The Norwesco 225 gallon underground water storage cistern is a below-grade polyethylene tank built to hold water out of sight and out of the freeze zone. Molded in white polyethylene at 50 inches tall on a 48 by 48 inch footprint, it carries a full 225 gallons in a buryable form factor that suits rural cistern duty, rainwater capture holding, and supplemental water storage where an above-ground tank is not practical. Built by Norwesco and shipping from the Griffin, GA plant, this is a workhorse cistern for homeowners and contractors who want stored water underground.
Will it work for your site?
The tank measures 50 inches high by 48 inches wide by 48 inches long, so plan your excavation around the 50-inch tank height plus required depth-of-cover and bedding, and around the 48 by 48 inch footprint plus working room. Filled with water it weighs roughly 1,876 pounds, which is the load your prepared base and backfill must support. If you are matching this 225 gallon size to household demand, a rainwater hold, or a storage train, run the numbers with our Tank Sizing Calculator and the Tank Sizing Guide so you size the cistern to your real draw and refill cycle. For rural and remote sites where stored water doubles as a fire reserve, our guide on fire-water reservoir tank design covers NFPA 22 sizing discipline and freeze protection. For multi-tank or reuse layouts, see our guide on industrial water reuse tank topology and quality-banded storage trains.
The mistake that sinks underground tanks
Underground polyethylene tanks live or die on the install, and the most common failure is flotation. That full-water weight of about 1,876 pounds is your hold-down anchor only when the tank is full. An empty buried tank has almost no weight to resist uplift, so when it sits empty after install or when the water table rises, backfill and depth-of-cover are what keep it from floating, not the tank itself. Follow Norwesco's burial instructions for bedding, backfill, and required cover before you commit the hole. One more truth to set expectations: fitting and outlet configuration is not published in our catalog for this tank, so confirm inlet and outlet size and placement against Norwesco's burial documentation, or call us, before you order pipe, bulkhead fittings, and gaskets. If you plan to pressure-check the tank as part of acceptance, our hydrostatic test methodology guide walks through water-fill discipline, settlement monitoring, and hold-time math.
Freight and how to order
This cistern ships LTL freight, quoted live to your ZIP from the stocking plant in Griffin, GA. Buyers shopping it search Norwesco, water storage tank, cistern, and underground water tank terms, and they all land on the same reality: ground prep matters as much as the tank. Get a real freight number before you buy with our Freight Cost Estimator, or call 866-418-1777 and we will quote the tank and freight together and help confirm fittings and burial details for your project.
