COUNCILLOR Chris Gryllis is calling for more Orange residents to install rainwater tanks and take advantage of rebates subsidising the cost of a tank by close to 50 per cent.
Orange City Council introduced the rainwater tank rebate scheme in 2003, providing rebates ranging from $150 to $500 a tank.
While the scheme has resulted in a significant increase in the number of people accessing rebates, Cr Gryllis said council must improve the level of information it provides to the community on rebates available, and the process required to install a tank.
“We need to create a one-stop shop style system where people can get all the information they want about how to buy a tank and have it installed,” he said.
“At the moment I think people can be quite confused, but it is not a complicated process once you have all the information.”
Choice magazine recently carried out a survey of tank costs and found, depending on the manufacturer, polyethylene tanks ranged from $630 to $720 for a 2000 litre model and $700 to $1000 for a 5000 litre model.
Other costs include delivery, installation charges and submitting a development application to Orange City Council for permission to install the rainwater tank.
Council has contributed more than $100,000 since the rainwater tank rebate was introduced.
Cr Gryllis said every household roof in the city was a potential mini-catchment that should be tapped into.
“I urge everybody to take advantage of the tank rebates,” he said. “Nobody can understate the impact it would have in helping Orange’s water shortage.”