Cost effectiveness and tradeoff on the use of rainwater tank : an empirical study in Australian residential decision-making

Vivian W. Y. Tam, Leona Tam, S. X. Zeng

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    84 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Australia is currently facing a serious water crisis. Saving water is not the government's solo effort, it also requires support from individual households. The use of rainwater tanks for rainwater storage has been highly recommended for both outdoor and indoor uses. This paper investigates cost effectiveness on the use of rainwater tanks for Australian residential environment. Seven cities are examined in this paper, including Gold Coast, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and Canberra. Cost for installing and operating rainwater tanks and cost from alternative water sources including building additional dams and desalination plants are compared. It is found that using rainwater is an economical option for households in Gold Coast, Brisbane, and Sydney. Recommendations of suitable tank sizes for different household environments are also proposed.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)178-186
    Number of pages9
    JournalResources, Conservation and Recycling
    Volume54
    Issue number3
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2010

    Keywords

    • Australia
    • water tanks

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