Rainwater Tanks

[Timber7]

http://www.turtlepac.com/barrapdf.html

[opsec]

I have seen other things like this. They all have one thing in common. They are incredibly expensive. So much so that buying 55 gallon drums is much more cost effective by comparison. I noticed too that this company doesn't post it's prices on their webpage, instead you have to email them and request a quote. That tells me that they scared off so many people with their prices that they feel the need to "rope you in" a little bit closer before ambushing you with a 4 digit price tag.

The thing to remember about water storage is that you use a lot of water. Unless you have your own well or access to somebody else's, you need to be able to store thousands of gallons of water. That means you need either several smaller or one huge water bladder, either of which is going to be expensive.

One person needs at least one gallon of water per day just to drink. If you are going to be exerting yourself, then make that 2 gallons. You need to cook, add one more gallon. You need to bathe. If you use the bug sprayer method you can get away with as little as 2 quarts per day for that. Then you have to wash your clothes periodically. Using a 5 gallon bucket and a (clean) toilet plunger, it will take about 2 gallons for a pair of pants or maybe three t-shirts. Multiply that out and let's assume for the sake of argument that you are using 10 gallons per week for laundry. That puts you at a minimun of 145 gallons per month or 1740 gallons per year for one person. Add a wife and a kid and that figure jumps to 5220 gallons per year. That's just a minimum for bare survival. You can safely assume that you will blow this budget and use more water on "little incidental things" without thinking about it.

[Dame]

Evestroughs and rainbarrels are replenishable.  Calculating the size of your roof by the average rainfall per year and the timeing of that rain can seriously reduce the amount of storage capacity.  If you live where it snows, fresh snow can be collected for water as well.  Bathing, laundry and garden watering can be done with water filtered to remove solids. 

Laundry useage can be minimized by sorting the laundry into the small batches and washing the whites first and reusine the water with progresively darker, dirtier clothing.  The rinses can be done in the same order.  Thinking about thin layers of clothing next to the body and as the outermost layer, with thicker and warmer inner layers also reduces the water needed for laundry.  I like to try out the scrub board and minimal water a couple times a year.  It reminds me of the attention to clothing and other textile articles required for a SHTF plan where I get to stay clean.

Homemade soaps without detergent or oderants and clothing, particularly in a petrochemically anemic environment, reduce the need for bathing daily.

[offdalip]

I've got a 700' deep well and pump.
approximately 2000 sq ft of gently sloping roof.
and a 32'x16' pool.
add all that together with rain everyday 3-6 months of the year and you get enough water to drink and grow your own food


BTW, those BLACK 40 gallon tough plastic containers make great storage containers.

I store my aquaponics nutrient water in them for the plants, they need to be black otherwise you get alota algae growth

[Ryder]

Used hot tubs for water storage. Just seal off the drains and filter openings inside the tub so the pipes don't freeze and break. 400 gallons each and people will give them to you when they don't work because of a bad pump or heater element. People kind of wonder why you have several hot tubs but they do look a little more normal than 16 55 gallon barrels in the back yard.

[Timber7]

People kind of wonder why you have several hot tubs

Plant things around them.
 A friend of mine's parents have two hot tubs side by side for the purpose of catching rain water for their garden. They put trellises up around them years ago. I saw them this summer and it looked like a big mess of vines on the side you could see from the road. The other side, where the hot tubs where open, looked like a totally different world. I thought they did a good job making it look like it wasn't worth trugging through their yard to find something to take.

[The Future]

In my country every house has it own water storage tank underneath the house (dug into the earth so the house starts at ground level).  A tank could be about the size of a living and dining room combined.  From the construction inspectors I'vee spoke to the system appears to be rare if not unique.  A relatively clean environment (car fumes are probably the biggest culprits) allows full use of a roof collection system drain to a basement level water tank.  Typical tanks are in the range of 10,000 gallons.  In a typical year we get 57 inches of rain per year.  On a 1000ft roof that is a nice 35,000 gallons a year.  And even when the electricity fails, it is accessible with a bucket and rope.  And best of all, it is secure!  Food for thought.

[oscar615]

I like the storage tank idea.  This spring when I am digging my root cellar maybe I should dig another hole next to it and build a water tank too.  What do you think?  Is it possible to do it with concrete block or cinder block?  How would you seal it?  Any ideas?

[Dame]

Underground water storage is generally called a cistern around here.  There are pre-formed liners with instalation instructions, generally in food grade plastics.
The old ones were poured concrete with linseed oil seal on the inside to keep the concrete from leeching into the water.  Teardrop shaped cisterns are the least likely to suffer frost damage in cold climates. 

Roof collection systems on the older houses have a downspout switch to discharge the initial rain water as surface water, this gets the dirt off the roof before you start collecting.  Going out and switching it over to the cistern can be a little wet on the manual system but rain gear handy makes the difference.

Manual cistern pumps for up to 20 feet of lift cost about $40 dollars, and can be lifted of the stem for inside storage when not needed.

[opsec]

You could also build a small indoor swimming pool.

[The Future]

I like the storage tank idea.  This spring when I am digging my root cellar maybe I should dig another hole next to it and build a water tank too.  What do you think?  Is it possible to do it with concrete block or cinder block?  How would you seal it?  Any ideas?

My entire country relies on plastered concrete blocks.  I am not saying that is the best thing but that is what we do.  You would be to have this steel rod reinforced on the bottom and the sides per your local building codes (if they are worth anything).  The problem with concrete is that it wicks water which can create a damp environment above the tank.  It could wick right into the house structure under the right (or wrong) conditions.  The plaster will leach a small amount into the water but for I have never seen this as a major issue.  I've seen in 260 year old tanks test at 65 ppm of total dissolved solids (TDS).  (Be aware the contrary to the name, TDS is not actually TDS!)  A decent water filter (e.g. RO) can drop that to 7ppm.  As long as you don't have acid rain  or other heavy pollutants in your area, this would be drinkable  (even unfiltered).  If you do well you better use it for other means or get an industrial strength filtration system.  Of course there are kits on the web you can buy to test for specific bad guys including bacteria.