Drinkable water in 9 steps

1. Move to a rainy climate. Preferably Bocas del Toro in Panama.
2. Excavate a hole using a machete and shovel, as I did, or site another location for your tank.
3. Cut 3 or 4¨PVC tube lengthwise with hacksaw, place on roof with elbow at the end.
4. Remove tank top with hot matchete and hammer. (this takes hours)
5. Poke hole for faucet with heated peace of rebar.
6. Tap threads for faucet with metal-thread-tapper thingy.
7. Wrap faucet in teflon tape, screw in, and seal with caulk.
8. Place mesh over top to keep the creepy-crawlies out.
9. Place tank and enjoy the parasite-free fruits of your labor.
(fellow PCVs used as models)

I use my rain water for everything. In good, steady rain, this 55-gallon tank fills in 20 minutes. I still bleach it just to be safe (who knows what´s living on my roof?), but this is the cleanest water I can be drinking.

Note on water use: A lot of contamination in my site happens in the house when people are dipping their dirty hands into buckets of stored water to make drinks or food. I installed a faucet in one of the five-gallon buckets most families use for storage, filled it with juice, and brought it to a meeting to share. I discreetly called attention to it after a latrine charla, which included a lot of talk about water contamination, and would you guess? PEOPLE WENT WILD. They roared! They hollered! They could not believe my brilliance, and more importantly, that bucket is cool, they said. Everyone wanted one. I promised that if they buy the faucet and nut, I will happily do the work for them. I used their enthusiasm as an opportunity to continue discussion about disease transmission and contamination at the household level. It´s a cheap, easy solution for a big problem.


Total cost of rain-water catchment system: $60.
Total cost of installing faucet in a 5-gallon bucket: $1.65, if tape and caulk are provided.