Save Your Garden From the Drought.

Yes. Collecting rainwater from your roof for outdoor use — irrigation, garden watering, washing — is fully legal across Metro Vancouver, including the City of Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, North Vancouver, and the District of West Vancouver. Rainwater you've captured is considered your water and is not subject to Metro Vancouver's drinking-water sprinkling restrictions, including Stage 1, 2, and 3.

Yes. Metro Vancouver's watering restrictions only apply to treated drinking water supplied through the municipal system. Water you've collected from your own roof is exempt — you can water your garden, lawn, and plants with it any day, at any time, even during a full Stage 3 ban.

Vancouver gets roughly 1,200–1,500 mm of rain per year. A typical 1,500 sq ft roof can capture more than 80,000 litres (about 21,000 US gallons) annually. Even a modest 1,000-gallon tank will refill many times over during our wet months, giving you a large reserve for the dry summer.

It depends on your garden size, plant types, and how long you want to be self-sufficient through the dry months. As a rough guide: small gardens and container beds do well with 200–500 gallons, average residential gardens with 1,000–2,500 gallons, and large landscaped properties with 3,000–5,000+ gallons. We size every system based on a free on-site assessment.

Yes. Above-ground tanks are faster, cheaper, and easy to service — great if you have a tucked-away spot beside the house. Below-ground (underground) cisterns are invisible once installed and ideal for larger storage or properties where appearance matters. We install both.

Most residential rainwater harvesting systems in Metro Vancouver range from about $2,500 for a simple above-ground setup to $15,000+ for larger underground cisterns with pumps and filtration. Final cost depends on tank size, location, plumbing complexity, and whether you want gravity-fed or pumped delivery. We provide free, no-pressure quotes.

Most residential installs are completed in one to two days. Larger underground systems can take three to five days. We handle the tank, downspout diversion, overflow, and any pump or drip-line connections.

Yes. Rainwater collected from a typical residential roof is excellent for vegetable gardens, fruit trees, and ornamentals — plants generally prefer it over chlorinated municipal water. For edible gardens we recommend a first-flush diverter and a fine inlet filter, both of which we include in our standard install.

Yes, with the right system. Indoor non-potable uses like toilet flushing and laundry require a pump, filtration, and a code-compliant cross-connection to your home's plumbing. We focus primarily on outdoor garden systems, but can advise on indoor expansions and connect you with the right trades.

Vancouver winters rarely freeze hard enough to damage a properly installed tank, but exposed pipes and pumps need to be drained or insulated. Our installs are winter-ready, and we offer optional seasonal service to drain, inspect, and re-commission your system each spring.

For most above-ground residential tanks used purely for outdoor irrigation, no permit is required. Larger underground cisterns, or any system connected to indoor plumbing, may require a plumbing permit. We handle the paperwork when it's needed.

Yes — especially as Metro Vancouver water rates continue to rise. A typical household using rainwater for the garden through the dry months can offset hundreds of dollars per year. The bigger payoff for most clients is keeping a mature garden alive through restrictions, which would cost thousands to replace.