There has been an increase in the number of water tanks being installed on private properties. Generally, this is a safe practice, but there are a range of pre-cautions that should be taken to protect public health including:

• Use a tank specifically designed for this purpose; do not use ex-industrial 'containers', which may have contained harmful substances
• Protect the water from human, chemical and animal sources; preferable for the tank to be an 'above-ground' type
• Regularly clean the roof of leaves, dust and other debris
• Install a 'first-flush' system for the collection process, which will divert the initial quantity of water after a rainfall thereby ensuring a higher quality
• Do not collect water for drinking purposes from recently painted roofs, preserved timber roofs, roofs coated with lead based paints, where lead flashings exist or from parts of the roof near flues from solid fuel heaters.
• Ensure that mosquitoes do not breed in rainwater tanks by covering all openings with screens or wire gauze no coarser than 1mm thick

Click here for further information about drinking water safety and rainwater tanks.