Living off-grid means you are not dependent on anyone to live your life. You save a lot of money as you do not have to pay any utilities because you generate your own electricity and get your own water. With all this money saved you can pay off your mortgage quickly and after this would not even have to work if you did not want to as you can live 100% off your land. If you are considering going off grid, below are some things you should know so you can ensure that you and your family always has safe drinking water.
Getting Your Water From a Cistern
You could harvest rain into a cistern, which is a tank that is installed underground or above the ground. The tank is generally made of fiberglass, steel, or concrete. Water flows from your rain gutters into the tank and the water is then pumped back into your house. If you choose an underground cistern, it will require a pump to route the water to you. You should not use a cistern if you live in an area that does not receive a lot of rain, however.
What your roof is made of is also a factor. For example, if you have asphalt shingles you would have to install a filtering system before the water flows into the tank. This is because asphalt contains a large amount of metal. A metal roof or a clay roof would work best.
During times when you are getting a lot of rain, your cistern could easily overflow. For this reason, purchase a cistern that has a shut off water inflow feature. If the cistern is full of water, this will shut off the water automatically as it flows into the cistern and redirect the water to another area on your land.
You should consider hiring a contractor to install the cistern for you to ensure it is installed and will work properly for you.
Potable Water
You should also contact a company, such as Jim's Water Truck Service, in your area that can provide you with potable water in an emergency. For example, if your septic tank goes down and no one can come and fix it for a few days you would be without water. There could have been something like a tornado or an earthquake in your area that damaged your water system. This company can get water to you quickly so you will not have to go without water for very long.
Potable water is completely safe to drink and to cook with because it is filtered, cleaned, and treated. This means there is no harmful bacteria or any kind of contaminants in the water. Potable water can be water that has been purified using reverse osmosis, UV filtered water, and distilled water.
Now that you have learned about how you are going to get water you should learn about how you are going to get your electricity so you and your family can be safe and comfortable in your new home.
