Water Collection Cost Benefit

by Mark Shead on September 8, 2010

The footprint of our house that puts water into gutters is about 2,500 square feet.  This means one inch of water will put about 1,500 gallons through our gutters. with 44 inches of rainfall per year, that means we could collect 66,000 gallons of water from the roof.  Water costs $5 per 1,000 gallons, so if we could use every gallon of water that falls on the roof, it would save us $330 per year.

It looks like you can get a 2,000 gallon water tank for about $2,000. If we need enough capacity to capture 4 inches of water, that would require 6,000 gallon capacity.  I did find a 6,000 gallon tank for about $3,500. We’d also need a pump, additional piping, and the cost of installing it. The best scenario I can imagine would put the cost at $4,000.

If we were able to use all 66,000 gallons instead of rural water, it would take us 12 years to break even if it were to cost $4,000.  Chances seem fairly high that there would be other expenses–like repairs along the way which would push the cost up even more.

Realistically, unless the price of water shoots up dramatically, it is going to be less expensive to water our grass using rural water than collected rain water.

People Found This When Looking For:

  • cost of 6000 gallons of water (3)
  • cost of water tank volume of 6 000 liters (2)
  • cost of 1500 gallons of water (2)
  • cost benefit rainwater collectors (2)
  • 66 000 Gallons of water (2)
  • price of 6000 gallons of water (1)
  • how many inches of rain a year does it take to keep a 2000 gallon water tank full (1)
  • wave machine aquarium 6000 gallon tank (1)
  • how much does 6000 gallons of water cost (1)
  • how much does ir cost to pump 6000 gallons of water (1)

Leave a Comment

Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting.

Previous post:

Next post: