Rainwater Harvesting QA - Cost, is it Illegal, how I treat, etc,.

[@homesteadonomics]

Wow! Thanks so much for the response guys! Lots of good questions...actually way too many that I can't keep up... and I'm sorry for that :) ..but please try to keep it positive with one another. Not everyone will agree with each other, and that's okay. But bringing up things that really don't have anything to do with this video doesn't really do much good :/ Anyways, thanks for watching :)

[@davidprock904]

homesteadonomics , Check out John Ellis Water so you don't have to add any chemicals to you water, but it's way much more that just that. And should you want to be considered about the acid aspect of your water look into Kangen Water, it also is so much more than dealing with acid. Also did you know you can use electricity to get water out of the air, would be good for inside and outside. You know how much water we lose through our breath !! And on the topic of electricity why not look into solar power, there is a guy on KZbin called "Robert Murray-Smith" who shows a few ways to make your own solar panels, one of them in transparent and cheap. Oh and with your setup with the way you have the gap in the pipes to your drainage from the roof... take like a small DC motor with a piece of something that can cover the drain pipes. Have it spring loaded to stay open. So when the rain is going to come, if someone is home, applying power to the small motors for each pipe to pull against the spring bringing the cover over your pipe. Or think of an easier way. In fact I just thought of another way electricity free while typing this, ask if u want to know, it will be pages to type, it just came to me, hope I don't forget lol

[@herbert46lovecraft72]

your better than wranglerstar!

[@SwedishMeatball972]

click the link in the description.

[@SlippinJimmy.]

I like the gutter vacuum. You can also put a fine mesh screen on the gutters, if you can find a good deal. There's really fine stainless steel mesh you can buy, but it's REALLY expensive. If you could find a cheaper alternative like many layers of cheap plastic screen, it might be worth a try.

[@jaxxbrat2634]

homesteadonomics well im impressed..

[@alanbrown397]

FWIW, there was an attempt to claim ownership of rainwater by the water companies in the UK. It got as far as court - and the defendants cleverly _almost_ walked the plaintiffs (the water companies) into an assertion that they owned all the water that fell from the sky, and by extension all the water that flowed into streams and rivers. At some point the plaintiff lawyers realised that claiming ownership of all the water that fell everywhere meant that would also be admitting legal liability for billions of dollars in flooding and erosion caused by "their" water - at which point they adjourned and then withdrew the case. That was the last that was ever heard of such claims in this country again.

[@bubblegummers84]

This is when English law really comes into it's own. Common sense really!

[@codeN_8]

Wow

[@u2mister17]

Alan Brown I'm thinking that claim of ownership by water "companies" was some time ago. Now that the UK has been absorbed by the World Wide Mafia Left the "companies" will be government utilities and not subject to capitalist principals or democracy law. "...then withdrew the case." The left owns you. Pay your taxes and shut up.

[@cuy50]

@@u2mister17 what the actual fuck are you on about man. What does anything he said have to do with politics, left or right?

[@trackdusty]

@@cuy50 Harvesting water isn't politics? Bone up on reality. Privatisation is far worse than policies delivered by a - reasonably - patriotic government acting in the national interest. I've seen both over long periods of time. You'd be a privatisation man, David, that's why you don't want to have any talk about politics? Correct?

[@johnfenn]

As an Australian I grew up on tank water as have millions of Australians. You are doing great. You are well on the way to a beautiful oasis in the desert. Well done. Next some tall trees on the swales to create a mini environment and to enhance underground storage. Every drop of rain that falls on your land is yours, and you get to use it 3 times before you let it off the property. Brilliant video, 100 points.

[@davebloggs]

Well said, As the world warms up rain harvesting will become more important . Just look at VW when they installed rain harvesting on their factory they collected so much they provided for all of their needs and supplied the local town with the excess as well.

[@littleme3597]

@@davebloggs No warming. Just regular earth cycle.

[@davebloggs]

@@littleme3597 the world has been warming since the last ice age and will cool at the next one but the data does strongly indicate that we have accelerated the process to a large degree.

[@damienomen68]

Rainwater tanks are ok. Grew up in Papua New Guinea with them. Prolly better than the water in most urban systems.

[@boomer3150]

John Fenn: Excellent points, well-said. And as far as it being "illegal", haha. Let "them" try and stop us!

[@SokemRokemRobot]

IMO, $5k is cheap compared to what everything must be costing because of the inflation that is happening right now. You constructed that system at the right time. Great job!

[@AntPDC]

It boggles the mind that the idea that collecting rain water might be "illegal" is even a thing!

[@jsmariani4180]

I know of farmer's who would be in favor of that, as they believe they have first dibs on all the water.

[@littlered7820]

@@jsmariani4180 You talking about the parasitic govt communists ?....coz without farmers you dead

[@BlackVibeBallsack]

I thought Joe Biden owned all US water

[@littleme3597]

@@jsmariani4180 No. You can't control where it rains or how much. FARMERS DO NOT CARE.

[@donaldkasper8346]

Because there is no way to assure the water meets health standards. For example, a tar shingle roof will pick up petroleum chemicals that are just poisonous. Now, for landscaping alone, it wouldn't matter.

[@judithallen5919]

I love that you get right to the point! No fluff just great info..thanks

[@homesteadonomics]

thanks Judith!

[@johnbeckman8916]

Judith Allen_ Ditto! This is an incredible video. I LOVE how comprehensive it is. It looks like "water management" is your most sophisticated system and it's very well done.

[@SpoiledBadgerMilk]

You must watch alex jones lol

[@Velo1010]

Judith Allen Me, too.

[@TheItsmegp46]

You live in Az. Do you get enough rainwater to make all this worthwhile?

[@ScrapwoodCity]

We who live in the cities take for granted so many things. One of them is endless water supply. It's really amazing the fact that you put so much effort in collecting the rain water in order to fulfill the needs of your home! Awesome work man!

[@homesteadonomics]

thanks Dimitri! It definitely a work in progress but serves us pretty well. eventually I want to have a large concrete cistern but will have to save some money for that:)

[@PCMrX.9961]

Hi I used a 3600 gallon tank made of fiberglass it was made for diesel fuel. Cost new was $5000. You can bury it with no cave in problems like plastic tanks / rubber tanks. I put mine 12 feet under 8 ft. diameter. that gave me 4 ft. of dirt on top. Will last for 100+ years.

[@pollyjetix2027]

wouldn't a new septic tank work?

[@tommysanfilippo3165]

Yea. It sure will.

[@TUKByV1]

There was a company in the Miami area that sold big fiberglass tanks suitable for cisterns. Not sure if they're still in business.

[@IanDenchasy]

YOU are such an inspiration! Our city of Atascaderod, CA has changed all their ordinances and zoning codes to ALLOW for and ENCOURAGE rainwater collection! 5 grand is NOTHING - just to connect to our water company here is cost over 25 THOUSAND DOLLARS PLUS THE MONTHLY COST OF THE WATER! We are building a tiny home here that will rely ENTIRELY on rainwater collection, low-voltage solar, and grey water recycling system. Keep preaching, dude, we really appreciate it.

[@quentinsmith4678]

Good to see the moisture farmers are doing well this season.

[@ms.farmgirl]

This is a good information video. I'd like to share something my dad did back in the 1940's-1970's,, when he was farming the land. We had a 380 acre farm that had self sustaining water management systems. There was a WELL on the property, but it was NOT really used. The water was too hard. There was a water cistern system and a wind-will that did the majority of pumping. My dad had created a strainer system that he fashioned out of a MILKER filtration similar to coffee filters. This is where all the milk is strained before it goes into the Milk Cans for pick up. He did the same with with all the rainwater that went through a similar set up,, only instead of the 2 straining,, he had 5 strainings. It was literally strained 5 times before it went into the underground tanks. Large wire screen, into a medium wire screen, into a smaller screen, and then through the fine filters that was many layers of cheese cloth and flour sack cotton fabric. Those were changed out after each rain falls,, and snow melting collection. It was ALL. Washed and clean all the time. NOTHING got through the filter system,,and it ended up PURE! He had a circulation pump that pumped the water all the way through the system every week.. It was literally re-filtered on a regular schedule to keep the algae under control. It wasn't stagnant for long periods of time.

[@mjleger4555]

My grandparents had a big pond on their farm. Grandpa used to fill a big wooden container that he had on some kind of cart and his two draft horses would pull it from fruit tree to fruit tree for him to bail out buckets of water to water the trees! I was about 6 or 7 at the time, and he used to put my sister and I up on the horses to ride while he watered the trees. I remember my legs stuck straight out on that horse's broad bare back!

[@IAMONELUVNOW]

Amazing Farm Girl👏🏾👍🏽

[@unstoppableExodia]

I respect that this guy is maximizing his rain water collecting capacity

[@robertmacdonald1102]

After watching this video for 5 minutes i gotta believe this guy has read the book "dune". If he hasnt he should. You have a fine water conservation ethos, my friend.

[@99PercentOffFreeHugs]

I love when you are watching a video like this and a person is 100% real and is just like "I didn't feel like it" or "It cost too darn much" So many times you get people who aren't like that and it brings a realness to homesteading and things like this.

[@cheesygal]

Yes. It’s very sincere and unpretentious. We’re running as fast as we can and are cutting corners. Sometimes it’s the best choice.

[@freogirl7956]

We are in Australia.. Dams and local water catchment areas also fill from rain and runs offs. They are full of bird poop, dead animals and other contaminants. It then goes through a treatment and filtration system where chemicals are added before they enter the pipelines for home use. There is nothing better than having your own water tank and knowing the history of the water that you use to drink and to feed your plants & animals with. Well done for doing your bit with helping to save the planet 😀

[@urhomie5870]

mans building a whole country in his backyard ..independent goals

[@justpull544]

Lol... "Goddamn", Noop Noop voice...

[@robertdavenport1109]

Mans not hot! In desert.

[@xATxCody]

The smart ones will all be doing this come Jan 20....

[@ViperAqua]

We gotta all be on this type of timing, matrix is crumbling. Mad respect to this guy

[@gregorytaylor3146]

Shut we see going down these days; a "small country in the backyard" might be the difference between continuing breathing ...

[@Laramedes]

I haven't read thru all of the comments, so perhaps this has already been addressed. The life span of those poly tanks can be greatly extended by reducing the amount of UV they receive. So a rain roof above them would not only protect your tanks, but also provide for additional rainwater collection. Just a suggestion and thanks for the videos.

[@craighearn747]

I thought the same thing. Large roof with additional rain collection and maybe ring of trees around it to screen and not over temp the water. Nice system otherwise,

[@anthonylehner3643]

Good thinking brother!👍

[@snail847]

Good idea!

[@THEROOTMATTERS]

Always on my mind, what plastic toxins are in those collectors? BPA is not the only questionable chemicals that may be in plastic.

[@doctorkayak]

@@THEROOTMATTERS Good point! Please do share what other questionable toxins might be in them?

[@amando96]

"illegal to collect rainwater" is one of those laws that needs to be broken by everyone.

[@jaseastroboy9240]

There was talk of making rain water catchment a restricted activity where I live. The idea was that as long as you got local council approval then you could use it. The reasoning was that because we have town sewerage and the cost of sewerage disposal/treatment is calculated as a percentage of your homes water usage. (seems like a better idea than trying to measure the actual sewerage flow) If you used rainwater then you would still be generating the same amount of sewerage but your town water usage would be reduced or eliminated. So you would not be paying your fair share of the town sewerage treatment costs. So the plan was that when you applied for approval to use rainwater the utility/council would require a measurement of you collection area. Then they would calculate expected water catchment based on average rainfall. Then they could use that figure to calculate the percentage to be charged for sewer water treatment and disposal. This was not a popular idea as many people didn't understand the reasons and just saw it as being charged money for collecting rain. Not sure if the idea was actually implemented as we decided not to harvest rainwater and I haven't investigated it again.

[@Fractal227]

@@jaseastroboy9240 I see your reasoning, but the treatment plant could have water-measurement on the out-going line and they could eliminate the water-measurement on the in-going line? Why should home owners / others be limited by other people's short thinking?

[@jaseastroboy9240]

@@Fractal227 Probably much easier to measure water flow of the inbound clean water rather than trying to measure the chunkier outgoing flow. Also our inbound water connection is normally at the front of the house so the meter is usually very accessible. Whereas most sewerage lines go to the back of the property. No easy access for meter reading. Probably done that way to keep sewerage as far away as possible from the fresh drinking water, or possibly from the days when properties had a laneway at the back where excrement carter emptied the outdoor toilet. Installing and maintaining a measuring device on each houses sewerage line seems like it would be a rather messy and unpleasant job. Bleh. :)

[@johnfoster1800]

UN Constitutional Laws are not Laws ! Rain water belongs to Foreign Bankers ?

[@BowenOrg]

Special Note: We The People DON"T have to "break any laws" collecting rain water because, if you "own" your property, real estate law states that you own everything "straight up and straight down! * Are there exceptions? Of course! * For everything on or under the ground, in some states the water, mineral and gas rights can be sold and owned by others. Still no problem to collect water "before" it gets to the ground! * For everything above the ground, the land owner owns the air and sunshine AND ANY WATER coming from the sky. * You can't keep planes from flying overhead (in most cases) but, you "might" have a legal case to stop drones! MORAL OF THE STORY!!!!!! DON'T LET GOVERNMENTS RUN OVER YOUR RIGHTS! WE THE PEOPLE OWN & RUN THIS COUNTRY... NOT OUR HIRED HELP IN GOVERNMENT!

[@brotherzeke8002]

The Water Man has a gift of speaking upright. The video is concise and edited well. Straight to point of answering these questions. Keep up the good work.

[@azzgunther]

That's the cadence of an unfluoridated man ;)

[@nickwit21]

This water collection system is on a whole other level!

[@SUVRVing]

For some reason I really like that PVC vacuum tube extender thing for cleaning out the rain gutters...

[@jerryjdawgsworldarnold]

SUV RVing he should consider marketing that...it's cool

[@homesteadonomics]

thanks SUVRVing! it isn't fancy but works well:)

[@jerryjdawgsworldarnold]

***** could have put screens over the gutters...heavy debris is washed off not collected

[@tomjeffersonwasright2288]

Glen: You can walk the roof, blowing the trash out of gutters with a leaf blower. It works great, even for totally filled gutters

[@bigwheelsturning]

I use my leaf blower with a 90 and an old vacuum nozzle to blow out the fir needles. Have to do it once or twice a month. Live in a forest.

[@caitlinamberholmes]

I accidentally stumbled upon this video and happen to live in AZ. This is such a cool video. Got to give you props for that production quality!!

[@TheKallipugos]

My 5yr old son and I were watching together and at the end of the video when you requested thumbs up, he prompted stuck his thumbs in the air! Great job as always.

[@christophergrove4876]

I'm Canadian, living in Michigan. I don't have much need for a rainwater collection system beyond a couple of rain barrels for the garden BUT your video was fascinating and you kept me up way past my bedtime! Congratulations on such a great system and video!

[@apoorvbajpai4763]

i just came for the legality question!! it hilarious to deem it illegal. In India not only it is encouraged but in some areas, it has been made mandatory to be included in all new constructions

[@alisonshanahan9529]

Same as in Australia

[@LeandroSilva08]

Man, i just randomly got to this channel and boy I was lucky. if all the other videos are like this one, that is super cool! thanks for sharing!

[@ryanjones7681]

2am and I'm learning how to collect rain water... In july

[@abdullahfall1517]

lmao unless u live in england where it rains 24/7 u forgot 3 years later

[@matto4897]

Best time to get building!

[@RocioVillalobosM]

Me too

[@ThereIsNoGodOnlyUs]

Damn. Same

[@meghane3477]

same

[@rodgoss3630]

I like being self-sufficient and watch a lot of how-to videos, this was a very impressive and well done video. No product pushes, just straight forward Q&A. Great info, thanks.

[@alejandrayalanbowman367]

Hi from Spain The house in which I was born in England had no mains water supply. We were fortunate in that we had a well in the side garden that was fed constantly by a spring but the water was very hard and excellent for making tea but useless for washing - soap just turned to scum. So for water for washing purposes we collected it off the roof and stored it in a large tank from which we collected it by dipping in a bucket. The filter was an old sock! That was over 75 years ago and that was the best water I have ever tasted. Great video.

[@seemeeseeu]

Very good. i love your uncomplicated, straight forward, approach. No BS. Thank you.

[@lukebbb]

You are one of the reason I love America. I love the independent spirit, the do it yourself attitude, and the no nonsense get it done personality. Big thumbs up for your awesome ingenuity.

[@jordanbowey4175]

Come to Australia mate. Live outside the big smoke and this is what you’ll be doing

[@rareview362]

@@ndaemon1718 Well you did makea system that all men can operate in to live. It's not exclusively for you according to your own ideologies like freedom you stole from the Indians just like you stole rock and roll from black people. You're good at stealing and acting as if you are the originators of the innovation but in fact you people hate innovation just like how we have no high speed rail here. Go work on your old car.

[@halepunahodges1337]

Brother, you are doing an outstanding job and God bless you with your work.

[@CERIHATTON]

This is by far THE best video of all the hundreds I have watched on YT. It is well presented, interesting, enjoyable and has given me so many ideas. I already collect and use 1,000's of litres here in the UK. Our water bill is tiny compared to the average. If I lived in the country and not town and I was 40 years younger I would be doing a smaller version. My buddy lives in Ontario Canada and has a huge roof. (7 different aspects) plus a massive typical North American barn. I have been nagging him for years for us to build a water harvest system as he currently uses well water. His wife must use 300 gallons a day watering. Drives me nuts as he is using precious well water plus electric to draw up his water. Madness Love this video

[@robertmacdonald1102]

Dune is a book about politics, religion, and ecology. It has the highest reward for patience of any book i have ever read. Started reading it. Put it down. Tried again, got further, put it down again. Picked it up again determined to become familiar with it's lingo and finished it with a new outlook on life.

[@trex2092]

Here in south Alabama, we receive on average over 70 inches per year and take good water for granted, hats off to you for an outstanding collection system. Best regards.

[@7josette]

I’m in Washington state and thank you for this video. Giving me a lot of encouragement and faith I can do this.

[@crystalline72]

I’m in Washington too in Snohomish working on a rain water systems and OG sanctuary 🤩

[@nia6849]

How many gallons will you collect in a given x day, xmonth, and xyear?

[@angelacramer644]

@@crystalline72 You probably know of Carolyn Eslick!!!

[@psmith4980]

While this video does not apply to my current living situation although I do have a rain barrel, I thoroughly enjoyed watching it and listening to your methodical explanation of your system. Your necessary water strategy taps into my joy of using the free gifts of nature.

[@Beristw]

I like very much how you framed what you have written. I get immense joy from seeing how individuals create comfort for themselves by themselves. (Or on a very small scale, as a small community)

[@Laura-wi7gc]

The smartest guy ever...wow excellent job, my respects to you sir.

[@spiritadvertizing6632]

Please be advised, that at sixty years of age and formerly very discouraged, it is most encouraging to listen to a much younger person articulate in such an excellent manner! Thank you. Regards, Gordon C. (Indiana)

[@MsHojat]

He doesn't look very young. I'd guess between 45 and 55 years old.

[@dannygjk]

I am 57.

[@eliasmarciano9062]

As you get older you will probably realize that "young" becomes a moving target, may be it always is. I am in my sixties as well and someone 45 years old is most definitely a (somewhat) young person to me. Besides "spirit advertizing" referred to the OP as "much younger person", a 45 yo is much younger than a 60 yo. Hell, I am in my sixties and when I think of myself I still consider myself (and feel) as "young'ish".........most days anyway........some mornings I feel 85 !!

[@db4290]

Wtf are you all yammering on abt? This dude Gordon is Corn...

[@grene1955]

This was an amazingly informative video! My wife and I are interested in water harvesting, here in southern Oregon. We get decent rain in the winter, but summers are hot, dry, and sometimes on fire! We are on a well for our house water, but it kills me to see how much rain runs off our barn, and really isn't useful. So thanks for all the great info!

[@shrumshrum794]

Oh k no o

[@imzanawlto3070]

more people need to do this.... in my country most rural houses live with water tanks that hold the water collected from the roof of the house.

[@allpropertyvideosdotcomwit3524]

*What I love about this video* is that the whole thing is about the practical day-to-day reality of using water harvesting and storage as your main water source. Many other videos on this subject concentrate on the theory and a bunch of other stuff that's not gonna help you actually do this in the real world. *Great content from The Homesteadonomics Channel!*

[@barrymcdickface8901]

I only have rainwater tanks big ones like these as well for 11 years now and I’ve no dams or wells, and I water cattle pigs sheep alpacas chooks and my vege gardens for free.. plus I plant lots of trees, I put in 250 gums the other year for firewood harvesting, so harvesting water is pretty easy, plus I live in a arid area in country Australia where we don’t have a lot of rainfall.. the idea is to buy more tanks and put more collection area in as when you own the resource, you can manage it yourself. Kind of the same as having batteries, when their full, you own what’s in them. When it comes to managing resource.. Gordon Greckos mantra is appropriate.. greed is good. More for me.

[@cuddlebuddy88mc]

Thanks for the insight. I'm going to move back home to the Navajo reservation and want to learn as much as possible to get enough water, incase they tell me they can't dig for water lines - too far from the main hub. I grew up without running water and electricity so no biggie. Also wanted to have a big garden and fruit trees. 😋

[@deitrestolbert4442]

Very smart Navajo 👍

[@godsangel47]

This is amazing. Props to you for figuring this out and living so independently!

[@joanne8505]

Very well explained. I know this video is 5 years old, but we are getting a late start on our homesteading journey. This system is exactly what we are hoping for. We just haven’t decided on the proper placement of the tanks as we are on a sloped property and have to correct erosion issues first. I want to do the rain garden on the lower end of our property with the pond but no way of excavating it properly yet. Everything we do is done by hand. Great content in your video. Thank you.

[@chodeshadar18]

I really respect your independent spirit and ingenuity! Def thumbs way up!

[@bigdogbob845]

You are an inspiration to anyone who is thinking of or even trying to become more self sufficient. I have a small (500 gals) rainwater collection system that I use to water my vegetable gardens, they do so much better with rain water versus city tap water. I salute you young man.

[@SeanWyseman]

Our house in Fiji was 100' long * 40' wide. The roof captured all the water we needed into a 6000 gallon round concrete tank about 10' high. All our drinking water was from an RO unit. The rest just had a 10 micron sediment filter.

[@hiroshima2398]

Love it Man! U kicked Ass on your system & explanation in short n sweet detail. U get a 10 out of 10 from this new subscriber & look forward to your other vids... I'll be passing the well thought out knowledge to others & putting this system into play.... Also residing in AZ. towards the NE of the state. Cheers to you sir!! Thank you!!

[@320dak]

Grew up in Missouri where my parents, relatives and neighbors collect rainwater. Most of them built a concrete cistern under their house when constructing it. My parents built it under their single wide carport. Holds around 10,000 to 11,000 gallons. We grew up drinking the water and they continue to drink it for over 50 years now. Couple of tips: Install a diverter valve a few feet above the ground on the downspout of your guttering. Before it starts raining make sure they are turned out so none of the water flows into your holding tanks. All of the crap from your roof will not drain into your tanks. When it starts raining, turn them in after about 15 to 30 mins so you have clean water now. Also, do not collect the snow melt off your roof. It makes the water taste bad. And, if your water does taste bad, throw a couple of hands full of salt in your tanks or cistern. It will taste better. Only treatment we ever did to the water. Final tip: Every few years when you are running low on water, use this time as an opportunity to clean out your tanks or cistern before having water delivered. Having six kids, my parents would make us scoop out the settlement with five gallon buckets, grain shovels and brooms. I do not miss that part of those days.

[@mjleger4555]

Any rain water you collect should have a cover over it, or mosquitoes will lay eggs in it, insects and other things can get into it and make it unclean.

[@doctorkayak]

@addsurfer1970 LOL! I love hearing comments from "experts".

[@doctorkayak]

@@mjleger4555 wow... LOL

[@doctorkayak]

@addsurfer1970 LOL oh LORD! Hell-arious!

[@thomasmaughan4798]

@addsurfer1970 "concrete holding tanks are where legionaries disease came from." Not exactly, although anything that holds water can also hold this bacterium. "In January 1977, the Legionella bacterium was finally identified and isolated and was found to be breeding in the cooling tower of the hotel's air conditioning system" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_Philadelphia_Legionnaires%27_disease_outbreak

[@jamestucker496]

You graciously and gratefully helped me to plan for my entire house building system!! Thank you so much!

[@dl7919]

As always, your videos are so very impressive with your ingenuity, fantastic builds and the workable concise systems you have created. Thank you for sharing it...You are an inspiration to all!

[@cheesygal]

Thank you. We’re hoping to get our rainwater collection up in its earliest stage before monsoon. We’re down in Santa Cruz county. This is good information! It will help our planning.

[@JBSlickflyer]

For those worried about getting sick from rain water, my grandparents lived to 81 and 88 on rain water collected in their cistern. No treatment. They just had a simple sand filter in line with the water pump. The cistern was built into the foundation of their home,

[@PhilVerryChannel]

What city and state did they live in?

[@gravelydon7072]

My grandmother lived to be 97. Used cistern water for everything but cooking and drinking. That was what the well water was for.

[@gravelydon7072]

@Keyzer Soze Try again. The OP who I was replying to talked about his grandparents using cistern water as did mine, my parents, and even myself. We had one pump, one tank, and a change over valve. The rule was one tank full after change over from cistern to well water and then used for drinking water. Nobody ever got sick from the cistern water. And we had no filter on it.

[@gravelydon7072]

@Keyzer Soze It was still present in the tank with just one filling so it really wasn't out of the system. It just was diluted.

[@saxyvi]

Collecting rainwater in cisterns is standard practice for homes in the Virgin Islands. We usually build the cisterns out of reinforced concrete and they are built as part of the the building's foundation. The cistern's capacity is REQUIRED to be at least 10 gallons for every square foot of roof. Unless there is an extended drought, we never run out of water. Tropical storms and hurricanes do serve a purpose.

[@uMpzZ26e03]

What do you use that water for? Do you purify it for drinking?

[@saxyvi]

We use it for bathing, laundry, toilet flushing, washing dishes. All water is filtered. Filter is changed every 3 months. I add bleach to the cistern once a month. Amount is based on how much water is in the cistern at the time. We usually don't drink it, but if we wanted to, we would boil it first.

[@320dak]

Grew up in the Midwest US. Parents have a cistern under their back porch area used for collecting rainwater off of their roof. It is the size of a single car parking area and part of their basement. They raised six of us kids off of that. Once every seven to eight years we cleaned out the settlement in the cistern when the water level was low. Never did use any filters or anything. If the water had a certain taste to it, my dad would throw a couple hands full of salt in it. Only ran out of water maybe a half dozen times. Had a couple thousand gallons water delivered and I remember that it only increased the water level by a few inches. Figured it up once and I think they have between 13000 and 14000 gallons of storage. The house is 49 years old and they are still using it!

[@blaccsilverstaff5484]

Cool

[@iknowheis]

Hi! What is your folks’ cistern made of? I assume it is covered and has a trap door for cleaning. Is it made from cement?

[@douglascarvalho4799]

I really liked to see what you've done. Basically is the same system used here at Brazil northeastern region, an arid region with little anual rainfall. If you have some slope in your property and it is a clay soil, you could build a mini lake, with a rock and cement dam. It is a low cost but very efficient way to store water enough even to raise a little livestock, as its done here.

[@VisualSOLUTIONSMedia]

What a great system, and you are to be commended for your dedication and positive attitude!

[@felixmunguti6987]

This is great staff !. Am sure this is helpful to many of us, in some parts of Kenya.

[@comingtofull-ageinchrist6736]

What a smart system to sustain water by yourself from the rain you get. I have to say, I have never seen anything quite so complex and yet so simple. I think it is extremely smart, and only filtering out water that you use to drink and cook with is a smart idea. That's the first time I've seen that type of water sanitizer, but it looks pretty handy and is about the size of a commercial coffee brewer. I thought that having a vacuum that you can clean the gutter from the ground is really smart. I've never seen one with a hook on it for the attachment to go right down into the gutter so well. Does it have like small brushes around the edge of it to knock the dirt loose from the gutter? What a great idea, and it definitely makes keeping the gutter clean quick and easy! Was that 4" schedule 40 PVC you are using to pipe all of that down and around to the tanks? Brilliant system!

[@sheilal3172]

An excellent video by a talented artisan. We just bought 2 acres in S.W. Missouri (USA) where we receive about 46 inches of rain per year. We had gutters put up, also on the outbuilding Since I'm 72 and my hubby won't let me climb on anything (not even a chair!), I had two diverters installed, one on the house and one on the outbuilding. My chickens get only rainwater from the large trash barrels I collect in. I plan to get two more set up soon to use for garden and orchard water. I believe it's Colorado where they hang you for catching water.

[@azgridfree186]

As always, fantastic video. I'm just north of you in Apache County and they told us that we could in no way modify the natural course of waterflow on the land. We wanted to create swales to restrict or divert the natural flow of water. We had plans on using swales to create areas for fruit trees to grow. It's a real bummer and we continually look for ways around this insane rule. You're an inspiration as always. Keep on, keeping on!

[@hunkaburger]

AZ GridFree Who is "they"? County government?

[@homesteadonomics]

Thanks so much! regarding your swale building issue... I'm thinking that they are referring to swales that cross washes and established waterways. I consider small scales just part of the landscaping to divert water to trees and other plants. Most local governments actually do this in development projects as part of new water conservation efforts(retention basins, etc,.) I'm guessing the person you spoke to has no idea of what you were referring too... or was thinking of a large scale excavator doing mile of berms that would cross water ways. I can tell you that most small scale swales (100-300') that I've seen disappear visually in a year or so...wink, wink;) ... on another note, Geoff Lawton has used 'road construction' of a new driveway to incorporate larger scale swales to land in order to direct and harvest water. In my area there's not much required to put a 'primitive access' road on a property.... ie... that road could be on contour ;)

[@elainebmack]

As a person who grew up next to Lake Michigan but spent several years in Saudi Arabia, I really admire your very ingenious system here. I got into water conservation and studying different ways of dealing with water during my years in Saudi Arabia where all water was trucked in from desalinization plants on the Indian Ocean. We tend to take water from granted, but it is helpful to see how folks like you make the most of what comes from nature. Thanks!

[@stormysampson1257]

Grins, you should find out what they are pumping into our aquifers! Human shit and pee. Some municipalities actually make the most incredible decomposed mulch in the world out of our poo pee and sawdust, tested 5 X. A bit heavy in metals but oh well. Don't use this on vegetable crops! The rest is trucked to a secluded agricultural field and pumped 15 to 20 feet below the surface. NOT at all beneficial to the soil nor the crops but most certainly gets into our fresh water aquifers.

[@atraincg1]

Great video. My wife and I are developing our homestead now. Great Q&A. Tons of helpful tips and questions.

[@joemato]

I worked for a water treatment company once and as prevention for UV degradation we paint plastic pipes and tanks and I noticed that it works. Awesome video presentation by the way.

[@satinwhip]

I'm amazed that you get enough rain to survive with this system in Arizona. I did not realize it rained that much there. With my average water bill it would take me forty years to pay off that system. Where I live I pray for enough dry days in a row for my yard to dry out enough to mow it.

[@kaaboomNM]

Bad ass system..i live in NM and off grid.u just taught me alot .. Thank you..

[@engelag]

The US Peace Corp found a technique that you might want to try. They found it in Morocco in the mountains - desert mountains. It was done by Berber people for growing fruit trees.

[@SaltMinerOU812]

What's the name of the technique how does it work? not enough information

[@jonmatthews4254]

Wow, your have been busy, respect. Everyone should do this who can, it will be more and more essential in the future.

[@SuperMindquake]

This is an absoluely awesome video. So clearly presented and full of great information. I am very excited and happy that you have been able to accomplish this! Thank you for sharing.

[@readingwithgrams9484]

I am in a state that encourages rainwater collection also. We have a catchment system for our garden but I want to eventually expand that for some of our other water needs. But I also live in the wetlands so we don't have water shortage issues here either.

[@reenarizvi2022]

What you are upto is amazing and inspiring and I love it. Starting off being self sufficient in water for your family and now looking beyond thinking about creating a swale. You might want to check out the topography of your area from local government agency or perhaps online and use nature's course of water runoff in your surrounding area to maximize effect for permaculture and create your own little forest getting neighbors involved. Good luck and keep up your good work.

[@sixpackbinky]

Rain is a natural resource given to us by the creator for life, no one owns it but God, so no man has a right to keep you from using it .

[@gieguilingen]

Thank you, as i gathered an idea how to collect rain water that we needed the most in the countryside where I am. God bless you, more power.. 🙏

[@bigwheelsturning]

I live in a Seattle suburb, and have been flushing my toilet with rainwater for the past 15 years. I have three 55 gallon barrels on a platform behind my house to catch the water off only 1/2 my roof. They are hooked together in a manifold system on the inlet and outlet, so they all fill and drain at the same time. I used a "frost free" hose bib under my toilet, and had to change out the toilet tanks valve to a low flow valve to deal with the very low pressure. It takes about 45 seconds to fill the tank. I use only half my roof, and I calculated that I get 25 gallons of water for each 0.10" of rain. It rained hard this last Thursday (1.3") and it filled my three tanks to over flowing. I usually only have to use my "extra" storage tanks I fill in the winter months once or twice during a dry summer. My Grandparents farm back in Kansas used a system like yours, to fill a cistern, and Grandma would add a bit of bleach to the tank under their house if it smelled like a frog had jumped in. No one ever got sick.

[@MilesV8]

Great to hear it works for for you! I'd like to do this but can't in our current house as the setup would be too complicated due to our plumbing. However, we use rainwater for our garden and for washing the car etc.

[@Jonzuber]

Your an inspiration to us all. Your rainwater and gray water systems are well thought out.

[@rrhodes75rr]

This would be so informative and educational for other nations to be able to do this as well as turning our deserts into environmentally friendly ecosystems very informative video

[@bruceallen6492]

Thank you! I read about how the Western US is having major water access issues that will get worse. I'm happy to see you are doing a great job of combating the problem for yourself.

[@saxyvi]

This is the norm in the Virgin Islands. My concrete cistern holds 34,000 gallons.

[@SimplySteel]

Yeah it seems like this is more common in the Caribbean

[@ohlawd3699]

Yep.

[@brooksanderson2599]

And, outer Hawaiian Islands. Near Hilo, Big Island, I got about 200 inches rainfall per year plus mosquitos, earthquakes, and lava flows all for free!

[@treetop337]

Great! Inspirational. I am working on a small rainwater system collection system. Thanks for making this.

[@BruceAUlrich]

This was really informative! I've seen a lot of these projects as you built them, so it was cool to see an overview and see how you're using them.

[@homesteadonomics]

Thanks Bruce! I've got so many aspirations to collect the rain but unfortunately these type projects usually take a lot of shovel work...whew.... but when it rains it is soooo cool to see the rewards :)

[@BruceAUlrich]

Oh, I bet it is just awesome when it rains. You're probably grinning from ear to ear.

[@kdwslc]

Very helpful. I never thought about putting in an additional Greywater tank to recover what is used. Great job!

[@stevelux9854]

Saw you using a copper cup to drink from. Good idea as copper is the "poor man's" silver when it comes to anti-microbial properties. Copper door knobs, cooking and serving tools are also good to help passively kill germs without using harsh chemicals. Don't over-do it on the copper though, just like anything else; too much can also be bad for you with toxic effect. Some microbial exposure is good for your body anyhow. Silver works better of course, but is rather pricey. Considering the capitol expenditure to build your water system; it can cost quite a bit to have water pipe run to your place. I didn't hear that expense mentioned, and then you have the additives they put into your city water to deal with as a constant filtering expense anyhow.

[@pd4165]

Anti-biotics are dangerous! It's a good idea not to ingest too many microbes from the environment at one time (so washing your hands is always a good idea) but your gut flora is made up of microbes and they do a job on our behalf ie most of our digestion. Don't kill them! A little bit of silver or copper isn't going to shift them - they reproduce - but a barrage of anti microbial produce is a seriously bad idea. Filter or boil for preference. Over-exposure to any metal is not a good idea. Lead is well known (as is mercury - but nobody makes mercury pipes) but just about any will kill your brain over a long period - do you really want to have dementia ten years before your time, maybe while you're still working? (this happened to my father - a research chemist that also served on toxicology advisory boards. He knew what killed him, and also knew there was no antidote) As a general principle - whatever systems you use minimise the time the things you ingest spend in contact with ANYTHING else. In 20 years will we be cursing uPVC? If your nutrition hasn't spent time leaching things from anything then you've just future proofed - lead pipes were the best thing, asbestos was the best thing etc etc etc - today's science may be based on incomplete data that takes time to become mature.

[@stormysampson1257]

Many civilizations were brought to their knees using pewter and lead for utensils, dishware, and water pipes. Cheap pewter was used to make utensils, plates, bowls, cups which had upward of 15% Lead.

[@davidbagley1783]

Great tip

[@Kikirappergurl]

Thank you for having a video that gets to the point. Ramble free!😊

[@RedfishInc]

Thanks very much, as usual your willingness to share what you've learned along the way will prove a benefit to others. Good job man!

[@Jillian143]

So encouraged by this. Been thinking of moving back to az from Colorado, Cochise county specifically and have been super worried about getting water on my land. I think this could be the solution! Thank you!

[@donaldtucker8520]

Great stuff! From Northern Ca. We have 3 5000 gallon tanks caught off a Metal roof. Pretty clean with no trees over it so less leaves to deal with. Our well runs out about march and we have a few small catch systems on the property. There is a spring well That I am going to start to catch in to tanks this summer. I really love your whole system. The big prob here is we are getting less and less rain each year. Keep it up. PS My goal is to become an expert on this because I feel we have no choice and its only getting worse. Thanks Again.

[@p.bateman7033]

Outstanding ideas, projects and video presentation. A great use of a natural resource.

[@alecscotthardyii8805]

Great insight. Good details and obvious organization of almost concentric applications of water and other water management. It looks like all four corners of the area surrounding the house and grounds have total coverage and applied channels for irrigation as well. Nicely presented.

[@stuartkorte1642]

Glad I came across this older video. Beneficial First, because the aerial that gives perspective to the shop and house. Also, I want to harvest rain for gardens and lawn irrigation. Your video also got me thinking about feeding the shop sink and an outdoor shower. Thanks. p.s. my wife will love the goat introduction video.

[@garycarroll9447]

Living in Arizona you got a be praying for rain at times

[@grabithard2534]

Not last night or tonight :p

[@aichafrikha]

hey mister i found ur video very informative and i ll suggest that u reasearch the topic of "majel". i m from tunisia, sfax and i grew up on this culture, even in low income houses, when we build a home we often include a majel essentially we dig up a whole on the ground then build walls arround it, and we connect it to our roofs throught pipes, and this because an additional drinking reservoir, from time to time we put a little amount of bleech in it to sanitize it, and we do an annual check up (we bring a sample to the sanitary department to analyse the water and check its drinkability), but essentially, you get fresh water during summer and warm water during winter :) hope my comment will make a good impact on those who will read it :)

[@TUKByV1]

Is this similar to a Cistern?

[@skeeterburke]

you ought to look into colloidal silver as a sanitizing agent

[@utube012341]

Thank you for the information . I have desert land in the Mohave so good to know how it’s done in your area

[@TUKByV1]

@Himself Lee Some people still use them. In the Florida Keys, for example. There's a company in Homestead that sells modern cistern tanks. I think it's called Dolphin Fiberglass.

[@MrChisparo]

Wow! Your efforts are an inspiration for going off grid and staying green! I will subscribe to your informative channel!

[@brucerobertson2245]

I live in country NSW Australia and rely solely on rainwater harvesting as well. Because of the heat I put a roof over the concrete tank (100,000) litres and the roof also keeps the water cool, also a collector. Great video and different ideas 💡. Thanks 😊

[@claytonjackson5709]

This set up is legit, very impressive and well thought out

[@RJT80]

Yeah. I don't get the ceramic water filter though. You can get charcoal filters like the Woder 10k and put it under your sink. Should last most people 3 years. Unit is $100 and replacement filters are $50.

[@joshm5816]

@@RJT80 A simple carbon activated filter with a Ultra Violet light will make this water potable.

[@MrMGR1986]

Making it illegal to collect rain water is absolutely evil

[@someone-ji2zb]

Welcome to states like California and Colorado where liberal mentality is that we must be 100% dependent on the government. You will practically lose your home if they catch you collecting rainwater.

[@MisterCOM]

someone667 wait what

[@theTerribleTyler]

it's in due part to pollutants carried from the air that is transferred to rain droplets which causes the rain which can cause the rain to turn toxic. Old enough to remember acid rain?

[@skylerstorm93]

IntoTheFray fuck um do it any way

[@SidneyBoud]

River water is rain water how would a city get water without breaking the law.

[@btetschner]

I am very impressed. Thank you for answering those questions. I found this video to be very inspiring and I wish you the best of luck. Thank you again.

[@gerardolazos5248]

What an amazing system! Congratulations on that! I live in Mexico City, where water is scarce and I have to store it in tanks similar to yours from the city pipes. A lot of the time there is a lot of rust in the water, so I came up with an easy solution that might work for you: I adapted a small baskets at the exit of the pipe into the water tank. Inside the basket I put a couple of very small fabric towels that have to be washed frequently. However, that has prevented all the rust and particles from coming into my home pipelines. I thought that you might find it useful too to keep your rain water cleaner. Congratulations again!

[@TWalsh-ji7jh]

Dude, you are amazingly handy around the house! Nice work.

[@Reality_TV]

This was one of the best videos because it was VERY informative! Thank you so much!

[@GCHG2014]

You could have said the argument doesn't hold "water." Up North sometimes its frowned upon due to breeding places for mosquitos to hatch etc. Cool set up

[@homesteadonomics]

lol... I thought about it but sometimes the words don't come out as well as they sound in my head...lol

[@dennisgeroux4483]

Good system for recovering run off rain water. Worked with poly tanks for 35 years and they do last a long time. We would always paint the tops of all the tanks so we could walk across them, added sand to the paint for traction on wet or icy days.