Daniel, We are in Brisbane in the same area as you and have had an onsite system for 12 years. The initial cost was about $8k. We chose an Envirotech aerobic sand filter system. Over that time we have had to replace three pumps at a cost of approx. $560 each. We have had to have annual inspections at a cost of approx $120 pa for the last 8 years. We now also have to supply chemists reports each year at an average cost of $160 pa. and this is for a system which was "state of art" We do not pay any sewerage rates (I dont know if others do) The system has been trouble free - just general maintenance when pumps wear out and we are glad we chose the one we did. I have heard from neighbours who are less than happy with the performance of some other systems. You do have to be careful of the cleaning products you use(not a problem - I am too busy gardening to get precious about cleaning) and when we installed BCC would not allow the water to be expelled above ground so could not move water to where it was needed,had to have in fixed contoured position (This may have changed) I was disappointed by this as the water goes to trees which no longer need it - so I am using water on plants that I would not normally water, and the water is not available to use in other areas on more needy plants.

All in all I would say it is not a cheaper option - but you might get a warm feeling knowing that your sizeable expenditure has helped save valuable resources, and then you may not!!! $8000 will buy a few well sized tanks, but then BCC will probably bring in a levy for anyone with their own water storage.

If I had the choice of connecting to the sewerage and with the water situation I would go for connection to the system and use the money saved to install tanks to harvest water. I like the idea of being nearly self sufficient with water and at least I could choose where I watered.

g'day dan,

for me i can't see that any septic/envirotech systems are much into recycling, they do have the capacity to pollute the aquafa as you are putting product underground.

yes you may as well connect to the sewerage, those enviro-tech systems are expensive to put in and they keep moving the bar so they will get very expensive to keep running at new demands of council.

if you want to recycle set up a simple ssystem and keep it to yourself and put the grey water to the gardens or fruit trees.

when i get back to the city i will again be using my grey water and most likely buy a compact composting toilet that won't take a lot of modifications to install and i won't be telling all and sundry.

len

mail len

lens garden page

Thank you - they are helpful responses. I am still looking for info from BCC but it seems that this council makes no significant incentive to recycle domestically. We have instructed our builder that we want two water tanks connected to the house and one on the shed.

I would like to say that I have absolutely no complaints about the system and still believe it is the best available it does the job required well - the water is treated to a very high standard and certainly does not pollute anything. My reservation about these systems is that council does nothing but regulate and instead of encouraging and rewarding people who do the right thing and take pressure off the public infrastructure seeks to make money out of them and penalise them for attempting to be environmentally responsible. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO INCENTIVE TO "DO THE RIGHT THING" There are gardens which have had raw sewerage flowing over the ground for years from their septic tanks and there is no regulation which is dealing with this very serious problem. Fortunately they are on large acreage blocks and the immediate health danger is to the very people who allow it to happen. I have no problem with regulation which will ensure that all onsite systems (including septics) are monitored BUT I could go and get my effluent sample for testing from any water supply I wanted - they dont know it comes from my system - so what does it prove. These regulations are about protecting council from legal disputes about health not about ensuring onsite systems are maintained and working properly. Self regulation only serves to provide revenue to the licence issuer it does not ensure adherance.

I had not thought of the possibility that people could take their sample from elsewhere. I thought the people who test the water, would do it on site.

Our Council tests the water themselves so we don't have to touch the system. I have 3 spray heads and about 100mtrs of hose on our waste water so it allows a big area to be watered. It was a lifesaver for many plants during the drought. I use it on my fruit trees but turn the sprinkler heads upside down

Hi Sunshine_Qld. I checked your page and see that you are 30 mins north of Brisbane. I guess that is Caboolture Shire council. I am glad to see that they seem to be doing stuff. I think that BCC has simply gotten too big. While it is probably not a garden topic, I think it is time to move to a two teir government system but that is unlikely to happen.