Seepage system, even though a cistern is in the development plan?

Good evening,

in our development plan there is a cistern requirement starting from 3000 liters.

Now I have heard something about a seepage system. Can something like that be installed instead?

Is a seepage system much cheaper than a cistern?

Otherwise, I would install a cistern with about 8000 liters capacity. We have about 400-500 sqm of garden. Is it much more complicated to fill the toilet and washing machine with it? For that, a third water line would have to be installed, right?

Best regards

Hello,

Our development plan requires a cistern from 3000 liters.
Now I heard something about a soakaway system. Can you install something like that instead?

Hardly, if the development plan clearly prescribes a cistern.

Otherwise, I would install a cistern with about 8000 liters capacity. We have about 400-500 sqm of garden. Is it much more complicated to fill the toilet and washing machine with that? For that, a third water pipe would have to be installed, right?

Don’t you find 8000 liters a bit much :confused:

You don’t need a "third" pipe in the usual sense, but a connection of the cistern to the internal cold water system of the house. And btw, an electronic sensor which automatically switches to the "normal" line if the cistern happens to be empty.

I wouldn’t connect the washing machine to the rainwater myself...

Rhenish greetings

Well, I googled a lot and read that 6000l was already quite tight for smaller lawns.

If you then connect the cistern completely to the cold water, I even have drinking water for cooking etc. from rainwater. Do people really do that?

Why not connect the washing machine to the cistern?

Um, I don’t think it’s a good idea to use rainwater as drinking water. Unless you’re planning a very expensive drinking water treatment system. You probably won’t die for sure, but who tells you what exactly falls with the rain.... In the toilet you don’t care, in the washing machine you should think about it, and it has no place in the drinking water tap. The quality of drinking water is monitored, with rainwater it is not.

Hello,

Well, I googled a lot and read that 6000 liters is quite tight for smaller lawns.

I can hardly imagine that; many of our clients have 5,000-liter tanks and so far I haven’t received any feedback that the size is too small.

If you then connect the cistern completely to the cold water, I would even have drinking water for cooking etc. from rainwater. Do people really do that?

No, of course not – I formulated that too briefly again; sorry.

The cistern is connected in the utility room. Usually, the guest WC is in front of or behind it, and sensibly the main bathroom above. Of course, a connection between these rooms must be established for the use of rainwater. But only for the short distances to the WCs or showers, not a complete third pipe for all water outlets in the single-family house.

Why not connect the washing machine to the cistern?

Again, feedback from our customers who initially connected the washing machine to the cistern and later reconnected it to the fresh water line. The white laundry grays faster, which is because common detergents are not very suitable for rainwater.

Additionally, the water level in the cistern is not always the same height, so the water can clean itself in peace; usually, there is always a mix of older and thus filtered and new rainwater in the tank. So regular filter changes are required.

Rhenish regards

Sure, I meant the 3rd line only for the bathroom and guest WC, with only the kitchen branching off anyway. Well, I'll calculate it and discuss with the developer whether it even makes sense. Can you expect water costs of about one euro per day for the toilet with 2 people?