Rain water collection system

[sardonux]

Has anyone here built a rain water collection system for their workshop? I don’t want to use my well water for things like pressure washing. I live in a place where it’s a valuable resource (drier climate), and I have the opportunity to collect water off the single-slope roof of my home and workshop. I have a water filtration system from my last home I plan to recycle to remove particulate materials. Curious if anyone else has done or contemplated something like this?

 

[NUTTSGT]

How big of a holding tank are you thinking ? 55 gal, double drums or a 250 gallon tote ? Bigger ?

I had a friend that used a plastic 55 gallon drum, mostly for hand washing. There are several videos on youtube, have you checked any of them out ?

 

[earl84]

It sounds silly, but I'm pretty sure in Colorado you can only legally collect two 55 gallon barrels of rainwater. At least it was that way a couple years ago when I did this to capture water for our little greenhouse. Just be aware of that.
https://www.bluebarrelsystems.com/
I bought this system just for ease of putting stuff together. It works great.

 

[Crazyjake8493]

Downspout diverter to a 275-gallon IBC under the deck. I also pump the "waste" water from my brewing chiller and RO system into it in the spring/summer/fall. I also have three 55-gallon drums that I have yet to add at each garden and my orchard to pump water to those from the main reservoir.

It's all just for watering trees and plants.

 

[WisJim]

I have 3 totes at the garage and 8 or 10 plastic 55gal drums at the house for garden water. At our previous house I had a 500 gallon bulk tank salvaged from a dairy farm, a 200gal tank, and half dozen 55 gal drums and a 1200gal tank at a shed roof. I have a small electric pump that connects to tank drains with garden hose fittings to provide additional pressure and to help move water around.

 

[Nobody-named-Olli]

Check with local regulation(s).

Buried two interconnected 275 gallon IBC to collect rainwater from one half of the roof and the patio’s roof. Years and years ago before the actual ‘craze’ set in - it was all ‘custom made’, nowadays a lot of accessories/piping for ‘stunts’ like this are available off the shelf.

City’s administration (I’m located in Germany!) happily agreed back then and reduced fees for storm water drain use accordingly. We use the collected rain to water the garden and for pressure washing the patio’s roof. And to this day profit from reduced fees.

If not already in place, currently we’d have a hard time to get something like this approved as the storm water drains/ drainage/ waste water system is running way too dry = higher maintenance frequency and cost for the city. So they try to steer people away from it. (Add the ‘little flush’, water saving dishwashers and washing machines … Every medal has two sides …) (Our city runs storm and waste water combined in one system)

Kind regards,
Olli

 

[Spindifferent]

Yes, I have one connected to my workshop, house, barn. 16,500 gallons worth of water storage. Used for irrigation.

Designing a rainwater system can be a complex task depending on what you need it to do for you.

Here's a good place to start: https://rainwaterharvesting.tamu.edu/

The Rainwater Basics page has two really good resources for eduction.

Good luck! Rainwater is the best.

 

[PopcornSutton]

I have a 1150 gallon tank that I divert one of the downspouts into. I use it for garden water and it's situated I can gravity feed to the garden. Last summer, I came close to getting it down to 1/4 trying to keep the garden going, severe drought.
Every couple years I wash down the house siding, and I use a 55 gallon barrel and use an electric pump for the wash.

 

[PhantomEB]

We have 7 active on the property. Rainwater is better for the garden than the tap. 3 sets of two tied together then one solitary one on the patio.

never know what years will lead to water Restrictions so I try to divert that off as much as possible for the wife.

screw regulations, I prefer to skirt them and go oh my bad, sorry.

 

[micromind]

Not around here, the state owns the rainwater.

 

[PJorgen]

Not around here, the state owns the rainwater.

Not true any more, law was changed in 2017. You can collect up to 20,000 gallons, but only from the roof of a single family dwelling.

 

[micromind]

Not true any more, law was changed in 2017. You can collect up to 20,000 gallons, but only from the roof of a single family dwelling.

Makes sense, last time I looked was 1996.

Thanks, good to know

 

[Captain Spaulding]

I have a pair of 330 gallon IBC totes stacked near a corner of my barn. Eave is about 14’ back in that corner. Being fed by a 28’x64’ section of roof. Use it on the garden and our fruit plantings since our well water is high in sodium. I have a diverter in the downspout so I can send the water down a tile during the winter.

 

[bluedog225]

I have a pair of 330 gallon IBC totes stacked near a corner of my barn. Eave is about 14’ back in that corner. Being fed by a 28’x64’ section of roof. Use it on the garden and our fruit plantings since our well water is high in sodium. I have a diverter in the downspout so I can send the water down a tile during the winter.

Are your stacked ibc’s joined to form one unit? I’d like to see a pic of that plumbing detail if not too much trouble. Thanks

 

[SteveCh]

It sounds silly, but I'm pretty sure in Colorado you can only legally collect two 55 gallon barrels of rainwater. At least it was that way a couple years ago when I did this to capture water for our little greenhouse. Just be aware of that.

Far as I know, this is still the law. I checked with the state gov't and was told that to violate this volume limit meant $50 per day fine going back as far as they could guess one was violating. I have no idea whether anyone has been fined.

 

[Captain Spaulding]

Are your stacked ibc’s joined to form one unit? I’d like to see a pic of that plumbing detail if not too much trouble. Thanks

Yes. Strapped together with stainless cable ties to keep them from moving when empty. Outlets are plumbed together to fill the bottom one, which has a vent that goes higher than the fill point.

It will be the first part of March before I can get pictures. We are heading south to warmer weather for a bit.

 

[alfadan]

Keep in mind, water stored in ibc totes can grow algae and the UV turns the plastic brittle after 3 years or so.

 

[Hooked]

Many years back a friend buried two 6' diameter 8' long concrete 'culverts' next to one another vertically for this purpose. Poured a slab to set them on sealing the seam then poured concrete covers on them. Plumbed together and into his gutters with a submersible pump. Worked great and as far as I know still working.

 

[dcg9381]

Has anyone here built a rain water collection system for their workshop?

Yep.

I have a water filtration system from my last home I plan to recycle to remove particulate materials. Curious if anyone else has done or contemplated something like this?

Not drinking water? First flush it and sediment filter, it'll be fine.

I tested rain water against well water around here, rain water was MUCH easier to clean up and treat than what comes out of the ground. We are 100% dependent on water collection for our residential water, as are about 15% of other homes in my area. I can collect up to 25k gallons in 5 tanks.... Warm climate though and it's been an "experience" learning how to do this.

 

[sardonux]

Thanks for all the inputs, everyone. I suspect I'll engineer something with IBC totes, I already utilize 16 totes for carrying my firewood around with my Bobcat.

For Colorado residents here is a link if you want to learn about what resources are available. Here's the requirements:

1. The property on which the collection will take place is residential property; and,
2. The property must either have a water well or be legally entitled to have a water well as the water supply; and,
3. The well use does not exceed those uses described in C.R.S. 37-92-602(1)(g) or 37-90-105(1)(f), being ordinary household
purposes, lawn/garden irrigation of not more than one acre, watering of poultry, domestic animals, and livestock on farms and
ranches, and fire protection; and,
4. There is no water supply to serve the property available from a municipality or water district; and,
5. The precipitation is collected only from the roof of a building used primarily as a residence; and,
6. The collected precipitation is only used for those uses that are allowed by the existing well permit, or on a well permit that the
property would be legally entitled to.

 

[Spindifferent]

Yep.







Not drinking water? First flush it and sediment filter, it'll be fine.

I tested rain water against well water around here, rain water was MUCH easier to clean up and treat than what comes out of the ground. We are 100% dependent on water collection for our residential water, as are about 15% of other homes in my area. I can collect up to 25k gallons in 5 tanks.... Warm climate though and it's been an "experience" learning how to do this.

Nice system! Curious about the pump and pressure tank setup you use. And, what do you use to clean the water for drinking?

 

[dcg9381]

Nice system! Curious about the pump and pressure tank setup you use.

You select a pump based on the engineering of what you're pumping to. IE, how long is the run, what is the diameter of the pipe, and your desired PSI of water pressure.

I use a Goulds J15S 240V jet pump. I selected it for GPM capacity and the fact that it was rated to a pretty high pressure (I believe 80psi). I have it set at 55/60 psi cut-off.

I use a stop cycle valve for control. This is connected to a 5-gallon pressure tank, but with these valve setups, you can really reduce the pressure tank that you use.

More important than this is adding a pump protector / cycle protector, because sometimes stuff goes sideways and pumps are expensive.

I recently added an external temperature monitor to the pump, I've had conditions that are not covered by the pump protector and now get a push alert to my phone if something goes wrong.

If you build this, plumb it with brass and PEX. I've had numerous PVC failures that were unnecessary.

And, what do you use to clean the water for drinking?

I have filter screens at the downspout and "first flush" mechanical systems before the tanks.

Before deciding how to treat any water, you've got to know what's in the water. I took samples and sent them to Stephen's ecology for lab testing. That lets me know what's in there to worry about, which was almost nothing other than trace bird ****. For me, use a large sediment filter (20") and then run it through a GPM appropriate UV light. This kills anything that might be in there. Rain water here has almost no hardness. You can drink it like that as is, but most of our drinking water is further filtered by 3-stage filter reverse osmosis with a secondary UV.

 

[andyvh1959]

Great ideas. I once owned a 1.5 acre rural wooded lot on which I planned to build. The in ground septic system put into the property 15 years earlier by the developer (but never used) could not be used because the soil was not proper to current code, the county would not give me a septic permit until I installed a new, current mound system, tanks, pumps, etc.

I was going to go ahead with it, and figured I'd use the concrete 1500 gallon septic tank and pump old to gather rain water for lawn use, etc. Nope, township inspector/permit guy said the old tank would have to be disconnected and filled with dirt. I said I'd disconnect the tank inlet and outlet, and just use the tank to gather rain water. Nope, he said the tank had to be made unusable, argh. Dealing with the local township permits guy proved to be a useless endeavor. I sold the property and let the buyer deal with the issues.

 

[Captain Spaulding]

Keep in mind, water stored in ibc totes can grow algae and the UV turns the plastic brittle after 3 years or so.

Painting them prevents algae, and they last for many years in sunlight even without paint. My neighbor has one with the top cut off that has been outdoors for easily 7 or 8 years and still holds water.

 

[NWOhioChevyGuy]

This post has me thinking.

We are on well water, which is really hard and has high Iron.
Which means you can't wash a vehicle with it, water spots are guaranteed.

On my shop project I could collect rainwater and have a good water source at the shop without burying a line from the well which I can't use for washing. I already have a small booster pump for irrigation that I could plumb into an IBC to feed the pressure washer.......

too many good ideas on this site

 

[Captain Spaulding]

Are your stacked ibc’s joined to form one unit? I’d like to see a pic of that plumbing detail if not too much trouble. Thanks

Bit of an optical illusion on the run to the tank. Though it’s flatter than I’d like, it’s not as flat as it looks.

There is a vent from the fill port on the bottom tank that goes up higher than the top tank.

 

[jkeyser14]

Keep in mind, water stored in ibc totes can grow algae and the UV turns the plastic brittle after 3 years or so.

We have a tote at work we bought 6 years ago. It was used when we bought it. It's been sitting outside the entire time. This winter the fill cap got brittle enough that the vent on the cap broke, but the rest of the tote is still as good as it was when we got it.

 

[alfadan]

Painting them prevents algae, and they last for many years in sunlight even without paint. My neighbor has one with the top cut off that has been outdoors for easily 7 or 8 years and still holds water.

We have a tote at work we bought 6 years ago. It was used when we bought it. It's been sitting outside the entire time. This winter the fill cap got brittle enough that the vent on the cap broke, but the rest of the tote is still as good as it was when we got it.

Who's to say how old mine are, as I bought them used, but they sure aren't a lifetime solution, but very handy.