Back in the 2010's, I lived in a single-family home in a suburb of Orange County, California. We were solidly in a drought that had been plaguing the West for several years. While I had no danger of completely running out of water, there was definitely a financial incentive to conserve. By collecting the runoff from my daily shower and filling my toilet tank with it, my flushes didn't use fresh potable water. While this a good use of gray water, we also need alternative methods to collect water if city water supplies are disrupted. In a long-term emergency, you'll want to stretch your existing water storage as long as possible, so having ways like this to supplement is smart.

In This Post

What's your goal?

Collection Setups

Pro Tip

Other Considerations

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Content

Final Thoughts

What's your goal?

With most urban and suburban dwellings hooked up to a water system and sewer, the urban or suburban resident is in a good non-disaster water situation. Even so, many people seek to capture rainwater because we hate to see waste and not just food waste. Your goal might be simple, such as collecting and directing gutter downspout discharge into a garden, or a survival-related project of keeping a couple of barrels full of water, "just in case." Your goal and your circumstances determine your set-up.