Living in the desert has taught me not to take water for granted. Unlike the Pacific Northwest, I am not footsteps away from streams, ponds, or a vast sea just waiting for me to collect and purify for personal use.
In a continuing effort to educate our readers on the finer aspects of self-sufficiency, I have invited Dan Chiras to share his best strategies and tips for creating a rain catchment system that works.
If Dan’s name sounds familiar, it is because he is the author of two Prepper Book Festival titles, Survive in Style: The Prepper’s Guide to Living Comfortably through Disasters and Power From the Sun: A Practical Guide to Solar Electricity. Today he is here with specifics on collecting rainwater, regardless of where you live.
Let it Rain: Collecting Rainwater from Your Roof to Survive in Style
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In a crisis, rainwater can become one of a prepper’s greatest allies. If you live in an area with as few as 30 inches (12 cm) of precipitation a year, you may be able to live entirely off water falling on the roof of your home. That is, you could collect enough water from precipitation to meet all of your needs for cooking, cleaning, bathing, flushing toilets, watering gardens, and supplying a few chickens and a goat or cow – if you use water efficiently. I’ve done it for many years.
In drier climates, you may not be able to live off rainwater, but you could capture enough water to irrigate a vegetable garden and fruit trees and perhaps supply a few animals that provide the food you’ll need to survive in style.
Rainwater catchment systems are about as simple as they come. All you’ll need is a roof, gutters and downspouts, several rain barrels or a large tank (cistern), and water filters and purifiers. Chances are you are already well on their way to having a successful rainwater catchment system.
If your house is equipped with gutters and downspouts and you’ve got a water filter like an MSR Miniworks EX Microfilter and water purification device like a SteriPen, all you’ll need to do is to add a few rain barrels or a cistern connected to several downspouts to start collecting rain water right now.
I lived off-grid for 14 years in Colorado in the Foothills of the Rockies and supplied all of my family’s water with a rainwater catchment system during that time, although we used water very efficiently. I was constantly amazed by the amount of water we were able to collect off our roof. You will, too.
This 2500 gallon plastic tank was installed to catch rainwater off our roof.
How Much Rainwater Can I Collect?
To estimate the amount of rainwater you can capture from a rooftop, simply multiply the square footage of your home by the amount of precipitation in inches by 0.55. (IF your home is two stories, divide the total square footage by the number of stories.)
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A 2,000 square foot (190 square meter) home in the Midwest in an area that experiences 30 inches of annual precipitation could capture 33,000 gallons (125,000 liters) of water per year. That’s about 90 gallons (230 liters) of water per day.
In most conventional homes, that’s only enough water for one person. If used judiciously, however, that 90 gallons (230 liters) per day could meet all of your and your family’s needs. (Judiciously is another way of saying you will need to use water very efficiently.)
How to Create a Water Catchment System from Rainwater
Here are some tips to create a successful rainwater catchment system.
1. Check with local authorities to be sure that rainwater catchment systems are legal in your state.
Some western states like Colorado prohibit rainwater collection, although I’ve known a few rebellious individuals who have installed them anyway, flying successfully under the radar. I can’t recommend that strategy, for legal reasons, but doubt anyone’s going to care if they’re capturing rainwater to survive. Even in “normal” times, illegal rainwater catchment is not a high-priority crime.
2. Remember, you can collect rainwater off your home, but also off roofs of other buildings such as garages, carports, sheds, and chicken coops.
Doing so will greatly increase your supply of water.
3. The cleaner the roof the better. Metal and tile roofs produce cleaner water than asphalt shingle roofs.
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The cleaner the water, the less filtering and purification you’ll need to render the water drinkable. Bear in mind, however, if you’re going to simply use rainwater to irrigate gardens, fruit trees, and berry patches or supply a few chickens and a cow or goat, the water won’t need to be as clean up front.
4. If your home is surrounded by deciduous trees, install leaf guards on your gutters.
At the very least, install a leaf screen on your downspout. Leaves clog up gutters, but more important, decaying leaves in gutters produce organic compounds that contaminate water supplies. They probably won’t kill you, but they may turn the water brown.
5. For best results, install a roof washer.
This is a rather simple device that diverts a small amount of water initially flowing off a roof during a rainstorm away from your cistern or rain barrel. This, in turn, prevents dirt and bird droppings, if any, from contaminating your drinking water supply. (See the website I cited below to learn more about roof washers.)
6. If you live in a warm climate, rain barrels and cisterns can be installed above ground.
Be sure to install tanks with opaque walls (not clear or translucent). If possible, install them in shady locations to keep the water cooler and protect the tank from UV radiation. Tanks with transparent or translucent walls allow sunlight to penetrate. Sunlight, in turn, supports algae that will contaminate your water.
7.
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If you live in a colder climate and want to collect water from snow melting off your roof, be sure to bury your cistern below the frost line or place it indoors – for example, in a basement.
Only bury water tanks rated for underground burial.
8. If you are planning on drinking water from your system, it’s a good idea to install a tank rated for potable water, although a high-quality filter that removes organic chemicals may be all you need.
If you are going to be using the water for cleaning, watering plants, and supplying animals, a clean plastic tank will generally suffice.
9. If you purchase used tanks, be sure they have never been used to store toxic chemicals such as herbicides or insecticides or natural oils like Vitamin E.
The latter are very difficult to clean initially.
10. Rainwater can be emptied directly into open barrels from gutters cut off just above the rain barrel or can be filled by rainwater diverters that are installed in gutters.
