Derek Howlett

Here is one other option



The water tanks and the pump/pressure tank won't need to be buried. The pressure tank/pump especially.

Tyler Ludens wrote:It seems to me it would be more useful to put the roof on a structure like a small pole barn so you can use it to store stuff, an outdoor eating or working area.  Can't have too many covered outdoor spaces around the farm.  This way you wouldn't have to go to the trouble of burying the tanks. Not all tanks are made to withstand the stresses of burial, so you might need to buy special tanks, which would be even more expensive than normal tanks.

I could dig out the tanks but not backfill completely so they aren't actually buried.

The purpose of building the roof on blocks is because it's going to be quite large. 2000+ sq ft. We live in southern Arizona and get 11-14" of rain per year so we need the catchment area.

Doing a pole barn is definitely a consideration but it would add tremendously to the cost and difficulty of building it.

Hey everyone!

I've attached a photo of the current design I have for our rainwater harvesting.

From the tanks to the ground roof (I'm building a roof raised on cinder blocks because we are living in a tiny house, not enough catchment area), it's about 150' with a 4.5 ft elevation change. Because of that I will have to bury the tanks about 4ft down. The tanks are 8ft tall.

The pump and pressure tank will then be about 4-5' above the bottom of the tank.

I'm curious if the pump will be able to suck the water out of the bottom of the tank like a straw when the level gets below the level of the pump.

Do any of you have any recommendations for a pump and pressure tank? I'm not sure what I should be looking for.

Cheers,

Derek