There are several very good reasons for a water storage tank:

1. Storage tanks provide a reserve of water that can be used during high demand periods when your well is not able to meet the instantaneous high demands. For example, your landscape irrigation requires 15 gallons per minute for an hour to water the main lawn, orchard or vineyard BUT the well only produces 10 gallons per minute. A storage tank is used as a buffer to be able to supply the additional demand for the hour or two per day that this additional demand is required.

2. County ordinances often require storage tanks in certain areas to ensure an adequate supply of water in the case of a fire. These ordinances come into play when property is being built on, remodeled, etc… In Napa County 2500 gallons of water is required to be dedicated to a fire hydrant on rural properties and an additional 800-1000 gallons is often required that is dedicated to the fire sprinkler system.

3. Storage tanks give a buffer capacity of water to offset times when your well pump needs servicing or replacement. If your well pump needs to be serviced or replaced, in many cases it means that there is no water available. If you have a storage tank, you can order a water delivery and still have water to use while your repairs are being made. Oakville Pump Service has 2 portable potable water trailers for our customers who run into this problem and don’t have a storage tank of their own. We like our customers to have water as soon as possible!

4. Storage tanks make some methods of water treatment (air stripping and circulation loop/ polishing filters) viable and/or more cost effective. Filter systems can be very expensive, especially if they are large filtration systems capable of removing high levels of contamination from large volumes of water. If a storage tank is used, water can be filtered more slowly during the night through a relatively small filter system and the clean water can then be stored and ready to be used whenever needed.  

5. If you have property with sufficient hillside/elevation, a storage tank located up on a hill is the ideal solution to a very simple water system. This type of system can be filled with a well/spring and use gravity to supply your water needs. This is the most reliable type of system for several reasons: First, gravity never fails! If there is water in the tank, you will have pressure at the house. Second, this type of system has the fewest number of components to go wrong! Pressure switches, pressure tanks, air volume controls, & their inevitable need for replacement evaporate with this type of system because they are un-necessary. If you have a well pump directly supplying water to your house then you know that the water stops when the power stops! This brings us to the third reason that these types of systems are the most reliable. Water stored in a tank on a hill is available to be used whether the electricity is on or off. An additional benefit to this type of system is that is likley the most energy efficient/green system available since the water is pumped once (if at all), pumped very efficiently (if sized properly) with very few components and no need for fancy pump controllers.

It important to remember that storage tanks do not solve a water shortage, they only delay the consequences of a water supply shortage and peak demand needs. If your well or spring is not able to keep up with your demand, more storage tanks will never compensate for the need to clean the well, redevelop the spring or look for additional water supply. Storage tanks do not create water, they only hold what you have available! If you think that a storage tank would help overcome some of your water shortfalls in Pope Valley, Angwin or the Napa Valley, please call Oakville Pump Service at (707)944-2471 to discuss your situation!