We used water from the cistern for years and we did an occasional chlorine shock to it for clearing algae and bacteria, especially when a dead mouse was found in it. We did drink some bottled water, but we also drank the tank water. We had plans to put an ozone purifier (as found in pond supply catalogs) in the cistern and a waiter filter under the sink but it never happened. The cistern is now for watering plant sonly and we have a well drilled and use that water to drink.

If you want every tap to have pure water you must treat the tank. If just the kitchen needs pure water you can get a system and hook it in under the sink. Check Google, Dogpile and Yahoo search for types of purifiers.

Lee AKA Fireraven9
In the comforting shock of this monotone drum,
Someone hastily nails a coffin somewhere.
For whom?ÂYesterday was summer; here is autumn!
This mysterious noise seems the sound of departure.
- Charles Baudelaire, Song of Autumn

Thanks, Sue! I found several copies on half.com - one should be on the way here soon.

Having used cistern water several times in my life I will share what we always did so that the first run of dirty water did not make it into the tank. It is a simple thing called a tip bucket wherein the downspout first fills a bucket (or barrel depending on the roof size etc.), when that bucket fills it 'tips' spilling that dirtier water out (into another barrel many times so it is not lost for watering etc.). Once the bucket 'tips' (ie: pivots on a pully or siple rocking arm) a piece of pipe a bit larger than the downspout that is attached to the other side of the bucket lines up with the downspout and the pipe going on down into the cistern. The best one I ever made not only acted as a tip bucket, but also closed off the pipe going on down into the cistern by use of a scrap of innertube. The unit needs to be re-set by hand after the rain stops, but I am sure some of you interprising types could even figure out a way that it would right itself - LOL.

I still think the funniest things I hear in the USA now days is when the talk turns to "Water Conservation", as long as we continue to refuse to realise that this is one of the only places in the world that all of the water we use is potable water, even to wash a truck etc., that every tap everywhere is drinkable, we are whistling in the wind!

I know there are a few places on the WEB where a 'tip bucket/barrel' is shown and described far better than I have been able to do in this short note.

Well, hope this may help some, ENJOY!! DD

I have been using cistern water for 10 years now. I did chlorinate it the first year and never again afterwards.
Here it is a traditional method to obtain water and needless to say, there was no system of destroying patogens until recently.
the water in mine is in the dark and I am told that that is the key.
I have no filter since, having tried ona at the begining, found it to stop the rapid inflow of water in the heavy downpours that we get here.
so , no filter, no chemicals, straight from the roof.
still surviving

I agree, we never use anything in our cisterns, just drained and climbed in and cleaned thoroughly once a year and like you NO light and good seal to keep our critters etc. (raised lip a good couple of feet above ground level on ones that were set into the ground to avoid flood water and critter 'water' entry etc.)

Also for old cisterns that may have difficulty holding water OR for an old concrete cistern that may have been subjected to septic permiation there is a 2 part epoxy coating that they use for ship holds etc. (food grade) that is available from many ship chandlers that works VERY WELL! Had great luck with this when we had a house where we found there to be a persistent leak in the old septic (clay) pipes that went through the concrete foundation that the cistern was within a couple of feet of. We had that water tested for 2 years to be sure and evaluate the coating and it was pristine.

The Sep.-Oct. 2002 issue of BackHome magazine has an article on collecting rainwater that has an excellent roof washer in that you don't have to reset it and the dirty water can drain out slowly if you add the concept of holes in the bottom of the catchment barrel, leaving the catchment free for the next rainstorm. You have to see the diagram in the article for it to be clear and I'm not mechanically inclined enough to be able to explain it clearly but the article is very clear, giving information on an above ground rainwater collection system with specifications, modifications, etc. Also refers you to the author's website www.rdrop.com/users/krishna

Wow, I re-read my last post and it musta been pretty late--run-on sentences galore. Well, this morning I remembered another resource. Check out The Natural House, a book by Daniel D. Chiras. It has a whole chapter on environmentally sustainable water systems. Though it's an overview, it gives you a good idea of what is available plus there are multiple references to other sources--books, videos, organizations and builder/suppliers. Good luck.

Xanadu, do you happen to remember the page number of that article in BWH? I can't find it, for some reason. Thanks for the info.

I just traded a friend some strawberry plants for an 850 gallon plastic tank. Haven't decided quite yet how to set it up; may put it inside the shed with an overflow going outside. I'll be using a portion of the shed roof as a watershed. Current plans are to use it for laundry; and maybe a shower in the shed if I can find a small (camper?) propane water heater. Maybe seeing the difference in the water will convince Hubs to fork over the bucks for a real cistern here in the near future. And if not, well, we'll have some water holding capacity on hand in any case.

Thanks, everyone, for your help!

1. Concrete is expensive. Look up tanks in your
yellow pages, or search the net. There are polypropelene
tanks designed to be burried. Cost is around $1/gallon
capacity.

2. If you must use concrete, it will be cheaper to use
a preformed tank. Septic tanks are preformed.
They aslo have holes for fittings.

3. If you are collecting roof water, some caveats:
A new shingle roof will leach out considerable quantities of hydrocarbons of various flavours.
I don't think drinking them is a good idea. In
general a factory painted metal roof will work better.

4. Visualize a barrel with a small hole in the bottom,
and a disk of stryrofoam a bit smaller than the barrel.
From the top a overflow spout or pipe runs to your cistern.
It starts to rain. Water comes off the roof,
falls in the empty barrel. The styrofoam rises with
the water, even with the water pounding on it, it will
only sink an inch. When the water reaches the overflow
the clean water from top, or just under the styrofoam
flows there. The dirty water stays in the barrel.

When the rain stops, the small hole in the bottom of the
barrel drains the barrel getting it ready for the next
time.

Polly IL, I'll post here as well as send you an e-mail. The article I mentioned above is in BackHome, not Backwoods Home. Confusing, with such similar names. Try www.BackHomeMagazine.com.

I'll try to read a little more carefully next time! Thank you for taking the time to correct my error; and thanks for the info and web site addy.

May Cinder Blocks be used to build a cistern? I've heard cinder blocks will not keep the water in. After hearing that it was my intention just to use some cheap plastic.

Have built a cistern from concrete blocks. It works. cost is way under 1000 dollars for 2500 gallons.

Here is a link that might be useful: cistern pictures and water filters

Regarding drinking water, the solution is a gravity filter. They are unmatched for effectiveness. I have used the 'big berkey' by british berkefeld for years. We filter municipal water for drinking, if necessary I would filter rainwater from the barrels in it, or puddle-water.

BTW, I found a cheap way to store roof-water on a smallish scale, though a little bigger than the 55-gallon drums: failed bladder tanks that are used as pressure-tanks for wells. Check with your local well-driller and likely he will have many of them, free for the asking. I got a fiberglass one, 120 gallons. I cut a hole in the top to fit a standard plastic five-gallon bucket. I was able to pull the bladder out through the hole; then I cut the bottom off a bucket and it sits in the hole on top of the tank. I cut out most of the bucket-lid and sandwiched bronze window-screen between the lid and the bucket to keep out debris and skeeters. Then I attached a garbage-can lid upside down on that with a hole cut in the center to serve as a funnel to catch the rainwater falling from a gutter about 8 feet above. The fitting in the bottom of the tank that used to allow well-water in and out now drains the rainwater - simply attach pcv fittings to adapt to hose-thread. I had the fittings so total cost was zero.

i dont know anything about cistern i just bought a house and land i found on property a cistern behind garage made of cement its around 8x8 with two pipes comeing out of the side its all buried in ground i put a stick down in it and fills like small gravel in it i found in cellar the pipe come from it its not hocked up how do they work and what should i do to use it the reason i want to hook up is the water in house is terrable from taste to smell where should i start thank you

Danny,

You might have found an old septic tank that was decommssioned when a new one or city sewer was installed. We don't have old concrete cisterns around here but from what I have read older cisterns for water storage usually seem to be partially burried or above ground near buildings, under porches, or in basements.

For your situation if there is not crud in the water that is ruining your pipes or fixtures I would install an under the counter filter in the kitchen maybe with a special little faucet for drinking/cooking water. They are not that expensive and you should be able to DIY it in an hour. If the water is so bad that you don't want to bathe or clean with it you can install a whole house fixture but it will be more expensive to buy, could be harder to install, and probably cost more to maintain the filters.

acer60's page has a neat filter that will improve your water (I have been meaning to build one) but to use it in your existing plumbing you might have to repressurize the water with a pump, pressure switch, and pressure tank - pretty much what you would need if you had a shallow well, I think that they would be more expensive to buy, use and maintain than even a whole house filtration system. If you have 30 to 60 feet of elevation change on your property, placing the filter and a cistern uphill might be a long-term money saver if there is enough water main pressure.

Best of luck!

For lots of info on rainwater harvesting, see the online .pdf file (88 pages) from the Texas Water Development Board.

Here is a link that might be useful: Texas Manual on Rainwater Harvesting