How to Install a Water-Retention System

Installing a water retention system is a way to utilize natural rainfall for the purposes of irrigation. This system also allows you access to prevent flooding and water seepage around the periphery of your property. When water falls off the roof of your home, and through the eaves, it is generally deposited at the edge of your home, keeping the foundation moist for extended periods of time. Instead of using city water resources for your garden, you can harvest this water for free, while also protecting the foundation of your home from water damage.

Large-capacity plastic cistern
ABS piping

Instructions

- 1
  Locate a site on your property to install the cistern. Some like to build these just under the surface of the ground, but this is not necessary. Try to locate it as low as possible below the grade your house was built on so the cistern can be filled by gravity.
- 2
  Connect a length of ABS piping from the outlet of your eave runoff spout to the inlet of your cistern. This may require the use of elbows or other directional joints.
- 3
  Mount the ABS piping from the eave output spout across your property into the cistern. Ideally you will want this mounted into the top of the cistern, located below the grade of the spout. If this is not possible, you will need to route the water piping from a source higher than the grade of the house, such as from the eave itself.
- 4
  Connect a length of ABS piping to the overflow outlet on the cistern and route it to an appropriate area. Overflow water should be routed to an area that contains soil suitable for drainage, such as sandy or gravel type soils.
- 5
  Connect the inlet tube from an electric water pump into the cistern with the output fed into your standard garden hose. This can then be activate whenever irrigation is necessary, or can be treated and used for drinking water.

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