Water storage and off-grid plumbing: Tanks, pumps, pressure and freeze-proofing · Alt Ordo Systems Guide
Every off-grid water source, whether a roof, a well, a spring or a water truck, ends in the same place: a tank. From the tank, water has to reach a kitchen tap and a shower at a pressure you can live with, and it has to survive the winter. This guide is that middle part. A food-grade tank stores the water, a pump and a small pressure tank give it push, plastic pipe carries it to the house, and a plan for freezing keeps the whole thing from splitting on the first cold night. None of it is hard, but the order matters and the mistakes are expensive.
This guide helps you size a storage tank for your household and your refill rhythm, choose a 12 V or 120 V pump and the right pressure tank, run pipe from the tank to the taps, and keep every inch of it from freezing.
What's inside. 20 pages in 9 chapters (At a glance, Where it works, How it works, Size it, Parts and cost, Build it, Run it, Rules and permits, How it connects), then the sources and a notes page. 8 numbered figures drawn for this guide. You also get a worked example with a fill-in worksheet, 11 numbered steps, a year-round calendar, and a troubleshooting table.
Three builds, costed line by line (typical US prices, October 2026):
- Bare-bones: $490–$1,110
- Standard: $2,500–$3,010
- Comfortable: $6,550–$7,390
Sourced and fact-checked. Facts and figures are cited to the 26 sources listed at the back, and the whole guide was fact-checked before release. General guidance, not engineering advice: your county and a qualified pro have the last word on your site.
Pairs with other Alt Ordo Systems Guides: Roof rainwater catchment; Wells and hand pumps; Safe drinking water; Off-grid solar; Septic and its alternatives; Tiny homes, RVs and skoolies. For your county's permits and rules, see our county and state guides.
Instant PDF download. After checkout you get a download link by email. Letter-size pages, made to read on screen or print at home.