A 5025 gallon underground cistern for water you want out of sight
The Norwesco 5025 gallon underground water storage cistern, part number 44876, is a white polyethylene tank 211 inches long, 102 inches wide and 73 inches tall, weighing 1880 lb empty. It is built to be buried and to hold a large standing reserve of water: well water on a property with a slow well, hauled water at a site with no mains, rainwater collected off a roof, or a fire reserve. Access is through a 20 inch manway cover on top. The tank ships with no fittings in the wall, so the inlet, outlet and overflow go where your plumbing needs them. Norwesco rates it for liquids up to 1.9 specific gravity, which covers water with a wide margin; 5025 gallons of water weighs about 41900 lb. The service limit is 130 F, and Norwesco backs it with a 3 year limited full replacement warranty per its 2024 liquid storage catalog.
Buying on a purchase order? Request a written quote and we will return it with freight to your ZIP, or get freight to your ZIP and add it to your cart above.
What a buried cistern does, and what the install has to do
Nobody draws 5025 gallons in a day. A tank this size is bought to hold water against a demand that arrives occasionally and has to be met in full when it does: a household on a well that recovers slowly, a cabin filled by a water hauler every few weeks, a rainwater system that has to carry a dry season, a rural fire reserve. Underground, it stays cool, out of the light so algae cannot start, and off the surface you want to use for something else. The excavation, bedding, backfill and the water table are the installer's work and they decide whether the tank lasts. Follow Norwesco's installation instructions for this tank, which cover the bedding material, how to backfill and when to fill the tank with water during the backfill so the walls are supported from both sides. Our guides to fire water reservoir design for rural sites and rainwater and reuse storage layouts cover the two jobs this tank is most often bought for.
What to check before you buy
- The hole. The tank is 211 inches long and 102 inches wide, so the excavation is longer than most vehicles. Confirm the site can take it and that an excavator can set a tank this size without dragging it.
- Burial depth and cover. Norwesco's installation instructions set the maximum cover over the tank and the conditions for a high water table. Read them before the hole is dug, not after. Nothing drives over a buried polyethylene tank.
- Getting to the lid. The 20 inch manway sits on top of a 73 inch tall tank. If the lid will finish below grade, Norwesco makes risers and extensions for this manway: 6 inch, 15 inch and 24 inch extensions, a 23 inch riser with a 12 inch lid, and a 36 inch riser with a 6 inch lid, one of each per manhole. Tell us the finished grade and we will put the right one on the order. The same tank with a riser already fitted is the 5025 gallon cistern with riser.
- Fittings. None are installed. Decide where the fill, the suction line and the overflow go, and we will supply the bulkhead fittings with the tank so the installer is not waiting on parts. The drawing linked under Technical Drawing on this page shows the wall layout.
- The water. The resin is FDA compliant per Norwesco. If the tank will hold drinking water, ask us for Norwesco's current documentation for this model before you order.
Sizes nearby
One size down in the underground line: the 3525 gallon multi-use underground tank. One size up: the 10000 gallon multi-use underground tank. For the volume itself, use the tank sizing calculator and the tank sizing guide.
Shipping and receiving
This is an oversize freight shipment: 211 by 102 by 76 inches and 1880 lb, moving by flatbed or specialised trailer from the nearest of Norwesco's Fairfield, Texas, Hanford, California or St. Bonifacius, Minnesota plants. The listed price is before freight; the freight cost estimator gives the lane cost to your ZIP. You need equipment at the delivery end: an excavator or loader with straps rated for the weight, and room for the truck to get in and turn. At the tailgate, check the part number against 44876 on the bill of lading and walk the whole shell for transit damage before the driver leaves. Set the tank the same day if you can; a tank this size waiting on a site is a tank waiting to be hit.
Questions before you order? Call 866-418-1777 with the site and the finished grade.
Freight and documents
Ships from: Hanford, CA; St. Bonifacius, MN; Fairfield, TX. LTL freight is quoted to your ZIP with the freight cost estimator or by phone at 866-418-1777. The listed price is before freight.
Technical drawing (PDF) for Norwesco 44876.
See this tank
Product video. Watch the Norwesco 5025 Gallon Underground Water Storage Cistern Tank video (70 seconds) with dimensions, fittings and shipping notes.
Ready to order?
Add it to your cart at the top of this page, get LTL freight to your ZIP, request a written quote, or call 866-418-1777. The listed price is before freight.
