Norwesco 550 Gallon Plastic Underground Water Storage Cistern Tank

What 550 gallons underground does for you

This is the size that starts to behave like a household reserve. Five hundred fifty gallons buffers a low-yield well so the pump runs in long, cool cycles instead of short-cycling; it stores a week of careful indoor use when the truck or the rain is late; and it holds a serious share of a roof's runoff in a storm so a rain harvest is not all overflow. Buried, the water stays cold and dark, does not freeze in most climates, and takes no yard. The 64 inch diameter is still a one-day excavation with a compact machine. For a fire reserve or a full off-grid supply you will want more volume, and the piece on reservoir sizing and freeze protection for remote sites explains why. Our tank sizing calculator and tank sizing guide turn rainfall and roof area into gallons. If this tank is one stage in a reuse system, the write-up on grey water, rainwater and condensate storage trains shows how several tanks are arranged.

What to check before you buy

1. The opening. One 20 inch manhole on top. Inlet, outlet and overflow fittings are not factory installed; the installer cuts them where the pipes arrive. Tell us the pipe sizes and we will put the bulkhead fittings on the same order.
2. Getting the lid to grade. Norwesco offers 6, 15 and 24 inch extensions and 23 and 36 inch risers for this manhole, one of each per tank. Measure from the top of the tank to finished grade before you order so the riser arrives with the tank.
3. Burial and traffic. Follow Norwesco's installation instructions for bedding, backfill and water in the tank during backfill. Keep it out from under drives and vehicle paths unless an engineered cover is in the design.
4. The water. For a drinking water supply your local authority decides what listing it wants; ask us and we will tell you what Norwesco's paperwork for this model says.
5. The first fill. Fill with water and watch every fitting before you backfill around them. Our walkthrough of hydrostatic acceptance testing gives hold times and what to watch.

Sizes nearby

Norwesco also makes a 525 gallon underground cistern in a different shell; the two are close in volume, so pick by the hole you can dig and the plant nearest you. For a bigger reserve, call us and we will walk the rest of the cistern line with you.

Shipping and receiving

The tank ships LTL under NMFC 156600-02 from the nearest of Norwesco's plants in Hanford, California; Lancaster, Ohio; Owego, New York; Shawnee, Oklahoma; St. Bonifacius, Minnesota; Tooele, Utah; and Washougal, Washington. On the pallet it is 64 by 64 by 67 inches at 179 lb. The listed price is before freight; the freight cost estimator gives the lane cost to your ZIP. At the tailgate, check 40856 against the bill of lading, look over the manhole lip and the wall for transit damage, and keep the tank off sharp ground until the hole is ready.

Questions before you order? Call 866-418-1777.