Let’s face it. Not all rainwater tanks aesthetically match the look of our houses and landscaping. Tens of thousands of dollars could be spent making our properties look good, but that water tank can be an unsightly deteriorating mess.
One of the cheapest and simplest solutions is to try and hide the rainwater tank behind foliage. With little effort, and a couple of years of growth, the humble old water tank can be completely out of view, never to be looked upon again!
But planting trees, shrubs, bushes and vines near your water tank is fraught with danger. And could be a very costly fix down the track.
It’s not just leaves and debris that you need to be worried about!
Most people living on water tanks are aware that organic material making its way into their water tanks can lead to an accumulation of sludge and becomes the breeding ground for bacteria and algae.
So we focus on clearing our roofs, using gutter guards and first flush systems in an attempt to avoid the build up of organic matter.
What many people forget when they are landscaping around their water tanks, is that plants will naturally gravitate towards water sources. And guess what? Plants don’t know that your water tank is for you and your family!
Most at risk are Concrete water tanks.
Weather, shifting in the ground and time will see some deterioration in concrete water tanks. Plant roots will find the smallest of cracks and make them bigger to get to a water source. A drought will only make them more aggressive as the desire for survival kicks in.
We have opened up tank lids to find tree or vine roots that span several meters! These require a massive effort to remove, usually at least 2 people. And then there’s the repair work required (Pristine Water Systems does not repair tanks).
But Poly and Metal tanks are not devoid of these same problems.
Plants growing over the top of tanks will leave debris and such. But what people forget is that many different plants will drop seeds. We have found all manner of plants growing on top of tanks. In particular in strainers that are never cleared of debris, providing the perfect breeding ground for seeds to germinate.
Empty tanks can easily be dislodged by tree root systems!
We’re not always lucky to have steady rainfall constantly topping up our water tanks. And for many people, purchasing water only occurs when our tanks are starting to run low.
Many water tanks are submerged or even half buried. There’s great benefits to doing this:
- Saves space,
- Hides the tank
- Helps insulate the water from extreme weather conditions.
There are hundreds of cases where empty water tanks pop up out of the ground as they don’t have the weight of the water holding the structure down. In particular concrete tanks, which are the most commonly submerged types.
We’ve all seen what tree roots can do to driveways, paving and roads. Imagine you have tree roots working their way under your water tanks. There’s a pressure building up underneath, which is only realised once the tank is empty. Movement in a concrete tank will cause cracking, and as you can imagine … more problems!
Pristine Water Systems operators are regularly providing advice to our customers on how to best maintain their water tanks and the surrounds. This is all part of the service when getting your water tank cleaned and sterilized.
If you would like to speak to a PWS operator for a Free water inspection, you can CLICK HERE.