We have a “year-round” spring that wasn’t so year-round this year. And we have 3300 gallons of water storage that was just about used up . . . no significant rain in the forecast. What to do . . . ?!?
We made our need known to a good friend and the result was the Ava Volunteer Fire Department coming to the rescue in the form of a tanker! 
Our two 1500 gallon tanks were filled first and then the hose was moved to our “little” 300 gallon tank that isn’t currently hooked up to any catchment system. A few moments after the tank was full and the lid was replaced, the adventure of the day began. The pallets under the tank gave way and the tank began to fall!
Thankfully, a corner post, some strong arms, and a few two by fours kept the tank from crashing to the ground. We had to drain the tank and ratchet strap it from Kip’s truck, around to another corner post, where is still sits atop the cracked pallet, empty. But, all ended well that day with our two bigger tanks full, plenty of water for BATHS!
We are so thankful to our good friend, Chris, for coordinating the water delivery and to Dilbert and his grandson, from the Ava Fire Department, for hanging in their with us through the toppling tank incident.
This experience has inspired us and given us fresh motivation to increase our rainwater catchment capacity. Our total annual water need for our family is about 15,000 gallons and for our animals is about the same, 15,000 gallons. We have enough catchment surface area to catch about 50,000 gallons of rainwater, based on the following equation:
Catchment Area (sq. ft.) x Annual Rainfall (inches) x 0.623 Conversion Factor
Our goal is to use ponds, our creek, and small catchment systems off of chicken coops to water our animals. But, we need more tank storage capacity for our family. We hope to invest in some IBC totes some day soon. They are not as expensive as the tanks we currently have and we think they will be a little easier to handle and give us the option of positioning them inside our add on and future greenhouse space, to help with winter freezing issues.
Do you catch rainwater? How is it working out for you?
1000's of roots 
October 23, 2017 at 11:46 pm
We catch rainwater off the back half of our house roof. We have 4 IBC containers set up for that, and one more IBC for catchment off our barn to water the gardens. We also have “city water” so we don’t rely on these for all our water needs.
Great post!
October 25, 2017 at 9:51 am
Glad to hear that the IBC containers are working for you. Thanks for sharing!
October 24, 2017 at 8:36 am
Kip! So happy you all were able to get two bigger tanks full of water! Sending You and your Beautiful Family lots of Love and well wishes. Thanks for sharing! So interesting!
October 25, 2017 at 9:53 am
Luis! Thanks for the love and well wishes. Glad you stopped by to share. Love and blessings back to you!
April 13, 2018 at 2:24 pm
We have city water, but a friend of mine from church, whose house flooded during the last hurricane, gave me a white barrel so I can catch rainwater in for my plants. I just have to figure out how to put a spigot in the side of it and get my hubby to build a frame to sit it on. I hope they never take that privilege away from us, catching rainwater that is.