A cistern is designed to gather and hold rainwater for use at a later time. The simplest cistern is a barrel under a rain downspout. More complex systems gather the rain from several downspouts into a single larger container that can be above ground or buried. In many cases, the water from the cistern is used for plant or garden watering rather than human consumption due to the possibility of roof contamination from birds. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Determine the proper size of tank based on the amount of water needed. Also, calculate the amount of water that you can gather from the roof. Each 100 sq. ft. of roof will yield about 12 gallons of water when 0.20 inches of rain falls. Calculate how much water a half-inch of rain will generate, for example, and use this as a guide for the size of the cistern tank.
2. Place an appropriately sized tank on level ground next to the home. You can bury the tank below ground level also. Use a fiberglass or cement tank to prevent decay.
3. Connect 4-inch polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, pipe from the downspouts of the home to the input of the tank. Slope the pipes towards tank so all the water runs into the tank.
4. Add an overflow pipe to the cistern tank with a connection to pipes leading to the storm sewer or other safe water disposal area.
5. Install an electric or manual pump to the underground systems. This is necessary to pump the water out of the cistern for use. An above ground cistern may not require a pump because the gardener can use the water through a drain valve near the bottom of the tank.
Tags: above ground, amount water, cistern tank