With the South Central Texas water supply fluctuating at an unnerving rate, water conservation and alternative water supplies are becoming necessary to meet a growing demand for fresh water. Rainwater harvesting is an easy-to-do technique that anyone can implement for accumulating, diverting and storing rainwater for later uses. Rainwater can be collected and stored in a personal cistern from various hard surfaces, such as roof tops, via gutters, and other types of manmade, above ground hard surfaces.
Above ground cisterns collect run-off through a gutter system resulting in rapid collection rates. You can collect more than half of your home’s square footage in gallons of water for every inch of rain that falls using a down spout. House+Earth offers the following cisterns, each constructed from galvanized steel with a food grade coating on the interior surface:
150 Gallon……. $498.67 1000 Gallon…..$1393.33
200 Gallon……. $557.37 1200 Gallon…..$1569.33
300 Gallon…….$733.33 1480 Gallon…..$1760.00
400 Gallon…….$777.33 1630 Gallon…..$1906.67
500 Gallon…….$916.67 2015 Gallon…..$2126.67
830 Gallon…….$1173.33 2500 Gallon…..$2347.67
The tanks have 1 1/4″ or 2″ bulkheads and a 1-year warranty against leakage. On the larger cisterns, a 12″ inspection cover can be added. We inventory the 150-gallon tank and there is a 4-6 week lead time on the others.
The City of Austin rainwater harvesting rebate programs are offering rebate amounts for $0.50 per gallon for non-pressurized systems and $1.00 per gallon for pressurized systems. All size tanks are eligible for these rebates and any cistern purchased for rainwater collection in the state of Texas is exempt from sales tax. Information about the rebate programs can be found here, along with more water conservation tips.
When choosing the right tank size don’t forget to consider the placement. The tank itself is light, but water weighs 8.34 pounds per gallon adding a tremendous amount of additional mass. Soils with high clay or sand content can be unsatisfactory because of their pliable characteristics. The most ideal underlayment is a bed of pea gravel. Gravel creates a level, erosion resistant base that filters water overflow into the ground below. An aluminum ring can also be purchased to contain the rocks or just for a more appealing, finished look for your system.
To learn more about rainwater harvesting or about the cistern tanks we carry, please contact us at 512-300-0484 or come in a see us.
House+Earth 
