Thinking about installing some in Aledo. Would be 2-4 downspouts with a 55 gallon barrel each. Curious if anyone has done it, if maintenance is easy, if it can be done in a way that looks halfway decent. Would be used for supplemental garden bed irrigation.

We have some drainage challenges that need to be addressed and I'd rather catch some of the water than divert it all off of the property with no benefit to my garden.

Will not hold much as noted above. If you have property, install a cistern underground and pump it our.

What I think I'm reading is that the amount in storage won't make up for the eyesore. Fair?

We have 2 500 gallon tanks. One on each side of the house. We use an external pump. Eye sore? Yes. In the backyard so I don't really care.

GBMont3 said:

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What I think I'm reading is that the amount in storage won't make up for the eyesore. Fair?

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And that you won't really be able to use it for what you are thinking.

I agree with this sort of volume thinking, especially after Aggieland's past summer drought and water company rations that did not save most lawns and other items. KUDOs

If ACC restricted, 1000+ gal cisterns/septic tanks can be evergreen screened or buried by the septic guys.

I hope other opinions chime in about how imprtant it is to a) screen out mosquitoes to avoid a summer nightmare, b) erect mosquito killers/sprays/etc. for the water scent & your rainwatering will attract them.


TMI
The 55g serves only 7 hanging baskets well in non-drought years and the kitchen R.O. system had to substitue in droughts
The 100g setup last big drought summer didn't even make it through June but we added freeze-replacement palms, elephant ears, cannas, etc. to the demand
FYI, the local water is SO "salty"/sodium, it can even burn the leaves off plants. Only employed as a last resort, the application must be to overwater with it only where drainage is superior enough to allow the salts to run away and not collect.

If you're going to collect rainwater for grass, consider that it takes just over half a gallon to water 1" per square foot. Most lawns need about 1" of water per week. If you're on a .15 acre lot with a 1600 sf building footprint, you need to water about 4500-5000 sf, and watering 1" will require about 2500 gallons per week. If you're following that schedule, you're using 10,000 gallons a month on the grass. At that rate, even a 2,500-5,000 gallon system is just a good supplement for a few weeks. You can cut the amount of watering and it'll help you get through a bad drought with local water rationing, but you still need a pretty substantial system to water anything beyond shrubs and planters. You'll also need several inches of rain to fill up a system that size with 1,600 sf building footprint.

Thinking about getting 1-2 barrels as well more for emergency type use. Had a pool during the 2021 storm that allowed us to keep flushing toilets while without water for 5 days. Want to make sure we have some water for basic stuff like that at least and can tuck it away on the side of the house where it won't be an eye sore.

HDeathstar said:

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Will not hold much as noted above. If you have property, install a cistern underground and pump it our.

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Looking to build a house, and, yes, Local water is not the best source as TGI mentioned. This cistern option is an interesting one - curious.

We have one on a downspout.

It's forest green, designed with aesthetics in mind, and looks fine (some do look terrible) -- our PITA HOA hasn't minded, which is rare. Captured water is only used for a few small garden beds. As others said it fills very fast so have a plan for overflow, and any extended use for lawn etc. irrigation wouldn't be practical.