For the initial stage of the system, rainwater collected by a gutter from two small roofs over the front door fills two IBCs behind the house to supply plant irrigation, laundry washing, first floor toilet.
Water is piped around the house to a leaf trap. The trap collects large debris washed off the roof and is easily accessible from a window for cleaning.
The first flush prevents dirtier water from the beginning of a rain event from being stored. The initial rainfall fills a vertical pipe with a floating valve. Once the vertical flush pipe is filled, water is diverted to the storage tanks. The valve float blocks dirt in the flush pipe from wsshing into the tank. A valve at the bottom of the pipe allows cleaning the flush pipe.
The IBCs expose a male S60x6 / DN50 connector with a 60 mm diameter and 6 mm thread pitch. This is the most common thread on European IBCs. An adapter to 3/4 inch (20 mm) garden hose thread is connected to connect to other piping.
