Wendy&Mike

Hi all.

My family & I are off to Brisbane in 5 weeks and are currently trying to sort out rented accommodation.

One property sounds promising, 4 bed, low set, brick built, pool (maintenance inc in rent !), partly furnished, close to shops etc

However, it is on tank not town water. Having never experienced this in England I'm unsure whether this causes any problems & would appreciate any advice.

Also, I think i've asked most questions but if anyone knows of anything i should ask about the property before i commit to renting it please let me know.

Thanks all

wendy

yafm

We have stayed in australia various parts several times and n early all the homes we have been in have used tank water for about 60% of their uses I did not even know I was drinking this without any taste difference or problems. It is quite common in australia - and I think in usa Don't worry

mr mover

tank water is mainly rain water ,run off from roofs and collected ,we use either, we have 40,000ltr capacity, great for saving on water bills. The only difference you might notice is rain [tank] water is softer,more bubbles when you wash.... mm

Vicky88

After bathing in tank water you will really notice a difference for the better. Is so much nicer.

The Tooth Fairy

Renting or buying, check closely the volume of tank storage and rainfall. If you are used to "unlimited" town supplies, you might find the available volume of water restricting. Typical family home uses 300 m^3 / year, with roof area of 300 m^2 (including sheds) would require rainfall of 1 m / year. You need adequate storage to carry through dry weather. Rainwater is the most expensive due to the capital cost of tanks but is best for taste, washing and garden.

Wendy&Mike

Thanks ToothFairy

So how do I ask if the tanks are full/empty have adequate supply without sounding completely stupid/green??

DagBoy

Whereabouts in Brisbane is that? There are few Brisbane suburbs I know of that do not have town water, although some acreage properties have tanks only.

There is nothing wrong with tank water, but if there is no town water then there may be limitations on other services too (such as cable TV and internet, ADSL Internet etc.) These may not matter to you, but if they do then check.

Also, the tank water question depends a bit on your water usage - if you have active small children who constantly need clothes cleaned then you will need more.

One other point, if there is no town water then I guess the property is a fair distance from the city - check out how close it is to other facilities (shops, petrol stations, public transport, schools, doctors etc.) It might sound idyllic to be miles from anywhere, but not when you run out of something like milk and it is a 10 minute drive to the nearest servo.

Cheers :-)

The Tooth Fairy

Whoops, just noticed you are holidaying for 5 weeks. I'd be pretty sure there will be plenty of water especially after good recent rains. They may ask you not to dream while showering / brushing teeth, otherwise no problem I'd say.

Wendy&Mike

we're not off on holiday--we are actually emigrating in 5 weeks-scary huh !!
the rented accomodation will be our first stop before we decide where to settle and buy our first ozzie house.
We have visited the area before (not the house) and know its in a good location to start-ie walk to supermarket, schools,pub, park etc
I'm just unsure about the tank water--How do we top up the pool???!!
I guess the kids wont mind the water shortage(if there is one) as they'll have a good excuse not to shower !
wendy

Kiwipaul

Go for a max of 6 month lease (shortest lease generally possible)and if you like it you just turn it into a rolling 1 month lease after the 6 months.

If you sign up for 12 months you could be lumbered for 12 months with it.

Ceri

You can fill up the pool by water deliveries - there are swimming pool ,water companies which will deliver salt water for your pools - don't quote me on this price, but one of my friends was quoted around $120 for a delivery of salt water for their pool.

Tank water can also mean that there is no sewage system either - my mate who lives in the caboolture area on an acreage , his sewage goes into an underground septic tank where it breaks down biologically - then this water is used to spray over the garden veggies - sounds horrible doesn't it? Apparently it changes into nice clean water - but I do not like the sound of this at all ... needless to say I never eat any of their home grown veggies and pickles they keep giving me, I don't like to offend them - so I take them, and then later I chuck them out. No thanks, somehow water used to water their plants from their sewage sounds revolting to me. Sorry if I offend anyone who has this system here - but each to their own, literally!

cheers

The Tooth Fairy

Watering vegetables with even biotreated chlorinated sewage water is not only dumb but probably illegal. In clayey areas some use treated chlorinated sewage water under cops of trees but most councils stipulate septic sewage water must be sent to an underground leach field.

Infill Sewerage Program - Why make a sewer conversion?

Ceri

I'm not sure of the legalities of it - but it's not only my friend that does it - all their neighbours do the same thing too. They water the grass, the veggies - everything. These are new plots/houses too. My friend is always bringing in home made pickles - veggies picked from the garden - which goes straight into my bin when I get home .. you are what you eat! Anyway , it didn't sound too hygienic to me, eating vegetables which have been watered that way

What is more worrying - the plots back onto a creek which down the line feeds into the river, and out into the bay eventually - and people wonder why the bay is polluted these days!

Kiwipaul

Surely if it's tank water it's not chlorinated anyway, only mains water is chlorinated and I'm not sure if that is the case in Brisbane anyway.

I'm a townie and I like me running water to come from the mains.

Ceri

PS they use a sprinkler system for the watering of the plot/garden - not sure how it is actually hooked up to the sewage tanks/septic tanks- the water from the sprinkler system comes from the underground septic tanks. I don't think it is illegal in his district/council area - because these are newly built homes/plots and the council would have pulled them and all their neighbours up on it by now.