Converting a swimming pool into a water tank in Canberra.

Nothing to stop you putting a concrete roof over the pool for other use such as a garden, or even a corrugated iron or stramit roof if you have some lightweight use for it. The important thing about a reservoir of water is that if sunlight is excluded, the water will remain clear. As for the notion above that 60,000 litres is overkill for a garden, I dispute that. Run a couple of sprinlers for a few days and see how much of your 60,000 litres is left.

If you do decide to use it as a tank, you’ll probably need a pump to extract your bounty.

If it were me I’d probably try and find a cheap tough material to use as a liner then fill it in, and if you ever sold your place you could advertise that a pool exists, it just needs to be dug out! You could plant bamboo to your heart’s content knowing it wouldn’t spread! Thank of that!

djk said :

How difficult is it to remove a pool and fill it with dirt? I am sure builders from all over Canberra would be lining up to give you “dirt” to fill it up with.

You’re right, The top soil fill is very cheap (possibly even free). You can get the hole filled in for next to nothing. It’s the physical removal of the pool that is so expensive. It can cost up to $20,000 to get the pool broken up,removed and then filled in.

I would rather pay for the heavy duty bladder/pump/decking that Rangi has suggested. At least you get something useable for your money.

How difficult is it to remove a pool and fill it with dirt? I am sure builders from all over Canberra would be lining up to give you “dirt” to fill it up with.

If you’re worried about mozzies, fish will help control that problem. Get some Hardyheads or Gudgeons.

A large pool is going to be 60000+ litres, even allowing for some loss from the conversion, it would be overkill for just garden use, have you thought about bladder tanks ie for use under houses & verandas, or with the wide range of shapes and size of plastic tanks find one to fit, then building a deck over the pool, it would be much cheaper than having to get a concrete lid built over the pool

Keijidosha, Thanks for those other photos. A backyard wetland looks a lot nicer than I imagined. I would have to agree with Conan though. I doubt many future potential buyers are going to be impressed with a backyard pond.

ConanOfCooma said :

I would also expect a fenced wetland area in your backyard would have a negative impact on the value of your house, as opposed to a residence with a pool.

In Tuggeranong, probably not!!!

Regardless of whether it’s converted to a wetland or pond, under legislation you will still need a pool fence around it.

I would also expect a fenced wetland area in your backyard would have a negative impact on the value of your house, as opposed to a residence with a pool.

Of course if not set up well and maintained properly an artificial wetland will become nothing more than a dirty swamp. Most important is to ensure you have adequate water replenishment to stagnation. Obviously routing your home’s stormwater into the pool is the simplest method, and allows you to use the wetland for irrigation without massive drawdown.

As the name of the example you linked to on the permaculture website suggests, that is a pond and not a wetland. To convert the pool to a wetland you need to create a transition from water to land (i.e: taper or remove the top lip of the pool to create a shoreline.) You also need to plant out the surroundings with appropriate vegetation to encourage native species to use the area as a habitat. Yes you will get mosquitos, but insects attract lizards and birds, so in time the system should find balance.

Here’s a better example of a working model:
http://sites.google.com/site/pool2pond/home

Keijidosha said :

I can’t provide information on converting to a water tank, but I will suggest an alternative: Convert the pool to an artificial wetland. This is a cheap and simple process that can attract all manner of animal species to your yard (assuming you don’t have predatory pets). You can still use the storage to water your yard, and provide habitat for native species.

I like the idea in theory… We are aiming to be partially self sufficient with a big vegetable patch, chickens etc.) After seeing this photo however, I’m not sure that I agree with the wetland thing.

http://www.permaculture.org.au/images/swimming_pool_fish_pond.jpg

I can see it turning into an algae ridden mosquito swamp….

Keijidosha said :

I can’t provide information on converting to a water tank, but I will suggest an alternative: Convert the pool to an artificial wetland. This is a cheap and simple process that can attract all manner of animal species to your yard (assuming you don’t have predatory pets). You can still use the storage to water your yard, and provide habitat for native species.

Awesome if bugs, mozzys, frogs and ducks in your backyard are your thing. Personally i’d rather hook up a heater to that pool and go for a swim.

I can’t provide information on converting to a water tank, but I will suggest an alternative: Convert the pool to an artificial wetland. This is a cheap and simple process that can attract all manner of animal species to your yard (assuming you don’t have predatory pets). You can still use the storage to water your yard, and provide habitat for native species.