Rainwater capture systems

[sorce]

Some areas don't get enough rainfall to keep drains wet and not stinking.

Probably some of it is BS though.

Sorce

 

[Firstflush]

Are there really people that would not partake in a little civil disobedience to water their trees and yard from collected rain water?

 

[meushi]

Before locating one of the wells in my garden, I was looking at getting a 5200 gallons soft rain water cistern to put under the raised terrace at the back of the house. It was quite a cheap option, at about $1K for the tank itself (about a quarter of the price of an equivalent storage in concrete tanks). I considered buying a 13K gallon tank ($1500) to ensure maximum autonomy during droughts, as there is sufficient volume under the terrace to hold it.

The well water is actually of pretty good quality, and I was able to use it during last year's drought without issues. The only investment was a pump and a pressure group, so the rain water collection project was put on the back burner.

 

[leatherback]

Obviously, whichever solution you go with, you need to make sure they sit deep enough & are strong enough to take deep frosts.
I have 2 500 liter barrels, which I need to drain when it it wettest, then hope for spring rains (Which normally are common) to refill.

 

[LittleDingus]

Obviously, whichever solution you go with, you need to make sure they sit deep enough & are strong enough to take deep frosts.
I have 2 500 liter barrels, which I need to drain when it it wettest, then hope for spring rains (Which normally are common) to refill.

I was wondering about freezes. Usually once your greater than a meter deep the ground temp is pretty consistently the average yearly temp for the area. But do pumps need to be removed since they are in an area where you've poked through the insulation layer?

Winterization is still something I'm trying to understand better...

 

[ShadyStump]

Apparently their logic is that the rain water doesn't belong to the resident.....it belongs to the state.

Not as far off as it sounds.
Here in Colorado, it's partly due to the semi-arid climate of most of the state and suit that Kansas filed back in the 90s over river water quantities for agricultural irrigation. In the suit Kansas claimed that Colorado was not allowing enough water to flow to downstream states especially in the Arkansas River. The Supreme Court sided with Kansas, and now, in an effort ensure as much runoff makes it to the rivers as possible to help keep Colorado agriculture going, they restrict the collection of rain water to 110 gallons at any given time. That's better than 15, 20 years ago when it was flat out illegal to collect rainwater.
Water politics is still very much a thing on all levels here, on all levels. 5 rivers start and run out of the state, but not a single one flows into it. Nowhere I've been except the Middle East do the people appreciate the cycle of life's most precious resource the way real Coloradans do.

 

[ShadyStump]

I was wondering about freezes. Usually once your greater than a meter deep the ground temp is pretty consistently the average yearly temp for the area. But do pumps need to be removed since they are in an area where you've poked through the insulation layer?

Winterization is still something I'm trying to understand better...

It us possible in this situation to use something like a sump pump that would sit at the bottom of the tank, but otherwise, yes, Anything still above ground for the winter would need some pretty hefty winterizng, or, easier, just shut down.

The water itself, even at only a foot below ground, if the tank is full it should have enough mass to stay mostly thawed. You'd still want it a good two feet or more under ground at least, though, to protect against any heavy weight that might sit on top of it and potentially break a plastic tank.