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Increasing Property Value With a Hidden Tank

Wed 10 Jun 2009 - 15:17

Increasing Property Value With a Hidden Tank
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Philip_Kilworth]Philip Kilworth

As a homeowner, did you know you can use 1,000 litres of water per hour using a garden sprinkler? As a farmer, did you realize that maintaining cattle requires 45 to 90 litres of way per day? For comparison, consider the fact that a household will need 10 litres a day for all the drinking, cleaning, and cooking tasks.

The cost of water in Australia is a figure that is expected to rise as water becomes scarcer. Australia has the third highest water consumption rate in the world and it is agriculture (67%) and households (9%) that account for 76% of all water use. As the driest inhabited continent, it is easy to see that water is already a precious commodity and it's becoming more precious all the time as the drought conditions, global environmental changes, population growth, and natural weather conditions reduce the available water supplies.

In Australia, The National Water Commission reported in its 2007 "National Performance Report for Urban Water Utilities" that the average water and sewer bill for a household supplied by a major water utility was $582. For those using water supplied from a non major water utility, it jumps to $722. Bear in mind that an average means there are both higher and lower actual bills.

Decreasing Water Supplies Not Equal to Decreasing Property Value

Having laid the informational groundwork, the next logical step is to consider the value of a water collection system that captures rainwater that can be used to water the lawn and gardens. Water is an increasingly scarce resource and all predictions are that at some future point there will not be enough water to adequately supply the country's population. Some predictions say that time will be within the next twenty years. That means anything that can be done now to reduce water usage has actual monetary value.

Australian homeowners will soon need to compensate for the water shortage by taking conservation steps such as installing rainwater tanks. Maintaining a home involves a number of activities requiring water and as the statistics show, watering the lawns and gardens is a major use of water. But before you even get to the watering, there is a significant investment made in the installation of the landscaping.

The point is that if you don't have a rainwater tank installed now, there is a good chance you will want one installed soon. Installing a hidden tank will reduce your dependence on utility water, but it will also increase the value of the property for a number of reasons.

* Increased water supply can be used to maintain expensive landscaping and plantings

* Annual water expense is reduced

* Consistent property watering prevents damage to house foundations that can result from dry shifting or cracking ground

* Prevents property damage that can result from torrential rains common in Australia

In other words, a hidden rainwater tank already installed on the property adds to the property value. The cost of the tank and installation alone will increase property value, but the property value rises more when considering the additional advantages the rainwater collection system offers a homeowner.

It is quite possible that at some future point, rainwater tanks will be the only allowed source of water for lawn and garden watering. When buying or selling an Australian home, those that are already set up for this recycling water will be the most valuable.

Hidden Tanks is a leading Australian supplier and installer of underground concrete rainwater tanks. For a free consultation please visit [http://www.hiddentanks.com.au]Underground Water Tanks.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Philip_Kilworth http://EzineArticles.com/?Increasing-Property-Value-With-a-Hidden-Tank&id=2447308


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