I am NOT endorsing any products, this is just a testimonial.
I live in Texas and a few months ago we got a monsoon of rain, several feet of rain. I thought it would be a good idea to invest into modular rain water collection system- a fancy way of saying I bought attractive trash cans that were built for the sole purpose of collecting rain water. Actually, these are very nice, they look identical to trash cans but come in a off white color and have a screw down top with a mesh screen on top to keep out debris and a brass spigot. Anyways I bought 5 - 55 gallon containers from an eco/earth company in California off ebay for less than $250 total and within a week every single container was filled to the top. I didn’t really have “disaster” in mind when I was doing this but I felt it would be economical during dry times and hot summer months when watering a couple palms and plants. Over the last month I have altered my gutter system from my house to allow rain water to directly flow into these containers, all 5 are connected in a way where when the first container fill up, it will then allow the second container to fill and so on. These have turned out to be a blessing during the months of June-now when we haven’t got as much rain and the temperature has soared to over 100 and water prices tend to go north. I live in an older neighborhood which is going through transformations with widening the streets, updating sewage and houses being torn down and replacing with small mansions. This rain water system I have really came in handy last week when we experienced 3 1/2 days of interrupted water supply to our entire block. I didn’t use the water to shower or cook but used to water to re fill the toilets after use and continue to water my plants. I was also able to modify my mister system on my back patio to run with water from container instead of city water. Anyways, there is no point to this story other than I wanted to share how my rain water system went from strictly agriculture use to personal use when our neighborhood had no water. I never thought that I would be in a situation where my planning and small investment would pay off.
I did the same thing and have 300 gallons on hand. My barrels were surplus blue poly drums and I fabricated the spigots myself so that each drum can be linked in series to other drums, while being able to use the first and last drums for irrigation. We have a sparse rain season here in New Mexico, but in three days of rain the containers were filled. My planned use is for land scape plants- we are xeriscaped for the most part but have some trees and flowers that blossom. The next phase of this project is hooking up a battery powered irrigation timer, with the ultimate end goal of running the timer (and pumps, if needed) on solar. I’ve also found a way to potentially purify the collected water by utilizing a slow sand filter. Given that we have near constant sunlight, I am trying to figure out the best way to collect thermal and UV energy to give a secondary purification. The water from the sand filter should be potable, but without a lab analysis I wouldn’t drink it. It would be for vegetable gardens. I will post links for the sand filter later.
Yep. Rain barrels will most likely get algae growth after a while. Mine are dark blue but let enough light through. To make some funky water. That, and they collect a lot of heat from the sun, which makes matters worse. All kinds of critters can exist in there, The idea with the sand filter, ironically, is to provide a stable environment for a bunch of microbes thrive. These microbes will feed on all sorts of junk in the harvested water, even some of the petrochemical roof treatments that will be in the run off after the first hard rain. If you live a rainy environment, this might not be an issue. Here in the southwest, though, rain is infrequent so the roofs get dusty and might have bird poo and other nasties that buildup. I am looking for more info on this idea, but if the claims are valid it sounds like a good, relatively cheap and easy filtration method.
I would be interested in a economical solution to filtering and purifying my rain water as well. I have one of those blue straws but that is a novelty for backpacking for 1 person. Would like something that can filter water, manual power, bring rain water to “city tap water” grade. I never even thought our considered what Co-qnARR said about the roof build up and bird poo, and my roof is composition shingle, which as tar in it.
Berkey filters are nice for making potable water for mmediate use, but unlessmyou go with the big one there’s not a lot of holding capcity, nor is flow rate verify good for filtering water for storage. Imagine trying fill a 50gal drum at 7 gal/hr. I like Berkey filters for an in house, immediate needs use. It’s also a known /proven design, and best of all it is portable. The slow sand filter is pretty much permanent once it is in place, but for filtering large quantities of havested rain water, (like filling a cistern or poly drums) I think it is viable. Here’s the first link I mentioned. When I get home I will look for other links (on the road, on iPad, so not all my book marks are available).
I also live in Texas. Something to ponder is that your local municipality may reimburse you for some or all of the cost of the rainwater capture system. Mine does.
Informative posts, one and all. My mind was blown when I fairly recently found out it was actually illegal to collect rainwater on private property in some areas! I simply could not believe it.
Curious if there’s anyway to prevent mosquito infestation with these? I live in WI & any standing water will have mosquito larvae swimming in no time.
I love the concept but I certainly don’t need more mosquitos.
I have a 330 gallon industrial tote to collect rain water. The hole on top of it just has a fine wire mesh which seems to keep the bugs out. I’d say the holes are probably .05" maybe? The only issue is that I have to scrape off leaves and other crap that collects once in a while.
I rattle canned mine with a couple of coats of paint and it seems to stay pretty clean. Mine does sit in a shaded area though, and I’m sure that helps.
I would imagine dropping a cup of bleach in there once a month or so might help too.
All kinds of ways…a little ingenuity goes a long way. I have paint strainers on the down spout feed ing my barrels. The strainers collect junk from the roof, and also keep the bugs out. My storage barrels have scrap screen from my old windows on the vents. I have not done it myself, but I heard of people putting a bit of olive oil in the barrels. The oil is edible, so no worries about it contaminating your veggies, and it keeps the larvae from breaking the surface of the water once they mautre. Kills the mosquitos but then you have their remains settling in your tank.
For the fill pipe on my barrels I’m thinking of getting 4" PVC pipe, cutting one end at a 45* angle and putting large mesh screen on it. The flat end will have the paint strainer or fine screen on it. The flat end will into the opening of the barrel, and the angled end will ssit a few inches below the gutter drain. The angle should act as a self cleaning strainer- the rain water passes through the screen and the angle should be steep enough to allow large junk to wash off. The fine mesh collects any thing passing the upper screen, and keeps the bugs out.
Hm. That angle piece sounds like it would be worth a shot but you might end up losing quite a bit of water during heavy rain storms. Even though the mesh on my barrel is level, I can see quite a bit of water spilling out on the sides. That could be partly due to dirt though.
I know! How can it be illegal to collect rain water? Although studies show that irrigating lawns and vegetable plots with harvested water reduces overall demand on municipal water supplies, riparian law states that water is part of the land it falls on and is not something that can be owned. It therefore must be left to run its course, even when demand drains resevoirs the natural rain flow is supposed to replenish.