Rainwater, except in the most arid of climates or in areas experiencing drought is readily available and there for the taking.

In a survival situation, that storage of rainwater can mean being able to water a garden or even, after it is purified, to drink.

Here is a simple to build and inexpensive way to build a rainwater collector.

We decided to located the rain barrels under the stairs so they would be out of the way, but still close to the greenhouse and garden.

The downspout was rerouted down the stairs to the barrels. Remember, once a 55 gallon drum is full of water it will weigh over 450 pounds, so whatever surface you have should be sturdy and level. To have additional capacity, we linked two drums together.

To keep debris and bugs out of the tank, we cut out the center of a two part lid and inserted mesh window screen into the opening.

PVC pipe connected the two tanks, and an overflow pipe was fitted to the second barrel, along with drain pipe.

This spring, before putting them back into action, I gave the barrels a good cleaning. You really want to scrub them out at the beginning of the season to make sure you’re not starting off with contaminated water.

If you’ve got open water, mosquito dunks may be helpful, but a screen works just as well if not better. The active ingredient in mosquito dunks is “Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies israelensis” (Bt), which attacks the larval stage of mosquitoes. This is a naturally occurring soil bacteria.

Collecting rainwater is an easy way to ensure you have water if you encounter a survival situation. You can use it to clean with as well as to water a garden and if you purify it, to drink.

To learn more on how to use this rain collection system, check out Common Sense Homesteading.