The Norwesco 550 gallon underground water storage cistern is built for buried water service where above-ground tankage isn't an option. Molded in white polyethylene, it stands 67 inches tall on a 64 x 64 inch footprint, giving you a compact below-grade reservoir for residential cistern supply, rural water storage, and supplemental household water systems. This is an underground tank type designed for burial - not an above-ground tank pressed into a pit.
Will it work for my install?
At 550 gallons, this Norwesco cistern holds roughly 4,587 pounds of water when full. The tank itself is light enough to place by hand or with a small crew, but once filled it carries that ~4,587 lb water load across the full footprint, so your excavation, bedding, and backfill all have to be planned around it. The 67 inch height drives your dig depth: the hole must take the full 67 inches plus bedding below the tank and adequate cover above it. The 64 x 64 inch footprint, plus clearance and bedding on all sides, sets the minimum hole width. Use the Tank Sizing Calculator and the Tank Sizing Guide to confirm 550 gallons covers your daily draw and storage reserve before you dig. For acceptance after backfill, our hydrostatic test methodology guide covers fill discipline, settlement monitoring, and fitting leak detection for a new underground water storage tank.
Fittings and configuration
Fitting and bulkhead configuration for inlet, outlet, and access is confirmed at the time of order - call 866-418-1777 to lock in your port setup, and check the technical drawing on this page for port locations before you finalize the install. We won't guess at thread sizes or port placement for you; we confirm them against the build so your plumbing connections match the tank you receive.
The mistake to avoid
The most common error with an underground cistern is treating burial as an afterthought. This is an underground tank type, but it still depends on careful bedding and backfill - bedding has to be uniform under the full footprint so the ~4,587 lb water load doesn't drive uneven settlement. Skip that and you risk deformation or settlement, not because the tank is wrong but because the hole was. Confirm your burial depth, bedding, and backfill material against the manufacturer's underground installation requirements and the dimensions on the technical drawing on this page before excavation. If you're folding this cistern into a larger water plan - rainwater capture, reuse, or a fire-water reserve - our water reuse tank topology guide and fire-water reservoir design guide show how a buried cistern fits the wider storage train.
Freight
This underground cistern ships LTL freight, quoted live to your ZIP. Norwesco molds from plants in CA, OH, NY, OK, MN, UT, and WA - Hanford CA, Lancaster OH, Owego NY, Shawnee OK, St. Bonifacius MN, Tooele UT, and Washougal WA - so most U.S. ZIPs sit within one regional freight lane, which is what keeps the LTL quote down. We ship from the plant nearest you. Get your rate with our Freight Cost Estimator, or call 866-418-1777 and we'll quote the tank and freight separately to your delivery ZIP.
