Plan around real demand
Understand your uses, your property and the limits of the sources available to you.
Books / Water & Self-Sufficiency
The Self-Sufficient Water Handbook
A Practical Guide to DIY Water Systems, Rainwater Harvesting, Storage, Pumps, Filtration and Backup Water for Your Home
Plan your water as a complete system, from demand and capture to storage, pumps, treatment, distribution, maintenance and resilience.
Explore the free Planning PackAvailable now in paperback
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START WHERE YOU ARE
For your home. For your property.
For a more dependable water plan.
You do not need to be fully off-grid. This handbook is for homeowners and property owners exploring greater water independence, including rural properties, gardens, cabins and household backup supplies.
WHAT THE BOOK HELPS YOU DO
See the system. Make better choices.
Connect capture and storage
Think through rainwater collection and storage as parts of the same system.
Move and treat water
Understand where pumps, distribution and treatment fit, and what needs specialist input.
Build in resilience
Use worked systems, maintenance planning and backup thinking to prepare for interruptions.
THE WHOLE-SYSTEM APPROACH
More than a guide
to collecting rain.
- Whole-system planning, rather than isolated equipment choices.
- Beginner-accessible explanations with practical depth.
- Worked complete systems that connect the decisions.
- US-led guidance with principles useful internationally.
- Companion tools to help apply the planning process.
Requirements vary by location and intended use. Check local rules and seek qualified advice for drinking-water safety, structural, electrical and regulated work.
INSIDE THE HANDBOOK
Practical visuals, explained in context.
Selected interior diagrams will be added here when the approved publication files are available.
Preview pending: no sample interior pages have been supplied.
FREE COMPANION RESOURCE
The Self-Sufficient Water Handbook Planning Pack
Editable and printable tools to turn the book’s planning process into a plan for your own property.
Calculators · Worksheets · Templates · Logs · Diagrams
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Your questions, answered.
Is this only for off-grid homes?
No. The book is aimed at practical homeowners and property owners who want greater water independence, including those who remain connected to mains water.
Does it cover more than rainwater harvesting?
Yes. The whole-system approach includes demand, capture, storage, pumps, treatment, distribution, maintenance and resilience.
Can I use it outside the United States?
The book is US-led. Its planning principles are internationally useful, but local water, building and installation requirements must be checked.
What is the Planning Pack?
It is the book’s companion collection of editable and printable planning tools. Visit the Planning Pack page to see the intended contents and current availability.