Plumbing Africa May 2018 | Page 53

FEATURE 51 to use this water, but these will have to be withdrawn when a standard is developed and promulgated to allow the building control officer (BCO) to apply and police it. “The question is, why are there no appropriate standards for grey water and rainwater harvesting and domestic water in buildings?” USES OF PLASTIC STORAGE TANKS Plastic storage tanks can be used for rainwater and grey water harvesting, municipal backup supplies, and sanitation applications. Water can be stored above ground where it can easily be connected to guttering through simple pipe networks to fill the tank automatically when it rains. Underground water storage works on the same principle, but the tank is buried and takes up less space. A submersible pump is required to dispense the collected water. Municipalities can install a bigger network of water storage solutions and tanks to collect a greater volume of water, which can be used during a disruption or cut-off from the mains supply. Fully integrated water storage solutions provide a self-sufficient, more automated water collection system from mains supply to a predetermined level, with the remaining volume available to store rainwater. This water is then filtered or sterilised to be used for full domestic water supply. Fully integrated grey water harvesting provides household grey water storag