Dimension Cistern - Building Plan Tips

Hello, I have a question about the cistern offered to us. Our development plan states the following:

C 3. Water Management Issues C 3.1 The paving of open spaces should be limited to a minimum. Car parking spaces and driveways should be paved with permeable surfaces (e.g. grass pavers, paving with grass joints, gravel lawn, etc.). C 3.2 Unpolluted rainwater on private properties must be retained on the properties and allowed to infiltrate or used as service water. Only wastewater must be discharged to the sewage treatment plant. C 3.3 A management concept must be developed for the disposal/reuse of non-harmfully contaminated rainwater and coordinated with SGD Süd, RS WAB, Neustadt.

The general contractor suggested that it would be best to install a cistern in the garden. The current offer includes a cistern with a capacity of 4,000 liters. The plot is a total of 540 m². The house will be approximately 10m x 11m, and there will be a double garage measuring 6m x 6m plus a terrace... Do you think that is too small?

Hello,

I think that a slightly larger cistern would be the better choice.

We have a smaller plot (370 sqm) built with a house 9 x 11.4 + garage 7 x 3.3 + garage 6 x 2.9 + terrace 7 x 5.

The remaining garden area is mostly "covered" with lawn & ornamental shrubs as well as a raised bed (see Avatar) for fruit bushes and a bit of vegetables.

In a summer like last year, we actually emptied our 4,500-liter cistern twice and had to resort to tap water - only for garden irrigation.

If you have the opportunity, I would therefore take a slightly larger model - the additional costs should be manageable.

If you are already installing a cistern, I would also recommend installing at least one tap point recessed in the ground - that makes it much easier than having to handle "miles" of hose.

Regards,

Dirk

What do you mean by the [Zapfstelle]? On the opposite side of the garden? I actually thought we would install an irrigation system. Then I don’t really need a hose...

I mean those water outlets, like the ones Gardena has in their product range, for example. Placing them at strategically advantageous spots in the garden saves a lot of hose length and lugging.

In my opinion, they also make sense in addition to an irrigation system.

We have an automatic pump in the cistern that starts independently as soon as water is drawn from a water outlet.

Regards,

Dirk

It depends
Last summer was really dry. I used up the 4000 liters by watering my newly planted shrubs. At some point, I stopped watering the lawn. It will recover.
You have to know what it's worth to you. The bigger cistern isn't free either.

I have managed with 1000l over the past two years, which are replenished from my garage roof. The exception was the new lawn installation, but water is not that expensive here (and a cistern is not mandatory). Is it really worth it (investment and ongoing costs/electricity versus a few euros for 1k liters)?

from on the road