Green-Trust.Org

In our quest to conserve resources, and reduce expenses, we decided to capture rainwater, and install a composting toilet. The rain gutters direct roof water to a 1000 gallon concrete cistern. The cistern is connected to the house water system with a 12v piston pump. The piston pump has two sets of valves, so I can select the cistern, or the shallow well. The well goes dry in the hottest parts of summer. In order to reduce water usage, we installed a Sears front loader washer, and a waterless composting toilet by Nature’s Head. This reduced our water usage by 50%. In winter, when the rain water system freezes up, we switch back to the well, but we miss the soft water. A larger tank would allow us to use rain water all winter. The water is purified with our Berkey water purifier for drinking and cooking, eliminating the need for bottled water.