Swiger Residence - Rainwater Harvesting in TN

Rainwater harvesting is the gradual gathering, storage, and subsequent use of rainwater for domestic use. Other than the numerous environmental benefits the system has, the homeowner stands to save on cost while getting water that is of excellent quality. Ultimately, rainwater harvesting stands to be a great alternative to well and city water as it saves on costs while still delivering excellent quality water.

The Swiger Story

The Swiger home is located in the rolling hills of Tennessee. At first, rainwater harvesting was not really a consideration.

"We bought the property on a hope that after we purchased we could find water by digging a well.  Most raw property sellers will not let you dig a well prior to purchase. Shortly after purchasing property we dug a well. It took us two years to build our dream home.  We finished in March 2021. Then three weeks after we moved in, the well stopped working." Without a doubt, this created a a serious problem.

"Saturday morning, my wife wakes up and says, "we have no water." At this point, the homeowner had drilled a well to 184 feet and hit a void. "We moved over 100 yards and drilled an additional 200 feet and got a gallon a minute." Still, this amount was not enough for the home.

As for the motivation for investing in a rainwater harvesting system, the homeowner points out, "I just built our retirement home, and all this money on a walk in shower and custom bathroom, and I'm not living out a gallon water jug."

Evidently, there was a need for a water supply system that would ensure that the household ran sustainably.

"I went to all the hippie sites, collecting water from buckets, and I'm too old for that." It is at this point that the homeowner settled for rainwater harvesting as not only was it convenient, it would mean greater savings and better quality water.

"So I started doing some research, and you are the only other company that will come out this far and do it."

True to our business model, we go as far as needed and are timely as it pertains to responding to your calls.

"Daniel came out and gave us an estimate and said, "you guys will get plenty of water."

It is worth noting that at this time, the homestead was serving on less than enough gallons.

"We hadn't had gutters yet, so we put 5 gallon buckets around the house and it filled up about 60 gallons in one rainstorm. We were basically living out of 5 gallon buckets until you guys could get out here."

The System

The system at the Swiger home was installed in April. So far, we have had a constant supply of water, which then supplies our home throughout the year.

"Well, everybody was saying, "You better be careful what if there's a drought, and that has never been a problem."

Considering that the home is located within a hill, the household has never really had to suffer inadequate water.

"We have never gotten down to 4,000 gallons. We fell into the right build. We have a bigger roof sq. ft than the house, a hipped metal roof, and as such the tanks are full all the time."

With the 5,000 gallons of storage, it is given that the home would not have to deal with insufficient water. The homeowner muses, "We don't worry about water anymore."

The main components of the rainwater harvesting system at the home included the collection surface, downspouts, pre-filtration systems, storage tanks, and a distribution system. Sanitization features are also included to ensure that the household ends up with excellent water quality.

Living with Rainwater Harvesting

Before settling for rainwater harvesting, the household had to deal with poor quality well water. He mentions just how horrible the groundwater was.

"It was super hard water. I sent it off to get tested and they had to recalibrate their machines. They sent the result back with the response that we were basically drinking liquid rock."

"Once you get off the hippie idea of collecting rainwater, once you get out of that mindset, it's no different than having a well."

It is evident that the process is rather straightforward. The homeowner points out that it is quite easy to keep tabs on the amount of water.

As for the experience with the system, the homeowner muses at the amount of attention the system gets. During the interview, they point out that, "I don't have neighbors here, but people come by and see the tanks and wonder if it's for cattle. They often say they wonder how we could be drinking water off our roof."

Overall, switching to rainwater harvesting has meant that not only do we get to save on cost, but also the homestead gets the best quality water.

A Focus on Water Quality and the Environment

When it comes to collecting, storing, and using rainwater, there are concerns over water quality. The homeowner muses how, knowing the benefits of rainwater harvesting, they would have had it done earlier.

"Had I known about this system, I would have never dug a well. The problem is that people just don't know about it. This system means any property can be turned into your dream home.  You don't have to worry about where the water for the house will come from."

At first, the homeowner was concerned about water quality. Having learned about the system, these fears were soon laid to rest.

On average, the water is taken through several filtration systems, thus ensuring that the water is as pure as can be.

The Swiger household is relatively environmentally conscious. During the interview, the homeowner points out that, "It's raining, so we gotta do laundry now so we don't waste all the extra water." It is thus evident that when there is an influx of water, the household makes the effort to use all the extra water to avoid an overflow.

As a business, the goal was always been to provide normal Americans with a reliable water source. The idea has always been that we wanted users to feel confident enough to turn on the faucet and get the water.

When you subcontract us to work on a rainwater harvesting system for you, we help you plan how to collect and use the rainwater you collect. We help you figure out what system works best for you and how you can use the gathered water for your household needs. Get in touch today and let our consultants design a rainwater system for you.