Steve Dale

Steve Dale is the NSW Regional Manager for Bushman Tanks, based in Orange at the Narrambla Industrial Estate. The factory, which is part of an Australia-wide operation, manufactures high grade polyethylene water tanks for domestic and rural customers. The plant runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week to keep up with demand.

"If everybody lived on tank water, they'd see it's not an endless resource: when the tank's empty, that's it."

We have been operating now for thirteen years and we're a national manufacturer. We use a food grade polyethylene – a virgin material – to meet Australian standards for drinking water.

Everybody who submits a building application from 1 July this year must install a rainwater tank of between 2,000-3,000 litres. Local Governments could require bigger tanks but there is a rebate scheme.

I think there is a lot more awareness about water now. Previously there was no education about water but that's changed: everybody knows about water tanks. At trade shows we've had more visitors than almost anyone else. People are aware they've got to do something about saving water and they come to us for advice. For every square metre of roof, you get one litre of water for every millimetre of rain. A simple rule of thumb for tank size is to get one as big as you can afford. Just think about taking a shower – people can use 100-200 litres for one shower.

If everybody lived on tank water, they'd see it's not an endless resource: when the tank's empty, that's it.

We work 24/7 – the factory never closes. There is so much demand we've installed more machinery. We haven't got all those tanks in the yard because they look good!