Rainwater Collection for Potable Water

[aggie182]

My family has a chance to make the move on to some rural property and we're concerned (nearly convinced) that the well in place won't be able to keep up with our family of 4 on a full time basis. Not knowing how successful drilling another well will be, we're exploring other options for water.

Do any TBHers have a rainwater collection system in place for household use? If so, what information could you share? I'm curious about rough costs, size of tanks, filtering, how much of it is DIY with normal/limited tools, etc. I'm not a the greatest handyman by any means but I'm willing to put in work to save money where I can.

Any information would be greatly appreciated. I've gotten a bit of good info searching the other threads on this topic and those have me more intrigued to know more. YouTube has some good information as well so I'm watching them as time permits.

[Blank]

Better to collect your rainwater for non=potable uses like flowers and gardening, livestock watering, ponds, etc. If your really worried about it, I would go with a water service.

https://www.texasbulkwater.com

[ramrod]

What makes you think the well won't produce? Have you done a flow test or talked to any of the neighbors? I assume public water supply isn't in the area. I wouldn't want to deal with maintenance and filters for legit rain water system.

[DRettele]

If I understand your situation correctly my father was in the same boat. Basically the well couldn't keep up when they needed it to for showers, laundry, etc...

His issue was that the well needed time to recuperate before being able to pump water again. I'm probably not using the correct terminology here. Basically the well needed time for water to seep back into the area he is pumping from. He figured this out because he was running through pumps too quickly - basically burning them up from running them in a dry well.

What my father did was have the well company install a sensor on the pump to shut off the pump when there is no water to pump. He also had a very large (~10,000 gallon) water storage tank installed that the well pumps into when it can pump. This way he has water when he needs it and the well can restock the water storage tank when it is able.

[cj7zrcool]

This is the main reason I passed on a great deal on 57 beautiful acres in SE Jack County several years ago. Very poor ground water when you could find it. Guy that bordered the property to the west drilled 4 dry holes and on the 5th he was getting one quart of non-potable water per minute.

[aggie182]

Better to collect your rainwater for non=potable uses like flowers and gardening, livestock watering, ponds, etc. If your really worried about it, I would go with a water service.

https://www.texasbulkwater.com

We'll be in the Jacksboro area if we make the move happen, we will look in to a service there. We talked about a service but haven't looked in to it yet. I do know there is a place in Jacksboro where you can take your trailer and get your own. I'm trying to prevent that if possible.

What makes you think the well won't produce? Have you done a flow test or talked to any of the neighbors? I assume public water supply isn't in the area. I wouldn't want to deal with maintenance and filters for legit rain water system.

My in-laws have a house on the property and we spent the better part of a week there during the holidays. There is a 2600 gallon tank in the well house and through the week, it didn't appear it would recover fast enough if we were there long term.

[JeffK]

I would consider collecting rainwater for irrigation but not for potable use. Is the water quality okay in the well? You could run the well water in a storage tank and then use a pump & bladder tank.

[Johnny44]

Rainwater can absolutely be done but you should consult the professionals. The trick is to have enough storage to last between rains. Filtering the water really ain’t a biggie.

[aggie182]

This is the main reason I passed on a great deal on 57 beautiful acres in SE Jack County several years ago. Very poor ground water when you could find it. Guy that bordered the property to the west drilled 4 dry holes and on the 5th he was getting one quart of non-potable water per minute.

This place is in SE Jack County as well, near Joplin.

[Texas Grown]

I was on a corporate lease just north of town there along Lost Creek several years ago. Besides the stock tanks on the place, there was an Artisan well at camp from the old railroad, with a pump for pressured water. Just a thought if your soil is doable.

[Boss Buck]

Our cabin at the ranch is on rain water. I think its 10,000 gallons and is filtered. I believe we were told it cost about 10K. they added gutter to pavilion, cabin, and the bunk house for the collections. Good luck

[cj7zrcool]

This place is in SE Jack County as well, near Joplin.

Yep, this was off Oilfield Rd. I think I could have bought that place for $2250/acre, but I was planning on building a home on it and no reliable source of water killed it. If I'd known what land prices were going to do then, I'd have bought it anyway and just sat on it for a while to flip.

[Blackmouth]

https://www.seedsource.com/restore/rainwater.asp

https://www.energy.gov/eere/femp/downloads/rainwater-harvesting-tool

[aggie182]

Our cabin at the ranch is on rain water. I think its 10,000 gallons and is filtered. I believe we were told it cost about 10K. they added gutter to pavilion, cabin, and the bunk house for the collections. Good luck

Thanks for the info. I appreciate it.

[lanceodom]

We'll be in the Jacksboro area if we make the move happen, we will look in to a service there. We talked about a service but haven't looked in to it yet. I do know there is a place in Jacksboro where you can take your trailer and get your own. I'm trying to prevent that if possible.




My in-laws have a house on the property and we spent the better part of a week there during the holidays. There is a 2600 gallon tank in the well house and through the week, it didn't appear it would recover fast enough if we were there long term.

I would consider doing several things. Collecting rainwater is a good idea and I would do that. I would also try to gauge usage on a daily/weekly basis.
Then depending on that usage, consider a bigger storage tank (or several) that if they struggle to be filled by the well, you can get filled by an outside source. I would also hire a water well consulting firm to come give me their best guess as to how to increase output, other options etc? We used a group out of Hondo, Peerless Equipment for our ranch purchase in South Texas and they did a good job. There has to be someone in your area that does the same?