Use a borehole or rainwater
If you’re lucky enough to have a borehole, you can use the water to flush your toilets and not just for irrigation. Brandon Fyfe, co-owner of Thompson’s Plumbing, recently did this installation at a home in Durbanville:
1 Because the borehole water had already been collected in a 5 000L tank and the tank already had a pump, it was only necessary to redirect the water via pipes from the tank to the toilets. Pipes can either be laid under the ground or through the home’s roof area. This home’s toilets are far from each other so it was easier (and cheaper) to lay the main pipe in the roof.
2 The pipes from the main pipe to the respective toilets are on the outside of the house. You could, of course, chase the pipes into the interior walls but then you would need to replaster, tile or brick, depending on the finish of the wall (this is impractical and more costly).
3 The pipes are then fed from the outside at the correct height through the wall to the toilet. Once the municipal supply is disconnected, the inlet to the cistern is connected to the new borehole tap.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Borehole water is usually not drinkable but if it meets minimum requirements (get it checked by a laboratory such as Bemlab), you can easily connect it to your existing toilet system without needing filters. Follow the same process if you have a rainwater tank.