The amount of water used depends on several factors and will obviously change from different locations. In Japan for instance it rains more often than in Australia, even in their summer. So it is reasonable to assume that its quite possible that the rainwater tank would never be completely dry, however in Western Australia for instance, we get little or no rain from October through to the following April/May unless we get storm or cyclone activity. Persons like myself who have an underground bore for irrigation, could top their tank system when the bore is in use, therefore still saving the water resources and saving a few dollars in the process.

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This example is installed outside the Public Library in Kira Town near Nagoya. It is a good example of a simple water catching device.

Note, the main downpipe has been cut and the water tank installed. The overflow is then returned to the main downpipe, so the rainwater tank remains full, providing some rain falls.

Simple and effective recycling of a clean and precious commodity.

Mr. Okazaki reports that he installed his first 400 litre tank in 1st September 2002 using the first water gathered to water his gardens, for the laundry and washing his small car. On the 11th April 2003 he increased his volume by 200 litres to supplement the first tank installed. A further 400 litre tank was added in June 2003 which was connected to his bathroom. Since the first  device was installed in September 2002 he has not had to use the Water Corporations water for use in watering his flower and vegetable gardens or to wash his car. 

Mr. Okazaki now has a full capacity of 1000 litres, and during each month his system provides about 800 litres for flushing the toilet, which represents about half of the usual rainfall gathered, on average. The remainder of the water is used for watering plants, the garden and the occasional car-wash. All this amounts to a saving of 2400 Yen ( AUS$35.00) per year. This represents a saving of approximately 12 cubic metres a year for only 1 household, imagine what that figure would be, if all the homes in Japan had such a system. The amount of water saved would be astronomical. AUS$35.00 may not seem like a huge saving to someone working and on a big salary, but when retirement comes around, or you were maybe retrenched and out of a job, it would be considered a considerable saving. All this with the added knowledge, that you are doing something positive about conserving the earths fragile water supplies. Let us hope that many, many other people will take up this attitude.