being a full-time mother and a housewife, she became an expert when it comes to cleaning, washing, keeping the house clean and tidy and etc. At the end of the day she feels devastated but satisfied for taking care of her beloved).

In South Africa, we recommend rainwater tanks and water tanks made by JoJo Tanks who also manufacture high quality chemical tanks, septic tanks, underground tanks, silo tanks, steel tank stands and agricultural products; click on the links below for more information.

JoJo Tanks South Africa offer a wide range of products such as plastic water tanks and chemical tanks to suit every household, business or agricultural need, including silo tanks and silo tank stands as well as other high quality JoJo Tanks products.  See JoJo Tanks’ VERTICAL TANKS, HORIZONTAL TANKS (transporter tanks), STEEL TANK STANDS and OTHER JOJO PRODUCTS and see JoJo Tanks’ NEW 6000 LITRE UNDERGROUND TANKS. Also see our FAQ and WATER TANK PRICES.