Careful for what you ask for they say.. All of my whining about unending rain in April.. Lord, what I wouldn’t give for a few hours of that sound on our roof.

We have kind of given up on our well. It just does not produce what we need or what we were used to at the other end of the island. Truth is, it’s been a couple of years since we have really had the water during the summer which we need.

So we bucked up and spent a bunch of money on a spiffy new rain water catchment system. E installed it. We are set to go… If you live off grid or are in any way interested in rain water catchment… carry on.. if not… we will see you tomorrow.

Our property is 2.5 acres with four distinct levels to it. A 60 foot rise from the house to the tanks at the top. The roof is 1200 square feet, give or take… Our understanding is that a 1000 square foot roof produces 500 gallons from an inch of rain. A potential of 20,000 gallons per year on this property.

The water goes off of the metal roof, into the gutters, down the four corner pipes and into one central entry spot to the new Wisy vortex filter. The Wisy  acts as a first flush diverter. Solely through the use of gravity the water spins in a vortex, 5% goes out a pipe over the cliff with the leaves and needles. The other 95% goes through a fine metal mesh filter and into a 500 gallon collection tank under the deck.

Once the tank is full,  the 120 volt, submersible transfer pump will come on. The water is then sent 400 feet up the hill to the water tanks. There are 2 X 1500 gallon tanks and 1 X 1000 gallon tank at the top of the hill. One level down from the tanks at the garden, there are 2 X 500 gallon tanks which can be filled separately from the house filtering system.

When we turn the tap on down at the house, water comes down the hill from the tanks to the studio level, mid-way. There is a pressure tank, 12 volt pump and particle filter at that stage. It then proceeds down the hill to the house where it goes through another particle filter, a charcoal filter and a UV light. The UV light is powered by our inverter. 

The whole system is automatic and powered by the solar power system we installed in the fall… and gravity…

During the winter we have a lot of rain and an unlimited supply. We can add as many tanks as we want to this system in the winter and have the summer garden of my dreams with no worry about water.

We have been enjoying the fruits of the solar panel system we installed in the fall and appreciate how much money it will save us over time with the abundant sun we get here.

We are looking forward to appreciating the same reward

with free rain water.

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