Hello, I am an environmental engineer sharing my design for a ~300 gallon IBC tote rainwater collection system. What makes this different and beneficial for self-sufficiency is the low cost per gallon. This tote also provides a large enough storage tank to use a dedicated irrigation pump for reuse. You could make this as simple or as complex as you wanted to.
IBC totes are frequently used for storing and transporting food grade materials, so there is an aftermarket for cheap used totes, you just have to verify what they were used for. I got this 275 gallon tote off of marketplace for $100 USD. It was previously used to transport food dye. They are highly durable because they’re built out of HDPE and galvanized steel.
Other Materials:
Leaf filter, from $10 to $70 - my preference is the Leaf Eater Advanced ($66)
Downspout diverter, my preference is Earth minded Flexifit diverter ($20)
PVC pipe and valves, figure $50
Total entry cost including tank: $180 - $240
Optional:
Lid adapter for two inlet ports $10
1 HP irrigation pump $140
Discharge splitter $10
Wi-Fi controller $30
Piggy-back Level float, alternative controller $50
Ozone injector to keep the water fresh and odor free: $400 (luxury) JED Engineering model 203
It would be good to know which wifi controller and “alternative controller” you are planning to use. I’m after one, but so far, most of them I have seen need crappy apps. I want mine to use an open API etc.
Check your local regulations also. In some localities, diverting and collecting rainwater is not legal. Some places where it isn’t legal have exceptions for irrigation though.
Just be aware before spending a lot of time and money on a project.
And these laws are FUCKING RIDICULOUS.
Usually they are there to make sure the (storm water or mixed) sewerage systems get properly flushed. It’s not as ridiculous as it sounds at first.
Usually they are there to make sure the (storm water or mixed) sewerage systems get properly flushed
I think that might be mostly from inherited old regulations/infrastructure, as most modern policies revolve around having separate storm water and sewage system for the opposite reason, as they don’t want all the extra rain water overflowing the sewage treatment systems
And yet they allow corporations to relentlessly pillage all water sources going 2-3x their paid water rights while the populations eat the costs and effects…
It is all excuses to increase water insecurity.
I understand some of the reasoning behind it, but it doesn’t logically make much sense in the end, as if you collect rainwater, you’re eventually going to return it later…
The water cycle ends with me.
I can’t figure out what you mean.
Isn’t that normally for water that has landed on the ground rather than on your own roof? What if you just dug some trenches to collect the rainwater in the land it just happens to collect in a pond
Maryland had talked about making our illegal to collect any rainwater, be it from your roof or anywhere else. I no longer live there so I never kept up with it.
ETA: looks like Maryland did not impose restrictions on rainwater collection after allon. And Montgomery County offers incentives.
In New Mexico both Albuquerque and Santa Fe offer incentives.
https://worldwaterreserve.com/is-it-illegal-to-collect-rainwater/
I am not collecting the water, it just happens to have flooded that part of my garden. “Land of the free” and you can’t even leave an open container outside if its raining?
More of a shopping list than a design?
Where did you get the cover?
You can also buy IBCs with galvanised sides, which is pretty cool. They can be £10-20 more expensive, but makes the whole thing more robust, in my opinion.
Eg: https://smithsofthedean.co.uk/product/ibc-tank-1000-litre-galvanized/
Ours have little holes drilled in the front side every 100l to expose the plastic tank underneath, so you can see the liquid level.
I would recommend this type so you don’t need a separate cover, which could get ripped etc.
Those look nice, but I have already got two tanks…
Thanks for the shopping list. I’m in the early thinking/planning stages for a rain water collection system at my own house. Love seeing what other people are doing.
so its like a bag? like does it inflate with water and then deflate as you use it or is it rigid?
No it is rigid. Just search for “IBC container” and you will see how it looks under that cover. Those tanks are widely used to transport liquids.
I found a site that lists used tanks. https://ibctoterecycling.com//used-ibc-containers-for-sale/
Which controller are you using for your setup? Any reason in particular?
I’m wondering if I should set up a misting nozzle for mine and if I’d need a pump for it.
What would one use 300 gallons of rainwater for? I’m not trying to sound judgemental or whatever, I’m actually curious because 300 sounds like a lot. Is it mainly for irrigation? Would that make sense for a larger garden? I’ve heard that some people use graywater for flushing toilets, is this part of that?
Our UK garden is about 75x75m, which is a decent size, but not massive. About half to 3/4 of it is grass, which I hardly ever water, and haven’t this year even though we had a drought.
We have 5 IBCs, and several other randomly-sized water butts (~7000l total (1500gal UK, 1850gal US)), to keep our veggies and fruit bushes watered. We ran out this summer, and had to use about 500l of tap water until it rained again :(
Dry periods are likely to get worse in future, so I need to get more water storage. I also want to start using rain water to wash clothes (or at least fabrics we use for our pet rabbit houses), but I need a good filtering system first.
We have 2 IBCs stacked, and I was trying to use the top one to gravity-feed our downstairs toilet cistern for flushing and worked well, although it took 7 minutes for the cistern to fill, which isn’t great if you have to accommodate a lot of people. It is good enough for us though.
I could add a pump to speed up the process, but I’m trying not to add more cost and complications to the system unnecessarily.
I can fit 1 more IBC in somewhere - they don’t look pretty, but they are very practical. I normally transport them home on the top of my car on a roof-rack… and drive slowly! :)
When there isn’t much rain in the summer and you try to keep your plants alive with collected rainwater, I assure you that it empties fast
Tbh even my fairly small garden could make use of this much water in the UK. I focused on keep stuff alive rather than optimal growing conditions.
Problem I find is that collecting rainwater is difficult to justify on the price of it. I looked at tanks out of curiosity, but water is so cheap that it could never realistically pay for its self.
Space is also difficult as my garden is fairly small. Looked at underground tanks but the prices there are even more crazy. I think the most cost effective option for me would be to just dump greywater on the garden instead. That just costs a pipe. Maybe something to put over the pipe where it crosses the path to avoid a trip hazard.
It’s just water bro. Shower, laundry, drink it, whatever. I have a thousand gallon tank, nice family home might have 10k. No other water source
I am not the OP, but even if it doesn’t have practical use, I just think this is coolest thing ever. It also aligns with self-sufficiency and resilience values of this solarpunk server
