It's a tank for storing water. In our case, it's an underground tank made of concrete, which is fed by the rain spouts on two sides of the house.
Our house was built a little over 100 years ago, and I have no idea when the cistern was put in...but it's a handy thing to have. We've been regularly putting it to use ever since we moved to the farm in 1994. We try to use it about every 4 - 6 weeks, depending on how much rain we have. The water is not suitable for drinking, so when we plan to use it, we fill up enough water jugs to last a few days. If we run out, our neighbors are glad to let us fill a few jugs from their faucets. (We all have wells, so no one is paying a water bill!)
You'd never know it's there if you don't know where to look. See the spout coming down the side of the house, angling down to the left under the window?
That spout collects rain water and runs it directly into the cistern, which is under what we call the "shop". That corner has become a bit of a catchall for some garden tools, but you can see where the spout goes down into the concrete. There's another spout on the north side of the house as well...
The heavy !! metal grate covers the cistern...
The lid is heavy for an adult to lift, so we had no worries about the kids removing it and falling in...
The cistern is made of concrete and is probably around 7' deep. To be honest, I don't know the other measurements. A few years ago it was leaking, and we had it pumped out, cleaned, and the concrete repaired and sealed. At that time, Jim was down inside, and I looked in to get an idea of the size, but I'll suffice it to say that it's big...probably at least as big as our farmhouse bathroom, which is pretty big...
Why do we use it?
With all the water that we use on the farm, our well pump gets used hard, so using the cistern occasionally gives it a break. It also keeps the cistern pump in good working order in case of an emergency. I remember one very hot summer, our well pump gave out, and we had trouble with the new one not working properly. We had a load of water brought in and dumped into the cistern, and the thirsty cows were very happy!
The water is also great for doing laundry, as it's naturally soft, so when we run the cistern I do as much laundry as I can find!
I guess the rain barrels that folks are getting these days are a similar thing, except for the size and the manner in which the water is accessed.
Do any of you still have a working cistern on your property?
