Pangea BiotectureOff-grid systems · WaterCatch · Store · Filter · ReuseSheet P-300

Drinking water from the sky.

Instead of treated water piped from a utility, water can be caught from the sky as rain and snowmelt, stored in cisterns and filtered until it is potable: safe to drink and cook with, without risk to health.

WINTER SNOW WINTER SOLSTICE · 30° CISTERN WOM 01 ROOF · RAIN + SNOWMELT 02 SILT CATCH 03 BURIED · DARK · COOL 04 PUMP · FILTERS 05 TAP EARTH BERM ← SOUTH NORTH → LOW SUN ENTERS · THERMAL MASS STORES HEAT
Section P-300. One year of catch water at 36.4° N. Winter snow and summer monsoon rain run off the roof, through the silt catch and into the cistern buried in the earth berm. Between storms the level falls as the Water Organizing Module (WOM) pumps and filters it to the tap.
01How it works

From roof to tap.

  1. 01A potable roof

    Water is caught on a roof with a surface safe for drinking water.

  2. 02Silt catches

    Gutters channel it through silt catches that stop debris before storage.

  3. 03Cisterns

    Sized to the local climate, and best buried and protected from the sun. Cisterns can also sit inside the building as a heat sink, even with a small waterfall.

  4. 04Water Organizing Module

    Water flows by gravity to the WOM, where a pump fills a pressure tank to code-required pressure.

  5. 05Filters

    Filters clean the water for drinking, cooking and washing.

  6. 06Optional inter-tie

    The cistern can be tied to a well or municipal supply that tops it up automatically when the level drops below a set point.

02Use less

Every drop counts.

Catching water makes you notice how much you use. Most of a typical household’s water never touches a glass or a pot.

Per person, per day80–100gallons used by the average American, less than half of it for drinking or cooking
Per household, per year10,000gallons lost to leaks in the average home
Worst leaks1 in 10homes has leaks wasting 90 gallons or more a day

Figures: U.S. EPA WaterSense

Water efficiency is the smart use of water through water-saving fixtures and simple habits. It keeps supplies reliable today and for the next generation, and everyone can do their part.

Small leaks add up to gallons every day. Check fixtures and irrigation once a year:

  • Toilets
  • Faucets
  • Shower heads
  • Irrigation lines
Rain and snowmelt running off a roof into a catchment system
Catch water from rain and snowmelt
03Reading

From the knowledge base.

04 · Contact

Start with the site.

Tell us where it is and what you want the building to do. We design and build across the country and around the world.

Start a project
Call575-218-5583Emailinfo@pangeabuild.comMailPO Box 495, Taos, NM 87571