We live in south central Texas, outside of San Antonio. We purchased a lot in the hill country and basically live on top of a hill. We have always been interested in green technology, and are even more so today. As part of the construction of the house we added 28 solar panels and water catchment. We have a similar 30k tank and feed all the water captured on the 4,028 sq ft of metal roof into the tank. In fact our roof was specifically designed to maximize water capture since we knew we were going to do that from the start. We had it designed it that way because, as you know, the well water is very hard and very expensive to drill for here. We intended to NOT use well water in our house because of what hard water would do to the plumbing system and fixtures. So our water catchment system included a filtration package that makes our captured water potable. It includes 3 canisters mounted in the garage that has 2 filter and 1 UV. The canisters filter at the 5 and 50 micron level and the UV bulb will kill any bacterial elements left after filtration. I change these filters 3 times a year which is outside spec for the filters but I think is fine because it’s only filtering rain water and not ground water. We’ve lived in the house for 5 years and the system has been a godsend. It has never been drained since the rainfall (roughly 35 in annually) keeps it full. [knock on wood]. The toilets and sinks don’t get the rings along the water line as you get from even city water but would definitely get from well water. Another factor for us is the taste; we have become water snobs because our filtered rain water tastes better than any bottled water we could buy. We often take a large bottle of water with us when we travel. Cost and installation: this would be the biggest turn off for most folks because it cost over $35k. One of the biggest reasons for that is that we live on a hill so consequently in order to find a place for the tank a wall had to be built to make a place large enough to make a level spot. Also the hill has little if any soil on it so the build site was excavated down to limestone bedrock requiring that the pipes from the house to the tank had to be cut in to solid rock!!! Another difference between your install and hours is that our pump is not inside the tank. It is located in a small shed specific built to host the pump and pressure tank. I recommend doing it this way in case there is a problem with either piece of equipment you don’t have to mess with getting it out of the tank to work on it. Without the pressure tank you basically have an on-demand system so every time you turn on the water it will run the pump to provide the water. With the pressure tank it only starts the pump when the pressure falls below a specific psi. Side note: as we went through financing for our build we discovered that we couldn’t get the money for the construction without a ‘primary’ water source which water catchment is NOT!!! So we ended up having to drill a well also. Another point to note is that if you use you use your catchment system for irrigation of any sort don’t filter it because it takes out all the nutrients the plants need. We ended up segregating the inside and outside water by putting filtered in the house and all outside water as ‘well’ water. OBTW we also have a pool. In our initial planning we were going with a 40k tank to support all our water needs. When we were forced to drill a well we backed off to 30k tank. Sorry for the long post but I hope someone gets something out of it. B
Very nice post - I love hearing about your experience and think many others will gain from your sharing it. You might be interested to know that the submersible pump April has can be removed from the tank in under 30 seconds, and if service is needed can be replaced with a different one in 3-4 minutes, all without entering the tank. Unfortunately the pump setup wasn't in the final "cut" for the video, but submersible pumps are extremely reliable due to the very benign environment and the fact that they're built to be installed in wells where they'd really be a pain if they failed.
What a surreal experience! I live in Australia and we've just finished putting in this exact same configuration from Pioneer including size, color (zincalume), and even using a six inch water filling system. Thought I might mention a couple of things. The rubble around the base of the tank does help prevent the sand from being washed away, but it's not 100% effective; the real reason I put it in was to prevent burrowing animals like rabbits and hares from digging the sand away from underneath the tank and potentially causing a liner rupture. Don't know what area around your workshop is like, but if you get a lot of leaf dropping or the wind brings in a lot of debris you might want to consider placing a metal mesh over your gutters so you're not putting as much detritus into your tank. Next, if you do decide that to make this a source for potable water (which we do) you might want to remember the water is not fluoridated so select your toothpaste accordingly. Finally, if you put in a tankless electric water heating system like HeatWorks it depends upon the water having a certain electrical resistance in order to work. Rain water will not provide the necessary resistance. Sorry for the length of the comment. . .
@@fireflyfilms6100 Exactly, even if an onsite water tank isn't sufficient on it's own to stop a fire it can help buy time for additional assistance to arrive. Of course depending on the amount of water collected (and propensity for evaporation) at some point making a pond/lake might be the cheaper option.
John Fuller in central Victoria where I live we have to keep 10,000 litres specifically for fire fighting. We put in a similar size and for professional installation the cost was under aud $8,000. The water is beautiful and we have no leaf matter to be concerned with so just drink 8t as is.
When I was a kid in the '50s, my grandparents had a small country gas station with an Artesian well that smelled of sulphur. They drank and cooked with it. I stuck to Coke and Pepsi when I visited them (they had a little convenience store built into it and lived over the top of the station). My grandfather used a rainwater capture system for the use of nearly pure water for customer's car batteries. I learned the purpose of that 55 gallon drum with a leader from the overhead gutter feeding it one day, when during a family picnic in the backyard of the station, I deposited a eaten corn cob into the barrel. Later he spied it and became quite upset, yelling at us kids for what happened. My grandparents built the station when at the age of 70, Grandpa was basically fired from his mechanics job at the local silk mill in upstate NY for refusing to retire. They kept the station until his early 80's and then decided it was time to take it easy. He came to this country from Italy, through Ellis Island in 1903. He believed in the work ethic to the max. When his health began to fail, he refused medical treatment, saying the doctors could not make him young again. My uncle, in my presence, implored him to take care of himself and that he had some years left. Grandpa responded with an expletive and said, "What the hell for, I can't work anymore." He was gone several days later. This is my rainwater capture memory.
BillyLapTop, ooOOOH how I remember that sulfur water, kinda smelt like rotten eggs too, lol. My Grandaddy came here from Italy also, didn't know what "rest" was. Worked in the coal mines his entire life, everyday, raised 8 kids, unfortunately he passed when my dad was 4yrs old from black lung. A die'n breed my friend. Jay.
Thank you for sharing your story. I grew up in a small Northern California town and can envision a lot of the scenes you paint. I love listening to family history.
Brilliant! We’re in the Brenham area and we were in the process of building our home on 10 acres when the Bastrop and Montgomery fires hit. I’m a pool builder so I incorporated a plumbing system to utilize the pool water in our pool to fight a local fire that might threaten our home. That system would rely on a gasoline powered pump in the event that the power grid was interrupted by the fire. I considered but had to defer a rainwater harvesting system primarily because we are on a well and, as you know, budgeting concerns require hard decisions. In any event, I think your system is brilliant and provides all the flexibility one could ever anticipate. Well done!
Hi April. My wife and I are both Master Naturalists living on a small ranch out in the Texas Hill Country west of San Antonio. Although I'm a UT Austin grad, I have fallen in with a bunch of Aggies. For those Texans who are not already aware, your county Extension Service is an extremely valuable and FREE (funded by taxpayers) service that I recommend everyone avail themselves of. Anyway, I fell in with the Aggies and soon put in a peach orchard. Problem is, from mid July to early october, little or no rain. We are fortunate to have sweet clear limestone filtered water right out of the ground we use for the house, but I hate to pay to pump it onto my orchard. So we capture rainwater off our metal roof directly into downspout through a screen. The orchard is about six feet below house grade, so buried pipe flows water into two 1500 gallon tanks at orchard.....no moving parts, pumps, or power necessary. Head pressure at tanks pressures hose bibs at bottom of tanks. People have been harvesting rainwater for thousands of years, only recently did we dig holes in the ground and put electric pumps into them. Well that's my 2c.........long live The Republic of Texas!!!
It's true, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Services are the best at providing free public information and resources. They made an entire website dedicated to it (rainwaterharvesting.tamu.edu/) and publish my favorite resource (pioneerwatertanksamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/AgriLifeRainwaterHarvestingManual.pdf). Thank you for bringing them up!
Good video April. I live on the eastside of the Big Island of Hawai'i, and a great many on island do rely on harvesting rainwater. Most are only 10k gallon systems as it does usually rain enough to keep the tanks full except for the occasional dry spell, and at that point you will see trucks with 4k gallon tanks of potable water running around to fill tanks of families too big or not conserving enough. It is a known fact, the more girls in a family, the more water is used! No, just teasing!! LOL. I put my system in by myself when I built my home. The tank is 18' 6" by 5' 4" and the rain is collected off of the roof of a 1400 sq. ft. house. I have a Grundfos tankless pump at the house that pulls the water from the tank and through two, 10" filter housings (one with a 5 micron string filter the other a carbon block filter) and then through a ultraviolet light sanitizer unit. With this system I have some of the best tasting water there is. When I installed this system 15 years ago, the whole things was $4500.00 without labor.
Yes I do have a rain harvest system. My system is a underground storage system, the tanks are five ten thousand gallons plastic tanks. I have a 100'X300' Barndominium built by Morton building's and I love it. I use the water for non potable uses and as a storage system for my Township Fire Departments for a water resource. I live on two hundred acres, one hundred in woods and one hundred in field so it's a safety issue for me. I give the fire departments access to the system if needed. Keep up the great videos. God bless you and your family.
@Aeternalis Armentarius Just over sixty thousand dollars, but I get a tax rite off from the Township and County for ten years. At the end of the ten years I will have spent approximately thirty five thousand dollars for the system.
That's a fantastic addition to anyone's property. I saw an extremely novel system for rainwater collection / storage within a city & it was a swimming pool size tank under a new home. The interior was sealed with epoxy & it used a venting system to eliminate any condensation under the house. It collected water via gutters but also via a permeable driveway made of open, diamond pattern driveway pavers.
Massive system! In New Zealand we collect rain where the house is not able to be connected to a mains water system, but generally only 5000 gallons. We drink that water with no processing. As long as you ensure that your roof is free of dead birds, excessive leaves, etc, and the tank is not open to similar contamination then it's fine to drink. I've never been sick in over 20 years of drinking roof water.
Some of my neighbors drink straight from the tank, and so do I when the UV system gets knocked offline in storms. We have big tanks because we like to fully supply the house for up to 10 months with low rainfall.
I’d be willing to bet your tank will be a touch more unique. Perhaps a few hundred large cedar logs glued together and turned in a giant home made lathe. Or maybe not.
PioneerWaterTanksAmerica.com can provide that for you. We operate with a network of suppliers and installers to provide local service. Our office is open Monday - Friday, 7:00a - 5:00p CST to connect you with the closest authorized Pioneer provider/installer to get you a price. We can also provide more information on Pioneer Water Tanks engineering, AQAULINER® Fresh tank liner that is BPA-free and NSF-61 certified for drinking water storage, the Zincalume® Steel tank body or our lines of accessories. Thank you!
Just make 2 30.000 gallon Then you can clean the one when using the other.. Just make a huge spill way in the floor and a Walve.. to spuule silt and Bird drippings out of
Whoohoo! Congrats! I had a rainwater collection system (RCS) at my house in South Austin, TX. I loved it! I installed it to water my chickens and for irrigation purposes because Central Texas experiences cyclical droughts. The RCS was installed by Innovative Water Solutions LLC, whom I highly recommend. I collected the water off the chicken house roof, and easily collected 2500+ gallons a year - the chicken house was 8'x 12', so you know the roof wasn't very big. The RCS was part of a larger water management system that included berms, swales and a grey-water harvesting system also used for irrigation. I also put in 12-24 inches of wood chip mulch (à la Back to Eden) in my front yard and around trees and garden beds to reduce evaporation. I did all this after taking a Permaculture class. Trees all over my neighborhood were dying, but not at my house. Now I live in the PNW, but in a "Blue Hole" created by the Olympic Mountains south of me. I get about 16"-18" of rain a year even though it _looks_ like I live in a rainforest. One of the very first things I did when I moved here was to install a 5K-gallon RCS using two 2500-gallon potable tanks. I collect the water off of my house's shingle roof. My house roof can actually generate 20K-30K gallons a year (I forget the exact number), but I only collect 5K. I installed it for irrigation, fire safety, and possibly potable purposes as well as to fill my wet-weather tank (up here, they call them ponds). This RCS I had a "handy-person" install; he did a good job, but he didn't really ever finish (i.e., never installed the tank gauges I bought, didn't finish the overflow lines, etc.) and didn't really follow the plans and specs I commissioned from Innovative Water Solutions LLC, so I often bash my head on the first-flush downspouts. Still, it is good enough for most of my purposes because I also have access to irrigation water from snow melt in the mountains. To do: I need to add a pump in order to use the harvested rainwater for irrigation - there just isn't enough head on it to water by either drip or by hand, so the rainwater has gone into the pond for the past 4 years, which makes my ducks and geese very happy.
I live on the Big Island (Hawaii), where many areas have no piped in water. I have a 10K gallon catchment system, filters, UV light. We get 10-12 feet of rain per year in my area. Unlimited, "free", potable water.
Hi April, this is what we call a catchment system. I live in Hawaii on the big island, this is just normal for those of us who do not live in the city of Hilo. Actually, it is the only way that we can get water for our households.
Where I live in rural Western Australia, rainwater is the only supply of Potable water available, so all houses and sheds have rainwater harvesting and multiple water storage tanks. It is fine to drink, provided tanks are kept closed up against birds and insects. We only get about 300mm (12”) of rain a year, but that is sufficient for all our household needs.
As soon as you said Australia in you comment for some strange reason and not on purpous I continued reading your comment in an Australian accent. God bless you guys. Half of my family lives there.
2 reasons I clicked on the video 1. April rocks 2. Big ass water tank I am scratching my head as to how some states can make it illegal to collect rain water on your own property. Great video April, thanks for sharing with us.
perhaps friend..but what i like about her videos...is all options included..she does say...it like it as it is..depends on your location i expect...shes in texas...im in washington state...types of soil..are different here. as well as drainage laws..she does provide an good template to follow.
Wonderful video - thank you for sharing this!!! A few years ago we had a “garage mahal” built, and ever since we have discussed how perfect the metal roof would be for rain water collection. We have a rain barrel, but 55 gallons of water is used up quickly watering plants. Your video has encouraged us to finally seriously check into getting a lithe rain collection system! We live on rolling land, with the workshop-of-our-dreams at a high point; so installing the gravity fed water lines should work well. We live in East Texas, so sometimes we get a lot of rain, and sometimes we don’t get nearly enough. It would be great to store up water during those times of plenty. Our tap and well water is very hard too, so “soft” pure rainwater would be a wonderful change. Our water supplier also chlorinates our tap water so aggressively it kills plants. We have a well to water plants and supply the livestock, but we’re stuck with tap water at the house due to changes made long ago. Neither the well water nor the municipal water supply are palatable, and they’re both extremely ripe with mineral nastyness. 🥴 Thanks for posting this!!! You have given us great ideas. Enjoy your new water supply!
I 've been watching your channel since the beginning when you did this part time. I just noticed today you have over a million subscribers. thats a huge ,and well deserved accomplishment .congrats to you
I installed a 3000 gal rain harvesting system 15 years ago in North Houston. The utility district was running very short of water and could not keep up with growth demands. Once the blackout days to water our property hit I was well aware price increases were imminent. I order the largest dark green FDA approved tank for water storage I could that did not stand taller than my 6’ fence as to not upset the neighbors. I think I was allowed to go above the fence about 2’ but why chance it. Being a good neighbor is more important to me. I capture water from the 5000 sq ft home on just one side from existing rain gutters. The clean out I built worked like a champ to capture water but put out leaf and other debris off the roof automatically. I used gravity to feed my garden and top off 30K in-ground pool. Something very nice about rain water, instead of chlorinated water from sprinklers, headed to the garden daily. Our water bill shot up 400% over the next 10 years because of the growth in the area and demand for water. The home sat on an acre lot and had a pool. The rain harvesting saved thousands and was a joy to install with the fam. Real solution for a real need. Even small systems pay for themselves very quickly. As fate would have it when I sold the home I sold the system above ground for more than I paid for all the parts and my labor. If your state allows it it is a very smart thing to do. Great vids and I enjoy your honest candor! I’m a fan.
The majority of my development in Hawaii does not have water, and we must collect rainwater for use. To make it potable,I use two different string filters and a UV light so we can used it for general purposes. I have lived with this system for 8years. It works!
We've been using rain water tanks her in Australia for many years now. I've not paid a water bill in years. All new houses here in Aus must have rain water tanks. I have two. It's also mandatory to have one tank full at all times to be used in fire fighting. As you know we have a bit of a fire issue here at the moment
I use to work for EGR/ EGR Water in Qld, I use to make alot of the poly tanks, small as 1000L to 22,500 L tanks, back in 2011 when they made it mandatory for newly built houses/units to have rain water tanks.
@@timpindell8178 It is legal in ALL states with restrictions, like you can only collect from your roof and hard surfaces, you can't redirect a stream or river, so look it up Einstein and get educated. worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/states-where-it-is-illegal-to-collect-rainwater
Hi April, we've had a Pioneer tank here in Central Texas the same as yours for more than 10 years, I'd never go back to any other kind of water! Ours is in a potable system that's very easy to maintain. Use that nasty well water for irrigation and drink that wonderful rainwater!
Nice! Our WV 1890s farmhouse came with a cistern that takes the water off the roof. The collection filter needs to be rebuilt, a project for next summer. I estimate the collection tank at about a thousand gallons. It needs to be flushed and cleaned, again a project for next summer. We use the water for the garden. There's also a shallow well with murky water, in the mudroom, and a 400 ft. deep well with with excellent water. Water is life!
Thank you April…very well done video. I too appreciate a rainwater collection system. I live in the Texas Hill Country and have installed full home systems on both of my homes I’ve built here. Also helped create one of the first exclusive rainwater catchment developments in the State. I used 10K fiberglass cistern on the first home with gutters, down spouts, and lines. All pretty much the same concept except the tank and the pump plus filtration in the garage that pulled water up from storage to the house, filtration, and tankless water heater before going into appliances and faucets. The water taste so delicious out of fiberglass and highly recommended for drinking plus using metal roof for catchment. We used fiberglass shingles on that 1st home. You can add many sets of filtration with 3 then 5 micron to ultraviolet then even reverse osmosis if it makes you feel better. I don’t use RO. You can even put in minerals now if you want alkaline water. There are many products since I started 20 years ago. Mankind has been collecting rainwater for thousands of years to drink. Apparently all with good results. A public water utility puts things in the water that I myself don’t want to ingest. Wells can be such harder water it creates problems in your appliances. Having water softeners make the water not tasty and unbearable sometimes using salt. Rainwater is soft, good to drink and on your clothes and skin… plus appliances. I love it!!! 💖 Thanks for showing the building of a RWS. I do them myself now after Tank Town being one of the first out here taught us. The founder of the company was a very great mentor to many in the area for decades back. There are many installers now. A great alternative to well water, and to me, the best way🌟
Please, you must do a follow up video: - Does it work? - Economic benefit? Cost of supply and installation? All the money stuff. - How did you size your tank for your specific property? - One side of the tank base is built up with sand. Can the tank handle settling of the sand? How much settling will it withstand? - Please address how you monitor the tank water level. - Can you show us how you use the water for irrigation, and why you irrigate? Here in New Brunswick, Canada our climate doesn't require us to irrigate. - What maintenance of the system will be required? Liner life expectancy? - Can you also address filtering of the rainwater and bird poop on the roof? Assume gray water usage for the moment. What an excellent video -- except it is wayyy over the top for most of us -- unless the economics make sense. I suspect this was a $60,000 USD installation. If I am in the ballpark, then the economics become doubtful. I recognize that things may be different in TX. Keep up the great videos.
My brother-in-law has a 30K gallon system and it's crucial to his house. They have no access to any city water so either rain or having it tankered in are his options. He has a mechanical mesh filtration system and UV as well as a chlorinator, although the chlorine is mostly an inhibitor. He uses three fiberglass tanks ganged in series. He has a roughly 5000 as ft house and a 9000 as ft barn and it's all plumbed in. They use the slightly "sour" well water for toilets, laundry & irrigation but over the last 15 years it's been drilled down another 100 or so feet as the Edwards Aquifer has "dried up". Texas broke out of our five year "extreme drought" last spring but it's been dry this winter.
@@Satya2btrue OK -- $8K to purchase the tank + $8K for labour to install + $8K to prepare the base, install roof gutters, and buy piping -- give or take. It looks like a water supply can be very expensive in Texas. I guess that is one reason few people live in the desert.
There is no Economic benefit for this household! 101%! Its all about ''its cool to reuse''. Its ok..but its unpractical. I was planing similar on solar panels for my garden..I can run 15+ years for that money. Since I am not hippie..and without freebies..I baled.
You might get annoyed comments about how you hired contractors , but I REALLY appreciate you showing us "hey this is beyond a DIY wheelhouse, even for a high-tier builder/creator like me," AND still taking the time to make a video and educate us about the project. 🤘🏻
I have a very low maintenance water harvesting method. Three 5 gallon buckets to catch the rain off a small section of roof. About 20 one gallon milk jugs for storage. I use the water for houseplants exclusively. I try to keep everything topped off as much as possible so as not to waste what I’ve caught. There has been one occasion recently when the dangerous winter storm of 2021 cut power to the water company. We used about 4-6 gallons a day to flush toilets. I used EVERYTHING & ANYTHING to collect any snow I could & melt it then store it in bigger storage containers normally used for storage. All in all we got through it. Afterwards my wife approached me about installing something more “high tech.” I couldn’t be happier. So that’s my story in a nutshell regarding rain harvesting.
Greetings from Germany. Water collection and reserving is a good thing if you are able to do it. We have been always collecting rainwater in some form or another. Growing up, my parents had a house + garden (about 2 acre i think) at the edge of Town. We had 3 huge connected septic tanks (build in the 50's from brick and mortar) underground, that where used for our blackwater. In the early 90's we got connected to the towns sewage management and the septics where not needed anymore. So we emptied them and my dad and i spend a few weeks cleaning those tanks and attached all the roofs and even the walkway drains to them. Since ca. 1996 my parents have been collecting all the rainwater in those old septic tanks and have been using it in the garden and house (No drinking water!!!) Wich is a really good thing. In the last 15 years the climate in our area has changed so much that we have months of drought now during the summer months. You just dont want to see the water bill you get if you need to water your veggies. This was a really cool and interesting video. I enjoyed it very much, thank you for sharing all you do with us.
Gidday April, Loved watching this to see how they do it in the USA, here in Australia, Aaot of homes have Tank water (as we call it). In fact the last 4 houses i have lived in over the past 10 yrs, that is our only source of waters. We arent hooked up to Mains Water (city water) you called it. My current house has a 25,000 litre tank which provides water for the house for everything, drinking, showeringv, washing, cooking etc. Plenty enough for 3 Adults in this house.
our company works on and maintains water tanks for municipalities, so the video was cool to see. 30,000 is small for what we do, but huge for residential. Congratulations!!
Most of the single family systems we installed last year were 40,000 gallons, with the largest being 130,000 gallons. The trend is definitely toward "bigger" in central Texas.
1. You do the most interesting, unique projects 2. I hope you will do a short follow up video or two as the tank fills. I’d like to see how much water you collect from various rain storms.
@dungoist I think the tank is down hill from the shop, and the height of the top of the fill pipe is way lower than the roof of the shop. So gravity does the work. The question is: in the heaviest rain, is the difference in height enough to handle the volume of water that has to come through the system? She shall see...
@@MandoFettOG I think PBMS meant a pump for use before any town fire apparatus could show up. She would need a pump, besides the one supplying irrigation, or at least a T and gate off her irrigation supply line.
11:00 Well THANK YOU so very much for the metric measure there! That sure helps us here in Europe a lot. GREAT VIDEO THIS WAS! Greetings from Portugal.
Thanks for the video, April ! I live in the Okanagan Valley in B.C., Canada, and my town is in the middle of a great area to grow apples and grapes. It is climate-rated semi-arid - we get about 11 inches of rain plus 22 inches of snow per year. Agricultural irrigation needs about three feet of water per season, so rooftop rain collection is only enough for a small veggie garden. The Okanagan river drains the higher elevation valleys to the east and west. We intercept that creek water with small dams & reservoirs, then use gravity to plumb it to our orchards which lie below the higher valleys but above the river. This all began about 1905...
I put in a 1,000 gallon rainwater collection system back in 2014. We live on a small lot in a mid-sized city in California so that was the max practical amount of storage. The water then goes into a solar-powered pump and collection tank, just like a well pressurization system, pumping the water to 32 PSI, then it's fed into our drip irrigation system. When sizing the system we found our *yearly* consumption was 30,000 gallons for the household - so your tank is absolutely massive! With our collection system we managed to replace about 6,000 gallons/year of city water - and since our sewer bill is based on water consumption, that went down as well! The only issue we needed to solve that your location doesn't require is filtration at the roof level. Leaves, dust and bird poop build up on your roof and the first rain washes that right into the collection system. There's a smart filtering technique using a slow-release downspout and a float valve that dumps the first few gallons of runoff and then diverts the rest of the (cleaner) rainwater into the tank.
The PVC jig they used for the roof panels is one I've made of wood when I'm making a weird platform or flat (I'm a carpenter for theaters) where there's overhang. We call it a whisky stick!
You should consider putting a five or 6 inch steamer fitting on that tank so that the fire department could hook into it if you ever had a structure fire on your property. You might save some money on your homeowners insurance also.
This is a common feature on many of the systems we install, but whether we can get a discount on homeowner's insurance depends greatly on the local fire department's wish to bless the system and write a letter to the insurance company. Some of them require 10s of thousands of dollars of extra equipment for the tank making the savings difficult to justify.
$10k???? Good lord!! Are they making you install a diesel fire pump and a stand pipe??? Do they not realize that they’re supposed to bring their own pump on the big red truck?? 🤣
I can assure you that my fire department would do what we could do to assist the homeowner to acquire any type of insurance discount. Although you probably wouldn’t see a system like this in northern Vermont.
I use a downspout to a rain barrel. A fish tank float valve cuts off the flow from the barrel outlet to 5 gallon pail at a certain level. The pail has a 3/4 inch lawn irrigation tubing that leads to a bird bath. Using hydro-static pressure, the pail and the bird bath are always at the same level. Viola!.... automatic bird bath filler. When the birth bath level drops, the pail level drops, and the float valve kicks in to replenish the pail from the rain barrel. Works really well!
I agree with Sooner Keith, been watching April for about a year and just love watching what she gets into and builds. She has a smooth delivery and continues to impress what she grabs by the horns and gets accomplished.
EVERY house should have a water tank, for gardening , car washing etc, especially in drought vulnerable areas. This would really help ease the pressure on council water supplies. Absolutely stunned to learn that it is illegal in some places 🤯 better to make lawns illegal as they are the biggest single waste of water. I, like most of rural Aus am 100% reliant on tank water for all needs. Another system to consider is having the tank at the highest point on your property (depending on topography) A smaller tank is used to collect water and then transferred to the main tank. Gravity will give constant reliable pressure and still works in the event of power outages. I am in a small village, all reliant on tank water. Assuming we survive the coming Tassie bushfire season and since my property is the highest point in the area, I am considering approaching council with the idea of building an emergency water supply for the whole community.
G'day Bill, We sometimes build "upside down" systems where the water is pumped to a main storage tank, but since we can get 100mm of rain in an hour and that might be the only rain we get for months, we like to collect with gravity whenever possible. Our grid power is very reliable, but when it does go out it's usually during storms! Best of luck with the wildfires and check with your area's Pioneer Water Tanks dealer - they may be able to help with the technical details for your proposal to the council.
As I understand it, in my state, Arizona, rain water harvesting is not only allowed but it's encouraged. As in the state government says you absolutely should collect rain water.
@@felixreali7101 In general, the argument for restricting rainwater harvesting or collection is that rivers, streams, and lakes that supply municipal water supplies can often depend on water flowing into the rivers, etc., and thus into municipal reservoirs. The idea being if too many people collect rainwater, or if it's done on too big a scale, or both, it could be detrimental to municipal water supplies. Of course, there are plenty of areas in which that concern is not really applicable.
I live in Seattle WA half mile from downtown. I just completed a 1000 gal rain water system. It provides water for my toilet, watering plants and a second source of water for a sink used just for gardening. The grey water from the shower is used for non edibles.
Hi April, I am living in Germany in a townhouse with a small garden near Frankfurt . When the houses were built we were obliged to build a water collection system mainly to water the gardens. So I have an 700 Liter Tank in the front and one at the back of the house both underground. It really saves a lot of water while I still have a green garden even when, like the last two summers, there is only little rain and high temperatures. Love your vidoes, keep zup the great work!
I don't have a collection system myself, but my sister in Australia has one for her toilet and washing machine. They have 2 narrow tanks next to their house that collects the water from their roof. Really good idea especially for flushing the toilet as you do not need to use drinking water for that. In the UK, we can get tanks that are buried in the garden and do the same thing. I will be looking into this for the washing machine and toilet usage. 10/10!!! :)
I priced a potable 3 stage filtered 35,000 gallon tank system through a certain company in Johnson City to be installed in Bertram on a 3,600 sqft 'Shouse'...... $33k and change. In my opinion, Installing a well in our area is $20k minimum and it WILL go dry eventually so I'll gladly pay for the peace of mind and the ability to add on to it later for long term droughts and fire fighting capabilities.
Here at my Chicago 1930's brick bungalow, my rain water collection system is more commonly called.... my basement - lol. So what's it like being able to afford a 6-7 $ figure Texas Ponderosa? RUclips and your own determination and hard work has been very-very-good to you young lady. Sincere Congrats. So....what does such a fine water reclamation system actually cost a land baroness like yerself?
Thanks April, Great video and information. I also live here in Texas. Born and Raised, left and returned. I am all about having complete control over my own resources as well.
We started last year with a single barrel for our garden. It saved us a ton of money since we pay a hefty price for water here. We’re adding a second barrel this year and I can’t wait!
It's funny how addicting it can get haha. I started with a single bucket and slowly built it up over the years. I now have a system made up of several barrels linked together with a bio-swale at the end to catch the overflow
If she'd meant off grid she would have done the calculations for water usage, for average rainfall, for the required collection surface, and for the required storage, and talked about how filter/clean the water to make it potable. Oh, yeah, also off-grid solar to make sure she can run pumps whether the city/county power is available or not. I think she's just being responsible and avoiding wasting an important resource that she will need for irrigation.
Oh yes! Waiting for that video. On my system, I'm presently using a sand/charcoal filter. Simple and easy for off grid purposes. If I use the water to drink, I run it through my Berkey filter.
Yes, we also collect rain water and love it. We grow gardens in five 26 ft x100ft long high tunnels plus another acre of gardens and our well water has a high a percentage of dissolved minerals. It would only take 3-4 years of using our well water before the soil in the high tunnels would be totally ruined. The second reason is our well only produces 4-5 gallons per minute and its not hard to run the well dry watering huge gardens. Our barn has 8200 sq ft of surface area and we can collect an amazing amount of water during a normal season. I estimate the volume is upwards of 65,000 gallons during a normal rainy seasons. I have tank storage of around 4500 gallons in plastic tanks and another 6000 gallons in low cost 12-14 foot swimming pools we get at Walmart. I priced out larger more permanent tanks but they were running from $2-$3 a gallon to install. There is no way I could justify spending $30,000-$40,000 for a system. The $400 I spend on the above ground pools is money well spent and a huge savings. I live in Alaska and we don't get much rain or do much gardening in the winter anyways. They are also a nice way to cool off during that two weeks each summer when it actually gets warm. haha. And, I always have water if needed for fire fighting. Any excess water that I have in storage MUST be drained off before freeze up and it would be prohibitively expensive to try and over winter the water. I dont know if the USDA/NRCS still has grants available for water storage systems but they designed and paid for my entire roof collection system and tanks six or seven years ago. Its worth looking into if you use the water for an agriculture purpose.
Hey, congrats! We've got a 45k gallon cistern, just Northwest of Dripping Springs. Had it built about 22 years ago, it's concrete. We gather about 3000 gallons per inch of rain off the house and barn. We run the whole house (including drinking) off of the system.
Living in rural Australia I have never quite understood the American obsession with wells, as groundwater is more likely to contain heavy metals and salts than rainwater. I have lived the bulk of my 60+ years on tank water, up until a couple of years ago, without any form of filtration other than allowing particulates to settle, without any ill effects. The vast majority of Australian farms do the same. Water has always been a precious commodity in this very dry country ( the current drought is the worst since recording began ) and you learn from the earliest age to preserve and reuse it. We now run an 'envirocycle' septic system with the treated grey and black water ending up in the veggie patch and orchard. The standard roofing material here is corrugated iron with almost every roof surrounded by rain water gutters ( including the dog's kennel ). For me, rain water tanks were just the normal way things were done.
I started a system from sixteen 55 gal barrels to irrigate my veggie garden. I'm currently in the process of upgrading to four 275 gal totes, plus three 60 gal barrels. I also have a plan to install four or five 275 gal totes in my front yard for a future orchard..(after it gets fenced). I live in Spokane, WA. Yes..Washington had a ban, but it has since been lifted.
As usual with most of April's projects, it needs to be "stand on it tested". A "Wonder Woman" pose? Love it! Not harvesting rain water from the tank's 600+ square foot roof seems like a waste about 4600 gallons of water created by 12" of rain but I am no expert at rain water harvesting. A ready supply of water would also be useful for fighting a fire.
Hi Ron, Collection from the roof of the tank is an option, but there are compromises necessary, including not being able to divert the water when the roof is dirty, and being so flat, it gets very dirty in the summer... The shop building provides plenty of water to fill the tank and the roof will tend to stay cleaner.
Yeah, and how sickening is it to hear that a lot of states and countries regulate and/or outlaw the practice of collecting rainwater. Another great video April.... Thank you!
Super smart plan and execution April. I 100 percent agree with your views on rainwater harvesting. My vegetable garden is watered with water from my home's roof, collected into 6 of those simple barrels you mentioned. Thanks for letting us check out your beautiful tank!
That's huge! Awesome system. I just moved out of California, where most counties had outlawed rainwater collection, even during the severe drought. Luckily it's an option for me now.
I don't harvest rain water, but do have several natural springs. The spring that supplies water to my house was developed in 1947. I developed a second spring a few years back for my drinking water which produces about 19k gallons per day.
I've been wanting to put on in on my building here in downtown Tokyo, of course not nearly as large as yours, but maybe 200 liters or 53 gallons (US) for use to water my rooftop garden but also in the even a large earthquake. We are on a pump system, so if we lose power, we are out of water in the whole building. With the addition of a decent water filter, we could have enough water to clean, flush toilets, drink and cook with (the last two run through the filter). I need to get this done I guess. Cheers from Tokyo!
I hope you do it! I saw many rainwater collection systems in Tokyo when I visited a few years ago. I even was able to visit the Rainwater Museum (now closed).
April I live in eastern Ontario Canada and have been doing rain water collecting for over 16 years for my grey water needs . Not everyone understands what I am doing so I kept having municipal problems until I came up with a good solution. I told them to turn off my municipal water. And that way I wouldn't have to pay them any more money. Haven't heard from them in 7 years since.lol
I'm building a container house in New Mexico that will be completely off the grid. Right now I'm working on the access road. Here's some stuff about my situation: 1) In New Mexico you can collect rainwater IF you are on the East side of the continental divide. If you are on the West side, you need a permit. Fortunately I am on the East side (my property backs up to the continental divide.) 2) I am planning to use a lined shipping container as a tank. A 40 foot high cube container can hold just North of 22,000 gallons. If you don't want to line it yourself there is a company in Australia (and other places) that sells a liner kit for you to line the container. 3) Finally, one HUGE advantage of collecting rainwater is that it is SOFT WATER! We bought an old gold mining claim that is at 7200 feet on top of a mountain. A well would be in the neighborhood of 800 feet and the water will be hard as a rock. Some of the wells that deep had to be sealed because of their arsenic content. Collection makes perfect sense!
I foresee a pump house with reverse osmosis filtration & April’s she shed is self sufficient 👍🏼 we live in the Sunshine Coast hinterland Australia and we live on tank water. I’m with you April, if the resource is there and you can harness it then why not. I’m surprised @DrDemoMatt hasn’t got one for the zombie apocalypse he’s preparing for 😂
I installed one for a house I built in central Texas. Could hold 18,000 gallons of water. The barn I harvested off of was so big I could catch 3000 gallons on a 3/4 inch rain. The water was pumped to the house where Culligan sat up a shell additive and small bleach pump to sanitize. Used to service the whole house. Retired couple only part time home and occasionally used as a hunting cabin 30x40 with up stairs 3 bed 2 bath home. Never ran out of water that I know of.
April, I live in South Australia, a very similar climate to Texas I believe. (hot dry summers and cool dry winters our avg rainfall is around 20") The State government has built a water purification plant to supplement the local water supply taking sea water as the source. They also encourage households to harvest rainwater with a subsidy program for installing collection tanks. Cheers Eric
You folks have had **** all for rain the last few years, too. I had seen a forecast for 100 mmm (4 inches) forecast for northern NEW and Victoria but no need since then.
The magnesium bag is known as a "sacrificial anode" - essentially makes your tank a battery, and the magnesium eats all the corrosion. This is also used on boats!
Wells being problematic here (minimum 400’ of hard, difficult drilling… hard, sodium and iron filled if you do* get a good feed, and the local danger of finding gas or oil), I’ve installed dozens and dozens of cisterns for people to truck potable water in to their acreage. In a case of “The Cobbler’s Children Have No Shoes”, my own place has only a 5000 gallon cistern, but I’ve installed many many hybrid systems that collect rain water/snow-melt for grey-water purposes. Even adding in the cost of trucking in water for 30 years, that’s still cheaper than the cost of drilling a well, especially if you have to ad a costly treatment system. For spits and giggles, my rural municipality did a cost analysis for the investment to hook up to the nearest municipal water supply, as some 200 homes were relatively densely adjacent to a spur line that had been run to a community that needed proper water. They came back with a cost of over $120,000.oo *per* *household* just to build out a low-volume trickle delievery network, and homeowners would *still* have to install a cistern and monitoring system… We could continue to haul water in for the next *century* before that made any sense. Plus on-going operating an maintenance for the network...
Now, this is smart thinking. Rainwater collecting is just smart, and everyone can do it. I have for oversized barrels at the 4 corners of my house and shop. I use this water to water the gardens and for a birdbath fountain, I designed myself. I have a high mineral count in my well. So I already have a whole house filter, and another under the sink. Plus I have a 2 gallon Britta filtered container with a spigot in the fridge that all water to be used in cooking, coffee and tea all goes through that final step. Best of luck with it April!!
This is amazing. You have an awesome property. This is a dream of mine that I will likely never get to achieve, but I can live vicariously through you. This is probably the coolest rain harvesting system I've ever seen. Gotta love the Texas Hill Country!
I've got a 160ft^3 tank - much smaller then yours, but fully submerged. And back in the days a did all the digging myself - with a pickaxe and a shovel. ;-)
“For you metric watchers” Do you mean the rest of the world except of you guys?? XD Love your channel, you’re giving me so much info and ideas for when I build my stables. Thank you so much!!
@@guyprattii3115 NASA uses metric system. The Apollo Guidance Computer (which allowed a safe landing on the moon) calculated in metric and then translated to US Standard for displays. Not starting an argument - just saying.
Awesome system! We have a smaller system made from 4 ibc totes giving us 1100gallons with a pump. We use it for our garden. One thing we did was add a smart power plug that we can turn it on remotely or on a schedule when on vacation. We will be covering the tanks this year to eliminate algae growth.
Yes I collect rain. My collector is a Tractor Supply water trough that measures 3' high x 5' long x 2' wide. I use for filtered drinking, garden water, and cleaning/bathing. Rain water tastes yummy compared to other sources available, and as they say " once you've had it, you can't go back"! I bought a IBC tote but haven't quite mastered how to use/incorporate it. What I'd like to do is water tank into tiny house to an instant water heater for kitchen sink and shower and a cold water line. How to get from A to B is still in progress.
Being an Australian I have run virtually all of My Homes off Rainwater and in My part of the world (Adelaide, South Australia) Our Rainwater is perfectly Safe to Drink straight out of My Rainwater Tanks.
Here in New Zealand most people in rural areas and some small towns are 100% rain water. Some people also have bores to fill their tanks up. We use our tank water for drinking aswell without treating it which means that it tastes much better than any water you can buy.
My Sis and Brother-in-law are just up the road from you, and they built a place in Colorado. Most of the hassle and need for lawyers came from the water rights nonsense CO has on the books. It went beyond the not being able to have what you just installed. Was a bit of a shock to them having been contracting in Texas so long. Also, how far down is the water around your place? I know the rivers are near, but with that rock, some places have a rough time getting to the aquifer. I know of a place over by Meridian that has one very deep well, and they had to bore quite long way past the first hit of water to keep the supply up when the seasonal levels changed.
Next upgrade being a daily use water tower and a windmill driven pump to fill it to avoid running the electric submersible? You should totally get in contact with Grady Hillhouse from Practical Engineering in San Antonio if you haven't run into him yet. I imagine you guys could do some really neat projects together.
You could ask a company to make a quote without engagement. Or is that not done at your end. Recently I asked for quotes from around five or six suppliers for solar panels (photovoltaic panels) to be placed on the roof. From each quote you learn a lot and at the end we made a choice for a supplier that felt "good". It was not the cheapest supplier that got the order.
A system this size in Central TX is typically around $30k including treatment for indoor use. Varies several thousand either way depending on the site work and complexity of the collection piping. In this area the cost is often competitive with well water and municipal supplies and the water quality is incomperable.
Thanks, April! This is the way to go when you have the room. Unfortunately, that tank is bigger than our backyard! Our house has low roof line all the way around so we just have gutters with barrels at each corner. I would suggest to have downspouts all the way to the ground and install diverters to fill the barrels. That way when the barrels are full the water will divert down the spout and away from the house rather than overflowing the barrel and pooling around it.
i would love to see a fire department connection installed so they would have a source of water. if you are on city or county water this would not be necessary, but i do not know if you are.......g
Hi April. We installed the same 30k gal tank at our place in the Texas hill country about 2 years ago. We're doing the opposite in that we're using the rainwater for drinking, shower and laundry, and the well is used for irrigation. As you mentioned, the water here is very hard and you never know what's in the well water or how long it will last. With just a couple of decent rains, our tank filled up and has remained close to full for two years now. We'll see what happens in a draught year, but I'm very happy with our decision. Rain water tastes great and is easier on your skin and plumbing. Add the filters and the UV and starting using rainwater for the house!
Great presentation of your build. I learned a lot. The installers seemed very professional. I had a rain collection system built at the time of building my home 10 years ago. It's in a very different climate (Northern Ireland, cool summers warm winters with a much greener countryside) the tank is below ground and much smaller in size. There is a water treatment system so that it can be used for everything but drinking water. Could even be used for that if equipped with an additional treatment unit.
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We live in south central Texas, outside of San Antonio. We purchased a lot in the hill country and basically live on top of a hill. We have always been interested in green technology, and are even more so today. As part of the construction of the house we added 28 solar panels and water catchment. We have a similar 30k tank and feed all the water captured on the 4,028 sq ft of metal roof into the tank. In fact our roof was specifically designed to maximize water capture since we knew we were going to do that from the start. We had it designed it that way because, as you know, the well water is very hard and very expensive to drill for here. We intended to NOT use well water in our house because of what hard water would do to the plumbing system and fixtures. So our water catchment system included a filtration package that makes our captured water potable. It includes 3 canisters mounted in the garage that has 2 filter and 1 UV. The canisters filter at the 5 and 50 micron level and the UV bulb will kill any bacterial elements left after filtration. I change these filters 3 times a year which is outside spec for the filters but I think is fine because it’s only filtering rain water and not ground water. We’ve lived in the house for 5 years and the system has been a godsend. It has never been drained since the rainfall (roughly 35 in annually) keeps it full. [knock on wood]. The toilets and sinks don’t get the rings along the water line as you get from even city water but would definitely get from well water. Another factor for us is the taste; we have become water snobs because our filtered rain water tastes better than any bottled water we could buy. We often take a large bottle of water with us when we travel.
Cost and installation: this would be the biggest turn off for most folks because it cost over $35k. One of the biggest reasons for that is that we live on a hill so consequently in order to find a place for the tank a wall had to be built to make a place large enough to make a level spot. Also the hill has little if any soil on it so the build site was excavated down to limestone bedrock requiring that the pipes from the house to the tank had to be cut in to solid rock!!!
Another difference between your install and hours is that our pump is not inside the tank. It is located in a small shed specific built to host the pump and pressure tank. I recommend doing it this way in case there is a problem with either piece of equipment you don’t have to mess with getting it out of the tank to work on it. Without the pressure tank you basically have an on-demand system so every time you turn on the water it will run the pump to provide the water. With the pressure tank it only starts the pump when the pressure falls below a specific psi.
Side note: as we went through financing for our build we discovered that we couldn’t get the money for the construction without a ‘primary’ water source which water catchment is NOT!!! So we ended up having to drill a well also.
Another point to note is that if you use you use your catchment system for irrigation of any sort don’t filter it because it takes out all the nutrients the plants need. We ended up segregating the inside and outside water by putting filtered in the house and all outside water as ‘well’ water. OBTW we also have a pool. In our initial planning we were going with a 40k tank to support all our water needs. When we were forced to drill a well we backed off to 30k tank.
Sorry for the long post but I hope someone gets something out of it.
B
Very nice post - I love hearing about your experience and think many others will gain from your sharing it. You might be interested to know that the submersible pump April has can be removed from the tank in under 30 seconds, and if service is needed can be replaced with a different one in 3-4 minutes, all without entering the tank. Unfortunately the pump setup wasn't in the final "cut" for the video, but submersible pumps are extremely reliable due to the very benign environment and the fact that they're built to be installed in wells where they'd really be a pain if they failed.
What a surreal experience! I live in Australia and we've just finished putting in this exact same configuration from Pioneer including size, color (zincalume), and even using a six inch water filling system. Thought I might mention a couple of things. The rubble around the base of the tank does help prevent the sand from being washed away, but it's not 100% effective; the real reason I put it in was to prevent burrowing animals like rabbits and hares from digging the sand away from underneath the tank and potentially causing a liner rupture. Don't know what area around your workshop is like, but if you get a lot of leaf dropping or the wind brings in a lot of debris you might want to consider placing a metal mesh over your gutters so you're not putting as much detritus into your tank. Next, if you do decide that to make this a source for potable water (which we do) you might want to remember the water is not fluoridated so select your toothpaste accordingly. Finally, if you put in a tankless electric water heating system like HeatWorks it depends upon the water having a certain electrical resistance in order to work. Rain water will not provide the necessary resistance. Sorry for the length of the comment. . .
You'll be set for a bushfire then.
@@PBMS123 not funny.
@@jazzmc5322 he would have is own water to fight a fire at a geographically challenged property. That is smart!
@@fireflyfilms6100 Exactly, even if an onsite water tank isn't sufficient on it's own to stop a fire it can help buy time for additional assistance to arrive. Of course depending on the amount of water collected (and propensity for evaporation) at some point making a pond/lake might be the cheaper option.
John Fuller in central Victoria where I live we have to keep 10,000 litres specifically for fire fighting. We put in a similar size and for professional installation the cost was under aud $8,000. The water is beautiful and we have no leaf matter to be concerned with so just drink 8t as is.
When I was a kid in the '50s, my grandparents had a small country gas station with an Artesian well that smelled of sulphur. They drank and cooked with it. I stuck to Coke and Pepsi when I visited them (they had a little convenience store built into it and lived over the top of the station).
My grandfather used a rainwater capture system for the use of nearly pure water for customer's car batteries. I learned the purpose of that 55 gallon drum with a leader from the overhead gutter feeding it one day, when during a family picnic in the backyard of the station, I deposited a eaten corn cob into the barrel. Later he spied it and became quite upset, yelling at us kids for what happened.
My grandparents built the station when at the age of 70, Grandpa was basically fired from his mechanics job at the local silk mill in upstate NY for refusing to retire. They kept the station until his early 80's and then decided it was time to take it easy.
He came to this country from Italy, through Ellis Island in 1903. He believed in the work ethic to the max. When his health began to fail, he refused medical treatment, saying the doctors could not make him young again. My uncle, in my presence, implored him to take care of himself and that he had some years left. Grandpa responded with an expletive and said, "What the hell for, I can't work anymore." He was gone several days later.
This is my rainwater capture memory.
"The Greatest Generation" God Bless them!
BillyLapTop, ooOOOH how I remember that sulfur water, kinda smelt like rotten eggs too, lol. My Grandaddy came here from Italy also, didn't know what "rest" was. Worked in the coal mines his entire life, everyday, raised 8 kids, unfortunately he passed when my dad was 4yrs old from black lung.
A die'n breed my friend. Jay.
I guess it was both a blessing and a curse that he went that fast.
I love the story.
Thank you for sharing your story. I grew up in a small Northern California town and can envision a lot of the scenes you paint. I love listening to family history.
That is the saddest thing I've ever heard.
Life is more than work, much, much more.
Brilliant! We’re in the Brenham area and we were in the process of building our home on 10 acres when the Bastrop and Montgomery fires hit. I’m a pool builder so I incorporated a plumbing system to utilize the pool water in our pool to fight a local fire that might threaten our home. That system would rely on a gasoline powered pump in the event that the power grid was interrupted by the fire. I considered but had to defer a rainwater harvesting system primarily because we are on a well and, as you know, budgeting concerns require hard decisions. In any event, I think your system is brilliant and provides all the flexibility one could ever anticipate. Well done!
Hi April. My wife and I are both Master Naturalists living on a small ranch out in the Texas Hill Country west of San Antonio. Although I'm a UT Austin grad, I have fallen in with a bunch of Aggies. For those Texans who are not already aware, your county Extension Service is an extremely valuable and FREE (funded by taxpayers) service that I recommend everyone avail themselves of. Anyway, I fell in with the Aggies and soon put in a peach orchard. Problem is, from mid July to early october, little or no rain. We are fortunate to have sweet clear limestone filtered water right out of the ground we use for the house, but I hate to pay to pump it onto my orchard. So we capture rainwater off our metal roof directly into downspout through a screen. The orchard is about six feet below house grade, so buried pipe flows water into two 1500 gallon tanks at orchard.....no moving parts, pumps, or power necessary. Head pressure at tanks pressures hose bibs at bottom of tanks. People have been harvesting rainwater for thousands of years, only recently did we dig holes in the ground and put electric pumps into them. Well that's my 2c.........long live The Republic of Texas!!!
It's true, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Services are the best at providing free public information and resources. They made an entire website dedicated to it (rainwaterharvesting.tamu.edu/) and publish my favorite resource (pioneerwatertanksamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/AgriLifeRainwaterHarvestingManual.pdf). Thank you for bringing them up!
Good video April. I live on the eastside of the Big Island of Hawai'i, and a great many on island do rely on harvesting rainwater. Most are only 10k gallon systems as it does usually rain enough to keep the tanks full except for the occasional dry spell, and at that point you will see trucks with 4k gallon tanks of potable water running around to fill tanks of families too big or not conserving enough. It is a known fact, the more girls in a family, the more water is used! No, just teasing!! LOL. I put my system in by myself when I built my home. The tank is 18' 6" by 5' 4" and the rain is collected off of the roof of a 1400 sq. ft. house. I have a Grundfos tankless pump at the house that pulls the water from the tank and through two, 10" filter housings (one with a 5 micron string filter the other a carbon block filter) and then through a ultraviolet light sanitizer unit. With this system I have some of the best tasting water there is. When I installed this system 15 years ago, the whole things was $4500.00 without labor.
I’m here with ya in Mt. View. Have a 14k tank but want to get a new one. Do you have any recommendations?
Yes I do have a rain harvest system. My system is a underground storage system, the tanks are five ten thousand gallons plastic tanks.
I have a 100'X300' Barndominium built by Morton building's and I love it. I use the water for non potable uses and as a storage system for my Township Fire Departments for a water resource.
I live on two hundred acres, one hundred in woods and one hundred in field so it's a safety issue for me.
I give the fire departments access to the system if needed.
Keep up the great videos.
God bless you and your family.
@Aeternalis Armentarius Just over sixty thousand dollars, but I get a tax rite off from the Township and County for ten years. At the end of the ten years I will have spent approximately thirty five thousand dollars for the system.
That's a fantastic addition to anyone's property.
I saw an extremely novel system for rainwater collection / storage within a city & it was a swimming pool size tank under a new home. The interior was sealed with epoxy & it used a venting system to eliminate any condensation under the house. It collected water via gutters but also via a permeable driveway made of open, diamond pattern driveway pavers.
Massive system! In New Zealand we collect rain where the house is not able to be connected to a mains water system, but generally only 5000 gallons. We drink that water with no processing. As long as you ensure that your roof is free of dead birds, excessive leaves, etc, and the tank is not open to similar contamination then it's fine to drink. I've never been sick in over 20 years of drinking roof water.
Some of my neighbors drink straight from the tank, and so do I when the UV system gets knocked offline in storms. We have big tanks because we like to fully supply the house for up to 10 months with low rainfall.
Nice tank April! Thanks for the link. I need a 45,000gl tank to catch all the water off my shop during the winter to use during our dry summer.
I’d be willing to bet your tank will be a touch more unique. Perhaps a few hundred large cedar logs glued together and turned in a giant home made lathe. Or maybe not.
Everythingisgoingtobealright, Frank already has a water tank installed from a few years back. Great video. Entertaining as always.
Will there be an update video on the current tank you have?
PioneerWaterTanksAmerica.com can provide that for you. We operate with a network of suppliers and installers to provide local service. Our office is open Monday - Friday, 7:00a - 5:00p CST to connect you with the closest authorized Pioneer provider/installer to get you a price. We can also provide more information on Pioneer Water Tanks engineering, AQAULINER® Fresh tank liner that is BPA-free and NSF-61 certified for drinking water storage, the Zincalume® Steel tank body or our lines of accessories. Thank you!
Just make 2 30.000 gallon
Then you can clean the one when using the other..
Just make a huge spill way in the floor and a
Walve.. to spuule silt and Bird drippings out of
Whoohoo! Congrats!
I had a rainwater collection system (RCS) at my house in South Austin, TX. I loved it! I installed it to water my chickens and for irrigation purposes because Central Texas experiences cyclical droughts. The RCS was installed by Innovative Water Solutions LLC, whom I highly recommend. I collected the water off the chicken house roof, and easily collected 2500+ gallons a year - the chicken house was 8'x 12', so you know the roof wasn't very big.
The RCS was part of a larger water management system that included berms, swales and a grey-water harvesting system also used for irrigation. I also put in 12-24 inches of wood chip mulch (à la Back to Eden) in my front yard and around trees and garden beds to reduce evaporation. I did all this after taking a Permaculture class. Trees all over my neighborhood were dying, but not at my house.
Now I live in the PNW, but in a "Blue Hole" created by the Olympic Mountains south of me. I get about 16"-18" of rain a year even though it _looks_ like I live in a rainforest. One of the very first things I did when I moved here was to install a 5K-gallon RCS using two 2500-gallon potable tanks. I collect the water off of my house's shingle roof. My house roof can actually generate 20K-30K gallons a year (I forget the exact number), but I only collect 5K.
I installed it for irrigation, fire safety, and possibly potable purposes as well as to fill my wet-weather tank (up here, they call them ponds). This RCS I had a "handy-person" install; he did a good job, but he didn't really ever finish (i.e., never installed the tank gauges I bought, didn't finish the overflow lines, etc.) and didn't really follow the plans and specs I commissioned from Innovative Water Solutions LLC, so I often bash my head on the first-flush downspouts. Still, it is good enough for most of my purposes because I also have access to irrigation water from snow melt in the mountains.
To do: I need to add a pump in order to use the harvested rainwater for irrigation - there just isn't enough head on it to water by either drip or by hand, so the rainwater has gone into the pond for the past 4 years, which makes my ducks and geese very happy.
I live on the Big Island (Hawaii), where many areas have no piped in water. I have a 10K gallon catchment system, filters, UV light. We get 10-12 feet of rain per year in my area. Unlimited, "free", potable water.
Hi April, this is what we call a catchment system. I live in Hawaii on the big island, this is just normal for those of us who do not live in the city of Hilo. Actually, it is the only way that we can get water for our households.
Where I live in rural Western Australia, rainwater is the only supply of Potable water available, so all houses and sheds have rainwater harvesting and multiple water storage tanks. It is fine to drink, provided tanks are kept closed up against birds and insects. We only get about 300mm (12”) of rain a year, but that is sufficient for all our household needs.
As soon as you said Australia in you comment for some strange reason and not on purpous I continued reading your comment in an Australian accent. God bless you guys. Half of my family lives there.
so am i lol rain tanks is all the water we have tastes heaps better than town water too
2 reasons I clicked on the video
1. April rocks
2. Big ass water tank
I am scratching my head as to how some states can make it illegal to collect rain water on your own property.
Great video April, thanks for sharing with us.
When I see an April video like this, I think "I have ZERO interest in this subject", then I end up watching the video and wishing it were longer!
: ) Aw that's great to hear.
Beauty with a beautiful narrator's voice with a Southern draw you in !
With the intelligence to teach us old dogs a few new tricks !!
@@AprilWilkerson Me too Keith, it was really interesting but imposible for me to use in my garden. the tubs on the down pipes are possible though :0)
perhaps friend..but what i like about her videos...is all options included..she does say...it like it as it is..depends on your location i expect...shes in texas...im in washington state...types of soil..are different here. as well as drainage laws..she does provide an good template to follow.
i like what she is providing.
Wonderful video - thank you for sharing this!!!
A few years ago we had a “garage mahal” built, and ever since we have discussed how perfect the metal roof would be for rain water collection. We have a rain barrel, but 55 gallons of water is used up quickly watering plants. Your video has encouraged us to finally seriously check into getting a lithe rain collection system!
We live on rolling land, with the workshop-of-our-dreams at a high point; so installing the gravity fed water lines should work well. We live in East Texas, so sometimes we get a lot of rain, and sometimes we don’t get nearly enough. It would be great to store up water during those times of plenty. Our tap and well water is very hard too, so “soft” pure rainwater would be a wonderful change. Our water supplier also chlorinates our tap water so aggressively it kills plants. We have a well to water plants and supply the livestock, but we’re stuck with tap water at the house due to changes made long ago. Neither the well water nor the municipal water supply are palatable, and they’re both extremely ripe with mineral nastyness. 🥴
Thanks for posting this!!! You have given us great ideas. Enjoy your new water supply!
I 've been watching your channel since the beginning when you did this part time. I just noticed today you have over a million subscribers. thats a huge ,and well deserved accomplishment .congrats to you
I installed a 3000 gal rain harvesting system 15 years ago in North Houston. The utility district was running very short of water and could not keep up with growth demands. Once the blackout days to water our property hit I was well aware price increases were imminent. I order the largest dark green FDA approved tank for water storage I could that did not stand taller than my 6’ fence as to not upset the neighbors. I think I was allowed to go above the fence about 2’ but why chance it. Being a good neighbor is more important to me. I capture water from the 5000 sq ft home on just one side from existing rain gutters. The clean out I built worked like a champ to capture water but put out leaf and other debris off the roof automatically. I used gravity to feed my garden and top off 30K in-ground pool. Something very nice about rain water, instead of chlorinated water from sprinklers, headed to the garden daily. Our water bill shot up 400% over the next 10 years because of the growth in the area and demand for water. The home sat on an acre lot and had a pool. The rain harvesting saved thousands and was a joy to install with the fam. Real solution for a real need. Even small systems pay for themselves very quickly. As fate would have it when I sold the home I sold the system above ground for more than I paid for all the parts and my labor. If your state allows it it is a very smart thing to do. Great vids and I enjoy your honest candor! I’m a fan.
The majority of my development in Hawaii does not have water, and we must collect rainwater for use. To make it potable,I use two different string filters and a UV light so we can used it for general purposes. I have lived with this system for 8years. It works!
We've been using rain water tanks her in Australia for many years now. I've not paid a water bill in years. All new houses here in Aus must have rain water tanks. I have two. It's also mandatory to have one tank full at all times to be used in fire fighting. As you know we have a bit of a fire issue here at the moment
I use to work for EGR/ EGR Water in Qld, I use to make alot of the poly tanks, small as 1000L to 22,500 L tanks, back in 2011 when they made it mandatory for newly built houses/units to have rain water tanks.
I actually build these tanks
DIY Projects thank you 🇦🇺
You would be surprised to know that these are not legal across the U.S.
@@timpindell8178 It is legal in ALL states with restrictions, like you can only collect from your roof and hard surfaces, you can't redirect a stream or river, so look it up Einstein and get educated.
worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/states-where-it-is-illegal-to-collect-rainwater
Hi April, we've had a Pioneer tank here in Central Texas the same as yours for more than 10 years, I'd never go back to any other kind of water! Ours is in a potable system that's very easy to maintain. Use that nasty well water for irrigation and drink that wonderful rainwater!
Nice! Our WV 1890s farmhouse came with a cistern that takes the water off the roof. The collection filter needs to be rebuilt, a project for next summer. I estimate the collection tank at about a thousand gallons. It needs to be flushed and cleaned, again a project for next summer. We use the water for the garden. There's also a shallow well with murky water, in the mudroom, and a 400 ft. deep well with with excellent water. Water is life!
Thank you April…very well done video.
I too appreciate a rainwater collection system.
I live in the Texas Hill Country and have installed full home systems on both of my homes I’ve built here. Also helped create one of the first exclusive rainwater catchment developments in the State.
I used 10K fiberglass cistern on the first home with gutters, down spouts, and lines. All pretty much the same concept except the tank and the pump plus filtration in the garage that pulled water up from storage to the house, filtration, and tankless water heater before going into appliances and faucets.
The water taste so delicious out of fiberglass and highly recommended for drinking plus using metal roof for catchment. We used fiberglass shingles on that 1st home. You can add many sets of filtration with 3 then 5 micron to ultraviolet then even reverse osmosis if it makes you feel better. I don’t use RO. You can even put in minerals now if you want alkaline water. There are many products since I started 20 years ago.
Mankind has been collecting rainwater for thousands of years to drink. Apparently all with good results.
A public water utility puts things in the water that I myself don’t want to ingest. Wells can be such harder water it creates problems in your appliances. Having water softeners make the water not tasty and unbearable sometimes using salt. Rainwater is soft, good to drink and on your clothes and skin… plus appliances.
I love it!!! 💖
Thanks for showing the building of a RWS. I do them myself now after Tank Town being one of the first out here taught us. The founder of the company was a very great mentor to many in the area for decades back. There are many installers now. A great alternative to well water, and to me, the best way🌟
Please, you must do a follow up video:
- Does it work?
- Economic benefit? Cost of supply and installation? All the money stuff.
- How did you size your tank for your specific property?
- One side of the tank base is built up with sand. Can the tank handle settling of the sand? How much settling will it withstand?
- Please address how you monitor the tank water level.
- Can you show us how you use the water for irrigation, and why you irrigate? Here in New Brunswick, Canada our climate doesn't require us to irrigate.
- What maintenance of the system will be required? Liner life expectancy?
- Can you also address filtering of the rainwater and bird poop on the roof? Assume gray water usage for the moment.
What an excellent video -- except it is wayyy over the top for most of us -- unless the economics make sense. I suspect this was a $60,000 USD installation. If I am in the ballpark, then the economics become doubtful. I recognize that things may be different in TX. Keep up the great videos.
My brother-in-law has a 30K gallon system and it's crucial to his house. They have no access to any city water so either rain or having it tankered in are his options. He has a mechanical mesh filtration system and UV as well as a chlorinator, although the chlorine is mostly an inhibitor.
He uses three fiberglass tanks ganged in series. He has a roughly 5000 as ft house and a 9000 as ft barn and it's all plumbed in. They use the slightly "sour" well water for toilets, laundry & irrigation but over the last 15 years it's been drilled down another 100 or so feet as the Edwards Aquifer has "dried up". Texas broke out of our five year "extreme drought" last spring but it's been dry this winter.
In Australia you’d get this tank size for around $8,000 aud.
@@Satya2btrue OK -- $8K to purchase the tank + $8K for labour to install + $8K to prepare the base, install roof gutters, and buy piping -- give or take. It looks like a water supply can be very expensive in Texas. I guess that is one reason few people live in the desert.
There is no Economic benefit for this household! 101%! Its all about ''its cool to reuse''. Its ok..but its unpractical.
I was planing similar on solar panels for my garden..I can run 15+ years for that money. Since I am not hippie..and without freebies..I baled.
You might get annoyed comments about how you hired contractors , but I REALLY appreciate you showing us "hey this is beyond a DIY wheelhouse, even for a high-tier builder/creator like me," AND still taking the time to make a video and educate us about the project. 🤘🏻
I'm glad you still enjoyed watching it!
@@AprilWilkerson Oh, yeah, Jess is right. Very informative to watch and way beyond a single DIYer.
I have a very low maintenance water harvesting method. Three 5 gallon buckets to catch the rain off a small section of roof. About 20 one gallon milk jugs for storage. I use the water for houseplants exclusively. I try to keep everything topped off as much as possible so as not to waste what I’ve caught. There has been one occasion recently when the dangerous winter storm of 2021 cut power to the water company. We used about 4-6 gallons a day to flush toilets. I used EVERYTHING & ANYTHING to collect any snow I could & melt it then store it in bigger storage containers normally used for storage. All in all we got through it. Afterwards my wife approached me about installing something more “high tech.” I couldn’t be happier. So that’s my story in a nutshell regarding rain harvesting.
Greetings from Germany. Water collection and reserving is a good thing if you are able to do it. We have been always collecting rainwater in some form or another.
Growing up, my parents had a house + garden (about 2 acre i think) at the edge of Town. We had 3 huge connected septic tanks (build in the 50's from brick and mortar) underground, that where used for our blackwater. In the early 90's we got connected to the towns sewage management and the septics where not needed anymore. So we emptied them and my dad and i spend a few weeks cleaning those tanks and attached all the roofs and even the walkway drains to them. Since ca. 1996 my parents have been collecting all the rainwater in those old septic tanks and have been using it in the garden and house (No drinking water!!!) Wich is a really good thing. In the last 15 years the climate in our area has changed so much that we have months of drought now during the summer months.
You just dont want to see the water bill you get if you need to water your veggies.
This was a really cool and interesting video. I enjoyed it very much, thank you for sharing all you do with us.
The only thing that are missing now are solarpanels on that awesome workshop.
Plus a Cybertruck and a storage solution for the night.
For the Planet!!!
...also a small wind farm.
...and a small nuclear power plant.
and a composting toilet.
And a plasma rifle in 40 watt range...
Gidday April, Loved watching this to see how they do it in the USA, here in Australia, Aaot of homes have Tank water (as we call it). In fact the last 4 houses i have lived in over the past 10 yrs, that is our only source of waters. We arent hooked up to Mains Water (city water) you called it. My current house has a 25,000 litre tank which provides water for the house for everything, drinking, showeringv, washing, cooking etc. Plenty enough for 3 Adults in this house.
our company works on and maintains water tanks for municipalities, so the video was cool to see. 30,000 is small for what we do, but huge for residential. Congratulations!!
Most of the single family systems we installed last year were 40,000 gallons, with the largest being 130,000 gallons. The trend is definitely toward "bigger" in central Texas.
1. You do the most interesting, unique projects
2. I hope you will do a short follow up video or two as the tank fills. I’d like to see how much water you collect from various rain storms.
: ) Thats great to hear, thank you. Yes I will certainly be doing a follow up video at some point!
@dungoist I think the tank is down hill from the shop, and the height of the top of the fill pipe is way lower than the roof of the shop. So gravity does the work. The question is: in the heaviest rain, is the difference in height enough to handle the volume of water that has to come through the system? She shall see...
Fire protection is another good benefit of having such a large water storage as the normal amount a firetruck carries if around 500 gallons.
Just make sure you have a fire pump, and fire hose.
@@PBMS123 the truck should be able to pump on its on.
@@MandoFettOG I think PBMS meant a pump for use before any town fire apparatus could show up. She would need a pump, besides the one supplying irrigation, or at least a T and gate off her irrigation supply line.
@@stevenlarson6125 oh makes sense
11:00 Well THANK YOU so very much for the metric measure there! That sure helps us here in Europe a lot. GREAT VIDEO THIS WAS!
Greetings from Portugal.
Thanks for the video, April ! I live in the Okanagan Valley in B.C., Canada, and my town is in the middle of a great area to grow apples and grapes. It is climate-rated semi-arid - we get about 11 inches of rain plus 22 inches of snow per year. Agricultural irrigation needs about three feet of water per season, so rooftop rain collection is only enough for a small veggie garden. The Okanagan river drains the higher elevation valleys to the east and west. We intercept that creek water with small dams & reservoirs, then use gravity to plumb it to our orchards which lie below the higher valleys but above the river. This all began about 1905...
I put in a 1,000 gallon rainwater collection system back in 2014. We live on a small lot in a mid-sized city in California so that was the max practical amount of storage. The water then goes into a solar-powered pump and collection tank, just like a well pressurization system, pumping the water to 32 PSI, then it's fed into our drip irrigation system. When sizing the system we found our *yearly* consumption was 30,000 gallons for the household - so your tank is absolutely massive! With our collection system we managed to replace about 6,000 gallons/year of city water - and since our sewer bill is based on water consumption, that went down as well!
The only issue we needed to solve that your location doesn't require is filtration at the roof level. Leaves, dust and bird poop build up on your roof and the first rain washes that right into the collection system. There's a smart filtering technique using a slow-release downspout and a float valve that dumps the first few gallons of runoff and then diverts the rest of the (cleaner) rainwater into the tank.
The PVC jig they used for the roof panels is one I've made of wood when I'm making a weird platform or flat (I'm a carpenter for theaters) where there's overhang. We call it a whisky stick!
You should consider putting a five or 6 inch steamer fitting on that tank so that the fire department could hook into it if you ever had a structure fire on your property. You might save some money on your homeowners insurance also.
Jeff Eastman I was just thinking the same.
This is a common feature on many of the systems we install, but whether we can get a discount on homeowner's insurance depends greatly on the local fire department's wish to bless the system and write a letter to the insurance company. Some of them require 10s of thousands of dollars of extra equipment for the tank making the savings difficult to justify.
$10k???? Good lord!! Are they making you install a diesel fire pump and a stand pipe??? Do they not realize that they’re supposed to bring their own pump on the big red truck?? 🤣
I can assure you that my fire department would do what we could do to assist the homeowner to acquire any type of insurance discount.
Although you probably wouldn’t see a system like this in northern Vermont.
I use a downspout to a rain barrel. A fish tank float valve cuts off the flow from the barrel outlet to 5 gallon pail at a certain level. The pail has a 3/4 inch lawn irrigation tubing that leads to a bird bath. Using hydro-static pressure, the pail and the bird bath are always at the same level. Viola!.... automatic bird bath filler. When the birth bath level drops, the pail level drops, and the float valve kicks in to replenish the pail from the rain barrel. Works really well!
I agree with Sooner Keith, been watching April for about a year and just love watching what she gets into and builds. She has a smooth delivery and continues to impress what she grabs by the horns and gets accomplished.
EVERY house should have a water tank, for gardening , car washing etc, especially in drought vulnerable areas. This would really help ease the pressure on council water supplies. Absolutely stunned to learn that it is illegal in some places 🤯 better to make lawns illegal as they are the biggest single waste of water.
I, like most of rural Aus am 100% reliant on tank water for all needs.
Another system to consider is having the tank at the highest point on your property (depending on topography) A smaller tank is used to collect water and then transferred to the main tank. Gravity will give constant reliable pressure and still works in the event of power outages.
I am in a small village, all reliant on tank water. Assuming we survive the coming Tassie bushfire season and since my property is the highest point in the area, I am considering approaching council with the idea of building an emergency water supply for the whole community.
You should absolutely not wash your car with rain water.
@@carputtgaming2088 🤔 why would you say that
G'day Bill, We sometimes build "upside down" systems where the water is pumped to a main storage tank, but since we can get 100mm of rain in an hour and that might be the only rain we get for months, we like to collect with gravity whenever possible. Our grid power is very reliable, but when it does go out it's usually during storms! Best of luck with the wildfires and check with your area's Pioneer Water Tanks dealer - they may be able to help with the technical details for your proposal to the council.
As I understand it, in my state, Arizona, rain water harvesting is not only allowed but it's encouraged. As in the state government says you absolutely should collect rain water.
could anyone tell me what some of the reasons might be for a state to prohibit rain-water harvesting? I cannot think of any. except maybe greed.
@@felixreali7101 In general, the argument for restricting rainwater harvesting or collection is that rivers, streams, and lakes that supply municipal water supplies can often depend on water flowing into the rivers, etc., and thus into municipal reservoirs. The idea being if too many people collect rainwater, or if it's done on too big a scale, or both, it could be detrimental to municipal water supplies. Of course, there are plenty of areas in which that concern is not really applicable.
Thank you for the cheery demeanor. The first syllable of "potion" and "potable" are the same. Learn. Change. Overandout.
I live in Seattle WA half mile from downtown. I just completed a 1000 gal rain water system. It provides water for my toilet, watering plants and a second source of water for a sink used just for gardening. The grey water from the shower is used for non edibles.
That's like a swimming pool for introverts, I love to it!
Or for those who want the privacy of swimming in the buff or redheads who might be sensitive to the sun's damaging rays. :-)
2:06 Your rooster sounds like a guy falling off a cliff. :D
Interesting video.
Hi April, I am living in Germany in a townhouse with a small garden near Frankfurt . When the houses were built we were obliged to build a water collection system mainly to water the gardens. So I have an 700 Liter Tank in the front and one at the back of the house both underground. It really saves a lot of water while I still have a green garden even when, like the last two summers, there is only little rain and high temperatures.
Love your vidoes, keep zup the great work!
Is 1400 liters enough water to supply the gardens?
@@JamesG1126 depends on the size of the garden, as mentioned above, it is a townhouse , so the garden is pretty small
@@michaelroux7278 Thank you. Do you have any pictures of your setup? You've had it for awhile now. Are you happy with it?
@@JamesG1126 there is not a lot to take a picture from because besides the waterpump everything is underground
I don't have a collection system myself, but my sister in Australia has one for her toilet and washing machine. They have 2 narrow tanks next to their house that collects the water from their roof. Really good idea especially for flushing the toilet as you do not need to use drinking water for that. In the UK, we can get tanks that are buried in the garden and do the same thing. I will be looking into this for the washing machine and toilet usage. 10/10!!! :)
I priced a potable 3 stage filtered 35,000 gallon tank system through a certain company in Johnson City to be installed in Bertram on a 3,600 sqft 'Shouse'...... $33k and change. In my opinion, Installing a well in our area is $20k minimum and it WILL go dry eventually so I'll gladly pay for the peace of mind and the ability to add on to it later for long term droughts and fire fighting capabilities.
Here at my Chicago 1930's brick bungalow, my rain water collection system is more commonly called.... my basement - lol. So what's it like being able to afford a 6-7 $ figure Texas Ponderosa? RUclips and your own determination and hard work has been very-very-good to you young lady. Sincere Congrats. So....what does such a fine water reclamation system actually cost a land baroness like yerself?
Go Cubbies, Northside Rules!!! Lol
Thanks April, Great video and information. I also live here in Texas. Born and Raised, left and returned. I am all about having complete control over my own resources as well.
We started last year with a single barrel for our garden. It saved us a ton of money since we pay a hefty price for water here. We’re adding a second barrel this year and I can’t wait!
It's funny how addicting it can get haha. I started with a single bucket and slowly built it up over the years. I now have a system made up of several barrels linked together with a bio-swale at the end to catch the overflow
why do i get the feeling this channel is becoming more of a how to live off the grid guide, xD
If she'd meant off grid she would have done the calculations for water usage, for average rainfall, for the required collection surface, and for the required storage, and talked about how filter/clean the water to make it potable. Oh, yeah, also off-grid solar to make sure she can run pumps whether the city/county power is available or not. I think she's just being responsible and avoiding wasting an important resource that she will need for irrigation.
Post apocalypse above ground swimming pool.
What ever the youtube algorithm provides
Its so interesting to get to see people evolve over time.
nothing wrong with off the grid. that means no utility BILLS! Yay!
Please do a follow-up Video once it starts filling and your potable water system. Love the detail and insight.
Sure! I'll certainly be doing follow up videos.
Oh yes! Waiting for that video. On my system, I'm presently using a sand/charcoal filter. Simple and easy for off grid purposes. If I use the water to drink, I run it through my Berkey filter.
Yes, we also collect rain water and love it. We grow gardens in five 26 ft x100ft long high tunnels plus another acre of gardens and our well water has a high a percentage of dissolved minerals. It would only take 3-4 years of using our well water before the soil in the high tunnels would be totally ruined. The second reason is our well only produces 4-5 gallons per minute and its not hard to run the well dry watering huge gardens. Our barn has 8200 sq ft of surface area and we can collect an amazing amount of water during a normal season. I estimate the volume is upwards of 65,000 gallons during a normal rainy seasons. I have tank storage of around 4500 gallons in plastic tanks and another 6000 gallons in low cost 12-14 foot swimming pools we get at Walmart. I priced out larger more permanent tanks but they were running from $2-$3 a gallon to install. There is no way I could justify spending $30,000-$40,000 for a system. The $400 I spend on the above ground pools is money well spent and a huge savings. I live in Alaska and we don't get much rain or do much gardening in the winter anyways. They are also a nice way to cool off during that two weeks each summer when it actually gets warm. haha. And, I always have water if needed for fire fighting. Any excess water that I have in storage MUST be drained off before freeze up and it would be prohibitively expensive to try and over winter the water. I dont know if the USDA/NRCS still has grants available for water storage systems but they designed and paid for my entire roof collection system and tanks six or seven years ago. Its worth looking into if you use the water for an agriculture purpose.
Hey, congrats! We've got a 45k gallon cistern, just Northwest of Dripping Springs. Had it built about 22 years ago, it's concrete. We gather about 3000 gallons per inch of rain off the house and barn. We run the whole house (including drinking) off of the system.
You live in the heart of modern Rainwater Harvesting in the US. It's finally starting to spread around the rest of the state.
Living in rural Australia I have never quite understood the American obsession with wells, as groundwater is more likely to contain heavy metals and salts than rainwater. I have lived the bulk of my 60+ years on tank water, up until a couple of years ago, without any form of filtration other than allowing particulates to settle, without any ill effects. The vast majority of Australian farms do the same. Water has always been a precious commodity in this very dry country ( the current drought is the worst since recording began ) and you learn from the earliest age to preserve and reuse it. We now run an 'envirocycle' septic system with the treated grey and black water ending up in the veggie patch and orchard. The standard roofing material here is corrugated iron with almost every roof surrounded by rain water gutters ( including the dog's kennel ). For me, rain water tanks were just the normal way things were done.
Wow. This is an amazing project and climate smart.
I started a system from sixteen 55 gal barrels to irrigate my veggie garden. I'm currently in the process of upgrading to four 275 gal totes, plus three 60 gal barrels. I also have a plan to install four or five 275 gal totes in my front yard for a future orchard..(after it gets fenced). I live in Spokane, WA.
Yes..Washington had a ban, but it has since been lifted.
As usual with most of April's projects, it needs to be "stand on it tested". A "Wonder Woman" pose? Love it! Not harvesting rain water from the tank's 600+ square foot roof seems like a waste about 4600 gallons of water created by 12" of rain but I am no expert at rain water harvesting. A ready supply of water would also be useful for fighting a fire.
Hi Ron, Collection from the roof of the tank is an option, but there are compromises necessary, including not being able to divert the water when the roof is dirty, and being so flat, it gets very dirty in the summer... The shop building provides plenty of water to fill the tank and the roof will tend to stay cleaner.
G'day, in Australia all new homes have to have a water tank. I'm on a farm and have several plus large dams and ponds for livestock.
About 100+ years ago, rainwater collection was a common source of potable water as city water was not as available as today.
Yeah, and how sickening is it to hear that a lot of states and countries regulate and/or outlaw the practice of collecting rainwater.
Another great video April.... Thank you!
I have a little 50 gallon barrel underneath my 8x12 Lean-to shed I built. The barrel fills up pretty fast. Perfect for watering my garden!
Super smart plan and execution April. I 100 percent agree with your views on rainwater harvesting. My vegetable garden is watered with water from my home's roof, collected into 6 of those simple barrels you mentioned. Thanks for letting us check out your beautiful tank!
I added 8 hp pump 3 " by 200 " fire hose brought down fire insurance and made fast work for dust control
Great video! (as usual) We collect water for gardening, fruit tree watering and chicken water. Just 55 Gallon barrels and a few 275 gallon totes.
Nice!
That's huge! Awesome system. I just moved out of California, where most counties had outlawed rainwater collection, even during the severe drought. Luckily it's an option for me now.
I don't harvest rain water, but do have several natural springs. The spring that supplies water to my house was developed in 1947. I developed a second spring a few years back for my drinking water which produces about 19k gallons per day.
wow! put in a pool!
I've been wanting to put on in on my building here in downtown Tokyo, of course not nearly as large as yours, but maybe 200 liters or 53 gallons (US) for use to water my rooftop garden but also in the even a large earthquake. We are on a pump system, so if we lose power, we are out of water in the whole building. With the addition of a decent water filter, we could have enough water to clean, flush toilets, drink and cook with (the last two run through the filter).
I need to get this done I guess.
Cheers from Tokyo!
I hope you do it! I saw many rainwater collection systems in Tokyo when I visited a few years ago. I even was able to visit the Rainwater Museum (now closed).
Hi April,
All you need now is solar, and you can be totally off grid or supply some back to it. :-)
Careful..... u don't wanna scare April away from being a prepper. I just told her that the UN wants to take her guns away.
& nuclear power too :))))))))))))))
April I live in eastern Ontario Canada and have been doing rain water collecting for over 16 years for my grey water needs . Not everyone understands what I am doing so I kept having municipal problems until I came up with a good solution. I told them to turn off my municipal water. And that way I wouldn't have to pay them any more money. Haven't heard from them in 7 years since.lol
Been collecting rain water for the garden for the last 8 years. 4 barrels under the downspout. All connected with siphon hoses. Works great.
I'm building a container house in New Mexico that will be completely off the grid. Right now I'm working on the access road. Here's some stuff about my situation:
1) In New Mexico you can collect rainwater IF you are on the East side of the continental divide. If you are on the West side, you need a permit. Fortunately I am on the East side (my property backs up to the continental divide.)
2) I am planning to use a lined shipping container as a tank. A 40 foot high cube container can hold just North of 22,000 gallons. If you don't want to line it yourself there is a company in Australia (and other places) that sells a liner kit for you to line the container.
3) Finally, one HUGE advantage of collecting rainwater is that it is SOFT WATER! We bought an old gold mining claim that is at 7200 feet on top of a mountain. A well would be in the neighborhood of 800 feet and the water will be hard as a rock. Some of the wells that deep had to be sealed because of their arsenic content. Collection makes perfect sense!
I foresee a pump house with reverse osmosis filtration & April’s she shed is self sufficient 👍🏼 we live in the Sunshine Coast hinterland Australia and we live on tank water. I’m with you April, if the resource is there and you can harness it then why not. I’m surprised @DrDemoMatt hasn’t got one for the zombie apocalypse he’s preparing for 😂
One Crazy Dog Mum The Abandoned Mansion series is my favorite!!
I installed one for a house I built in central Texas. Could hold 18,000 gallons of water. The barn I harvested off of was so big I could catch 3000 gallons on a 3/4 inch rain. The water was pumped to the house where Culligan sat up a shell additive and small bleach pump to sanitize. Used to service the whole house. Retired couple only part time home and occasionally used as a hunting cabin 30x40 with up stairs 3 bed 2 bath home. Never ran out of water that I know of.
April,
I live in South Australia, a very similar climate to Texas I believe. (hot dry summers and cool dry winters our avg rainfall is around 20")
The State government has built a water purification plant to supplement the local water supply taking sea water as the source.
They also encourage households to harvest rainwater with a subsidy program for installing collection tanks.
Cheers Eric
You folks have had **** all for rain the last few years, too. I had seen a forecast for 100 mmm (4 inches) forecast for northern NEW and Victoria but no need since then.
The magnesium bag is known as a "sacrificial anode" - essentially makes your tank a battery, and the magnesium eats all the corrosion.
This is also used on boats!
thank you for explaining that 💜
Nice! I did not knew!
Zinc is cheaper than magnesium and doesn't burn as enthusiastically.
@@isaackvasager9957 Correct. It just prevents galvanic corrosion of the intact metal.
Wells being problematic here (minimum 400’ of hard, difficult drilling… hard, sodium and iron filled if you do* get a good feed, and the local danger of finding gas or oil), I’ve installed dozens and dozens of cisterns for people to truck potable water in to their acreage. In a case of “The Cobbler’s Children Have No Shoes”, my own place has only a 5000 gallon cistern, but I’ve installed many many hybrid systems that collect rain water/snow-melt for grey-water purposes.
Even adding in the cost of trucking in water for 30 years, that’s still cheaper than the cost of drilling a well, especially if you have to ad a costly treatment system.
For spits and giggles, my rural municipality did a cost analysis for the investment to hook up to the nearest municipal water supply, as some 200 homes were relatively densely adjacent to a spur line that had been run to a community that needed proper water. They came back with a cost of over $120,000.oo *per* *household* just to build out a low-volume trickle delievery network, and homeowners would *still* have to install a cistern and monitoring system… We could continue to haul water in for the next *century* before that made any sense. Plus on-going operating an maintenance for the network...
Now, this is smart thinking. Rainwater collecting is just smart, and everyone can do it. I have for oversized barrels at the 4 corners of my house and shop. I use this water to water the gardens and for a birdbath fountain, I designed myself. I have a high mineral count in my well. So I already have a whole house filter, and another under the sink. Plus I have a 2 gallon Britta filtered container with a spigot in the fridge that all water to be used in cooking, coffee and tea all goes through that final step. Best of luck with it April!!
This is amazing. You have an awesome property. This is a dream of mine that I will likely never get to achieve, but I can live vicariously through you. This is probably the coolest rain harvesting system I've ever seen. Gotta love the Texas Hill Country!
Thanks! Yes, I love it here. Thanks for watching.
I've got a 160ft^3 tank - much smaller then yours, but fully submerged. And back in the days a did all the digging myself - with a pickaxe and a shovel. ;-)
“For you metric watchers” Do you mean the rest of the world except of you guys?? XD Love your channel, you’re giving me so much info and ideas for when I build my stables. Thank you so much!!
Thought the same
There’s two kinds of countries in this world. Those that use the metric system and those that landed on the moon.
@@guyprattii3115 Amurica Fk yeah
@@guyprattii3115 NASA uses metric system. The Apollo Guidance Computer (which allowed a safe landing on the moon) calculated in metric and then translated to US Standard for displays. Not starting an argument - just saying.
Awesome system! We have a smaller system made from 4 ibc totes giving us 1100gallons with a pump. We use it for our garden. One thing we did was add a smart power plug that we can turn it on remotely or on a schedule when on vacation. We will be covering the tanks this year to eliminate algae growth.
Yes I collect rain. My collector is a Tractor Supply water trough that measures 3' high x 5' long x 2' wide. I use for filtered drinking, garden water, and cleaning/bathing. Rain water tastes yummy compared to other sources available, and as they say " once you've had it, you can't go back"!
I bought a IBC tote but haven't quite mastered how to use/incorporate it.
What I'd like to do is water tank into tiny house to an instant water heater for kitchen sink and shower and a cold water line. How to get from A to B is still in progress.
Being an Australian I have run virtually all of My Homes off Rainwater and in My part of the world (Adelaide, South Australia) Our Rainwater is perfectly Safe to Drink straight out of My Rainwater Tanks.
On a smaller scale, looks like a great idea for a swimming pool or hot tub.
I can't wait to see the bunker installation video! Awesome build, April! Love the vids.
Here in New Zealand most people in rural areas and some small towns are 100% rain water. Some people also have bores to fill their tanks up. We use our tank water for drinking aswell without treating it which means that it tastes much better than any water you can buy.
My Sis and Brother-in-law are just up the road from you, and they built a place in Colorado. Most of the hassle and need for lawyers came from the water rights nonsense CO has on the books. It went beyond the not being able to have what you just installed. Was a bit of a shock to them having been contracting in Texas so long.
Also, how far down is the water around your place? I know the rivers are near, but with that rock, some places have a rough time getting to the aquifer. I know of a place over by Meridian that has one very deep well, and they had to bore quite long way past the first hit of water to keep the supply up when the seasonal levels changed.
Next upgrade being a daily use water tower and a windmill driven pump to fill it to avoid running the electric submersible?
You should totally get in contact with Grady Hillhouse from Practical Engineering in San Antonio if you haven't run into him yet. I imagine you guys could do some really neat projects together.
Yes we have a couple of water barrels. We use them for our garden & flowers beds
When we move back to Florida, we are going to do this!! After the shop of course!! Thanks for sharing all your Useful tips and projects.
It was pretty cool seeing the 3 guys putting up those gutters, but speed up middle guy! You're making it sag!
In round numbers what did a system this size cost? Thanks!
@The gardener
She offered a reply earlier to say her project was not the usual style to make a comparable cost for the norm.
You could ask a company to make a quote without engagement. Or is that not done at your end. Recently I asked for quotes from around five or six suppliers for solar panels (photovoltaic panels) to be placed on the roof. From each quote you learn a lot and at the end we made a choice for a supplier that felt "good". It was not the cheapest supplier that got the order.
A system this size in Central TX is typically around $30k including treatment for indoor use. Varies several thousand either way depending on the site work and complexity of the collection piping. In this area the cost is often competitive with well water and municipal supplies and the water quality is incomperable.
Thank you for sharing your experiences.
Thanks, April! This is the way to go when you have the room. Unfortunately, that tank is bigger than our backyard! Our house has low roof line all the way around so we just have gutters with barrels at each corner. I would suggest to have downspouts all the way to the ground and install diverters to fill the barrels. That way when the barrels are full the water will divert down the spout and away from the house rather than overflowing the barrel and pooling around it.
Living the dream girl! 💪🏻 I’m ready to see that tank full!
i would love to see a fire department connection installed so they would have a source of water. if you are on city or county water this would not be necessary, but i do not know if you are.......g
Hi April. We installed the same 30k gal tank at our place in the Texas hill country about 2 years ago. We're doing the opposite in that we're using the rainwater for drinking, shower and laundry, and the well is used for irrigation. As you mentioned, the water here is very hard and you never know what's in the well water or how long it will last. With just a couple of decent rains, our tank filled up and has remained close to full for two years now. We'll see what happens in a draught year, but I'm very happy with our decision. Rain water tastes great and is easier on your skin and plumbing. Add the filters and the UV and starting using rainwater for the house!
Great presentation of your build. I learned a lot. The installers seemed very professional.
I had a rain collection system built at the time of building my home 10 years ago. It's in a very different climate (Northern Ireland, cool summers warm winters with a much greener countryside) the tank is below ground and much smaller in size. There is a water treatment system so that it can be used for everything but drinking water. Could even be used for that if equipped with an additional treatment unit.