OffGridSkills
Track 02 of 09

Water

Collect, store and purify a reliable supply

Water is the resource you cannot live without — and the one most people underestimate. A person needs more than they think, and every source (roof, bore, spring, tanker) has its own risks. Learn to calculate your demand, capture rainfall, store it safely and treat it so you never gamble with waterborne illness.

Rainwater flowing through a filter into a storage tank

What you need to know

The concepts that underpin everything else in this skill.

  • How much water a person genuinely needs per day (drinking vs everything else).
  • Catchment math: 1mm of rain on 1m² of roof ≈ 1 litre.
  • The difference between filtration (particles) and purification (pathogens).
  • Why stored water goes bad and what prevents it (light, air, clean tanks).
  • Potable vs non-potable: what you can safely use garden water for.
  • Common contaminants: sediment, bacteria, viruses, protozoa, heavy metals, nitrates.

What you need to learn

A staged progression — master each level before moving on.

Beginner

  • 01 Estimate your household's daily water use with the water calculator.
  • 02 Test a water source for basics (turbidity, smell, taste, simple kits).
  • 03 Understand first-flush diverters and gutter/screen maintenance.
  • 04 Store emergency water safely and rotate it.

Intermediate

  • 01 Design a roof-catchment system (gutters, leaf guards, first-flush, tank).
  • 02 Choose filtration and purification for your specific source risks.
  • 03 Size tanks for dry-season autonomy using rainfall data.
  • 04 Plumb a simple gravity or pump-fed system with backflow prevention.

Advanced

  • 01 Build a multi-stage treatment train (sediment → carbon → UV/chlorination).
  • 02 Install and maintain a bore/well pump and pressure system.
  • 03 Design greywater reuse that meets local regulations.
  • 04 Test annually for bacteria, nitrates and heavy metals.

Your next steps

A practical, ordered path from where you are now.

  1. 1 Work out your daily water demand (use the calculator), then double-check it against reality.
  2. 2 Find out your local rainfall and map your roof catchment area.
  3. 3 Decide your primary source: roof, bore, spring, delivery — and its failure mode.
  4. 4 Install catchment basics (screens + first-flush) before buying a big tank.
  5. 5 Get a baseline water test so you know what you're treating for.