Once the children no longer spend hours a day splashing around in the family swimming pool, one often starts wondering if it is still worthwhile to keep it. The idea of filling it up with dirt and returning it as part of the garden could seem wasteful. What if one could use this storage space as an underground water tank? Couldn’t this be a whole lot more appealing than having several green water tanks littered around the property?
With a little help from a skilful builder this can be done. The main aim is to enclose the old pool to prevent sunlight from penetrating the water and stop leaves and debris from landing inside the new storage space.
The new lawn covered by the pergola sits above what used to be the large family pool. Rainwater from the entire house roof drains into the pool from a pipe that runs around the house. Then, before the harvested rainwater enters the old pool it is filtered to remove leaves and debris. This prevents the water from stagnating and breeding mosquitos.
The large storage space under the lawn is able to capture sufficient rain to supply water for irrigation throughout summer. This of course alleviates the need to use municipal drinking water for irrigation.