When I originally posted that we were going to use rainwater collection as our only source of water, a few people asked me to post later, so here it is. We live in Texas in a county that is still designated as suffering severe drought, so more than one person has expressed doubt about choosing rainwater collection for the sole water source. The same drought conditions can affect the ground water sources, and in our area there is plenty of concern about the drain on the aquifer by all the development being encouraged. We have heard that initial wells went dry a few years back. Few people in our subdivision who came late to the game and have to drill 750' or more for water are completely satisfied with the water. It is very hard and can damage appliances even if softened. One lady here does rainwater collection for her pool because no one would go in with the strong sulfur smell. The cost of a well can go over $23k; the pumps wear out prematurely, and it takes a crane to pull them for replacement. So you can see that people might consider alternative solutions.

We decided to go with a 20k gallon galvalume tank with an FDA-approved liner and an initial filter as the water comes in; there is also an overflow outlet and a special connection for fire trucks. We constructed the sand and gravel pad for it and ensured it was lower than the lowest part of our roof guttering. We got a metal roof and were pleasantly surprised at the cost after shopping around very diligently; the gutters came with the roof, and they provided holes and drops for downspouts. Our roof is quite large and is the key feature in collecting rain. There are figures you use to estimate how much an inch of rain will yield off your roof, and ours will provide about 2000 gallons. We catch from both the main roof and porch roof. The gentleman who provided the tank also provided two filters, our UV light purification, and a 1hp pump to pump into the house. These we set up in a small pump house next to the main house.

DH and my DB were doing most of the work on the house, so after a lot of research and study, they decided we could save some serious money if they ran the pipes from the gutters to the tank. Normally, a turnkey job is about the same cost as a well. We had advice from some pros who are old friends as well. We ran downspouts down to a pipe that runs along the outside perimeter of the house. We live on solid rock, so any trenching had to be deemed completely necessary. Knowing we would eventually bring in some dirt for planting, DH just buried the pipe along the walls of the house with dirt so it doesn't show. From this pipe, the water goes across a small distance to the tank in a trench. Then it goes, and here is where you have to believe in physics, UP to the tank and in to that initial filter. There is also a pipe with a fitting that shoots off before the tank so we can empty the pipes. It is called a "wet" system since water remains in the pipes between rain events. Most systems would have had a "first wash" downspout to take the first rain for discarding. We were advised against this by the pro who provided our tank and filters, etc.since we have virtually no trees near our roof. The roof is not only large, it is quite high in the air. In the picture, the tank is just to the left of the house.

The late September tank delivery was delayed until November (fracking operations south of us were monopolizing the rainwater tank business), so we missed some really good rains in October. We purchased some bulk drinking water, 6000 gallons, from a local water company. At present, prices are not terribly high. Our last home was in a subdivision with a private water company that charged $100 mo for water and sewer before use. So the water we bought for $360 did not seem onerous to us. It is conceivable that the price of delivered water could go up. Since buying this water, we have had only three "good rains," and a number of misty, drizzly rains of less than .5". After a 3.5" rain last month, the tank is now 3/4 full. We expect this will last until the dry summer is over and the typical September rains come. Otherwise, we might be buying water again.

The water is naturally soft, tastes fine, and we have no doubts about drinking it, bathing in it, or cooking with it. There is much less soap scum in our tubs and showers. We are very satisfied at this point with our choice. Many people on rain systems become fanatic water conservationists. We have not really changed our lifestyle, but we realize we could. We do watch the weather a lot more than we used to. We determined that even if our rainfall decreases to half the 20" that is considered "normal" rainfall, 10 inches per year, it would provide enough water for our use. Below that we would have to hope that water suppliers do not raise their prices a great deal. We have no water bill and will save annually about $1000 because we get a county tax credit in this county for having rainwater as our water source.

We installed gutters and a non-potable 2500 gal. water tank for our garage roof. This tank has already overflowed. The water is for planting landscape plants at a later stage. Now we are using it to water trees between rains.

So, six months in, we are optimistic and happy with our rainwater collection system. There are others with similar systems in our subdivision, and some of the new builds going on here will have them. I hope this answers questions for anyone interested in having a rainwater system. It was a solution for a particular set of circumstances, and one we could do some of the labor on ourselves to save installation costs.