​     This past summer we had a crazy mix of weather that included two extended periods of dry weather, one was three weeks and the other lasted four weeks. Our rainbarrel system proved inadequate to provide water during the dry spells, and when the barrels were not completely full, we had insufficient pressure to water our upper raised bed. As a result it was necessary to supplement our rainwater with city water, costing money and setting our soil building efforts back. The chlorine in the water damages the ecology of the soil.

     The church membership has approved the purchase of a 485 gallon rainwater cistern which is specifically designed for catching, filtering and controlling the excess water from the roof of the church. Carolina Water Tank, located in Polk County, NC is a family owned and operated business that manufactures and services them in our region. http://carolinawatertank.com/raintank.html 

     Our goal is to become completely water self-sufficient. We will be installing the tank after the holidays in plenty of time for spring planting. More to come...

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Update

We have acquired our new rainbarrel and are excited to get it installed. We need to get a base built for it first but there will be 700 gallons of rainwater for our garden this year!