During the construction of our home in 2001, we hoped to find water for our well at a shallow depth. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case. Our well is a staggering 660 feet deep and refreshes at a paltry 4 gallons per minute.
Rather than rely on that water source for gardening and animal needs, I installed a system on our barn to catch rainwater. The barn is 25’x40’ which means the roof has a surface are of 1000 square feet. For every inch of rainfall that hits that roof, approximately 600 gallons of water can be captured.
Details: How the System Works
The key to the catchment system is the storage tanks. I have two 1500 gallon tanks, each placed on an 8’x8’ concrete pad that is 6” thick. These tanks were purchased from Tractor Supply for approximately $500 each.
To capture the rainwater, gutters span the entire length of each side of the barn. I attached large diameter PVC sewer pipe to the downspout. At the bottom of this pipe is a cleanout that can be used to remove leaves and other debris (usually once each winter). Connected to the modified sewer pipe is a smaller diameter PVC tube which carries the water to the top of each tank.
I installed a small solar panel on the barn which powers a DC pump to move water to where it is needed. From the tanks, I trenched about 300 linear feet out to the middle of the garden and installed small diameter PVC pipe at a depth of 3 feet.
In total, counting the cost of the tanks, solar, pump, renting a trencher, and pipes, I have invested about $1700 into this water catchment system.
Reflections
The rainwater catchment system has been in place for about 6 years. Each year we harvest about 30,000 gallons of water (based on 48 inches of average rainfall). This allows me to keep the cows and chickens watered as well as provides a bit of extra water for irrigation. Probably the only thing I would do differently would be to use a 120 volt AC powered pump. The cost of the solar panel, pump and battery is hard to justify.
That’s very cool! My dad collects the rain water from the roof as well, and he uses it to water the flowers and vegetables he grows in the garden.
My tanks are about empty; however a big storm is due to arrive today. Much easier to keep the cows watered from the barn vs. carrying 5 gallon buckets from the house.
We are designing our system for our soon to be land. Great ideas here, thanks!
You are quite welcome. Drop back in with any specific questions as you dig into the details.
Might want to check with local laws on this matter. In some places it is illegal to collect rain water. Crazy, I know.
Thankfully we do not have any silly restrictions like that…In fact the local city governments (we live in the county) have encouraged people to use rain barrels to relieve some of the pressure from the municipal water system. Don’t think it would actually make a big difference, but at least they are on side.