Quality and Quantity Monitoring of Five Rainwater Tanks in Western Sydney, Australia
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 139, Issue 3
Abstract
Rainwater tanks are a fundamental component of integrated water cycle management, but the quality of harvested water is little understood and is potentially affected by many factors such as roofing material, site temperature, frequency of tank use, and surrounding land use. There has been limited study of the first flush, overflow water and harvested water quality from rainwater tanks in Australia. This paper presents the water quality results of a yearlong data collection and analysis study involving five rainwater tanks located in Western Sydney, Australia. The results show that tank water quality was impacted by the construction materials used to fabricate both the tanks and roofs. Furthermore, the overflow and first flush water quality were found to be of a lower standard than the tank samples, with implications for the cleaning of the first flush device and overflow diversion. Finally, the issues identified with the maintenance of the tanks are highlighted and discussed.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance of Jonathan Barnes, Solomon Donald, and Ian Turnbull, and the inputs of Dr. Jo-Anne Chuck, Dr. Surendra Shrestha, Jeff Scott, Sharon Armstrong, Rhonda Gibbons, Bert Aarts, Wayne Higgenbotham, and Paul Roddy from the University of Western Sydney. The authors also would like to thank Turnbull Electrical Contracting, who contributed time and resources for the programming and installations of the testing systems on site, the UWS Office of Disabilities for funding the second six months of water quality testing, and Jim Balchin from Barker Ryan Stewart for providing the technical drawings.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 139 • Issue 3 • March 2013
Pages: 332 - 340
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 22, 2011
Accepted: Jun 26, 2012
Published online: Feb 15, 2013
Published in print: Mar 1, 2013
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