Rainwater tank

Rainwater tank

       Here's a wiki link on the subject:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainwater_tank

            Here's a wiki link on cisterns: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cistern

            Here's another link on making your own cistern:  http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/the-homestead-cistern.aspx#axzz2glJvi847

Poster's comments:

1) I once lived in an old house built in 1888. I lived in it in the late 1950's to the early 1960's.

2) It had a cistern built in. Basically the rainwater off the roof was collected and run through a charcoal filter, and then into an underground container to retain the water.  As needed the water was then pumped back up by hand to we humans to use for all our purposes, like drinking, cooking, bathing, bathroom, etc.

3) The setup had a diverter so if the cistern got full, the extra water was diverted away. During drought periods, I guess we humans made other plans.

4) There was no public clean water back in 1888, at least where this house was built on Main Street.

5)  The cistern cavity is now a fancy wine cellar with a narrow staircase to get down to it. While the temperature is cool to humans, it is definitely above freezing, naturally.

6)  One hard times idea is to build and share a cistern. Another is to build a pond dam, though one has to view solar evaporation and contamination as problems to be considered. Heck, an abandoned cistern could be used as a natural refrigerator, too.