As we drove south from Michigan through Missouri, into Kansas and then to Oklahoma, that sinking feeling began to set in. As the miles ticked by, we went from the autumn color burst and lush green grass of October to parched prairie, dead grasslands and eventually bare, cracked earth. It was the drought of 2011 and the further south we went, the bigger that lump in my throat became and the more I wondered what would be waiting for us all the way down in Texas.
Not surprisingly, it was less than idyllic. The earth was exposed and dry, the grass dead and gone. Neighbors spoke of having to sell off livestock, hay prices were through the roof and our land contained almost no topsoil to speak of.
I fast learned, having grown up in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, that without water there is no life. Since then, nearly all of our homestead brainstorming and prioritizing has started with water. Without it, we couldn’t live. Without it, we couldn’t get a milk animal. Without it, the garden would not survive; we would not survive.
It is critical to life and therefore to that life-breathing act of homesteading.
Since moving to the land, our main source of all drinking, washing, animal, garden and orchard water is rainfall. We have no well, not because we wouldn’t like one but rather because economically, rainwater makes sense in our dry region. Once the infrastructure of roofline, piping and tanks are bought and paid for, it is as simple as waiting—and often praying—for rain.
Water infrastructure is arguably the most important, and for that reason, we decided to hire out the work of putting up a roofline, a catchwater tank and the gutters before we even moved to our land. It was one of the driest summers in history as we drove south from Michigan to Texas, but just a few days before we arrived, 5 inches (12.7 cm) rained down on the parched earth and our tank was filled and ready for us when we arrived.
To catch rainwater, you need three things in place:
1. A roofline
2. A gutter with piping
3. A rainwater holding tank
We currently use three black tanks totaling 5,500 gallons (20,820 L) of holding capacity. Those tanks, along with our ponds, provide all of the water we use for animals, fruit trees, gardens and ourselves. It is a good start at catching what we might need to carry us through the frequent dry months between rains.
In our experience in a dryer climate, there really is never such a thing as too much water when it is stored in tanks or utilized on the land properly. We tend to get rainfall in fits and spurts, so it is imperative that when it comes, we are ready and able to catch and store it.
It is not uncommon in our area to see a roofline that seems to have no other purpose than to catch water. But if you have a home, garage, barn or other structure in place, you can set up gutters and a tank and start catching rainwater right away for outdoor or indoor use (see here to here).
There is a simple equation to calculate how much rain you might collect for your roof size that goes something like this:
Gallons of collected rainfall = Roof square footage × (inches of rain × 0.5)
You can also use this equation for what-if scenarios, such as how much roof area you would need to fill a tank with a typical rainfall in your area. This type of planning is essential in the process of developing your rainwater infrastructure.
One of the biggest dangers that you face with storing water in tanks is freezing weather. Here in central Texas this isn’t a problem for too much of the year, but occasionally temperatures dip below freezing and, if you are not prepared, you can lose your piping, gutters or even your tank.
If you are expecting freezing temps and have a Rainwater First-Flush Diverter, you need to make sure it is empty of water so that it doesn’t expand and break the pipes apart. Any pipes, hoses or valves connected to your rainwater tanks also need to be protected. The metal valves seem to freeze up faster than the plastic ones in our weather, but if you have a real winter it probably wouldn’t make much difference in the end if they were exposed. Insulating all of the plumbing or burying it is something you need to consider, especially if you are in a colder climate.
If you’ve never caught and used rainwater, there are a couple things to think about in this new endeavor.
Tank Placement
Plastic water tanks need a fairly flat and level surface free from rocks that could potentially puncture them. Some people pour a concrete slab to put them on. Consider putting your water tank as high as possible so you can take advantage of gravity in your moving water.
Keeping the Water Clean
Keeping dirt and leaves out of your water tank is the key to keeping it clean. Using a Rainwater First-Flush Diverter can help a lot with this. Other types of gutter guards may also prove helpful. If you ever empty the tank to clean it, make sure you have someone on hand that can help you get in and out in an emergency. Working in enclosed spaces can be dangerous and it is important that there is enough clean air getting inside.
Filtering Rainwater
Filtering our rainwater is a must since it sits stagnant in a tank, often for months at a time. I know there are people who drink it straight from the tank, but to be safe, we recommend putting it through high-quality filters before drinking and cooking. Note that we only filter water for drinking and cooking. Dishes, laundry, handwashing and similar tasks are all done with water straight out of the tank.
There are many water filters on the market, but our favorite—and the favorite of many other homesteaders—is the Berkey. We had one long before we began homesteading for filtering our city or well water. The downside of the Berkey is that the entire setup can be quite expensive due to the stainless steel water containers. The good news is that the critical component of the Berkey is the filter, which you can buy separately. This means you can build whatever size filter housing you want around those filters (see Simple and Inexpensive DIY Water Filter).
A first-flush diverter is simply a way to divert all of the initial rainwater away from the water tank so that dirt and small debris from the roof get washed off a bit before the water goes into the tank. We use a simple system that fills up a 3-inch (7.6-cm) PVC pipe with the dirty water. Once this first-flush pipe fills up, a racquet ball floats up to a constriction in the pipe and blocks it off. From that point forward, all the rain goes through a different pipe and into the water tank.
The general principle is fairly simple and can be modified to fit your roofline setup. For example, you may need to add some 45-degree angles so that your pipe reaches a supporting post. A larger roof may need extra capacity and therefore a longer piece of PVC pipe for holding the dirty water. Some people build garden hose valves into the bottom assembly so that they can easily let the first-flush water out. Alternatively, you could put a small hole into the bottom assembly so that water will slowly drip out in between rains.
Estimated Time: 2 to 3 hours
Estimated Cost: Around $40
• Tape measure
• Reciprocating saw or handsaw
• 10 feet (3 m) 3-inch (7.6-cm) diameter PVC pipe
• 3-inch (7.6-cm) PVC sanitary tee
• 2 (3 × 1½-inch [7.6 × 3.8-cm]) PVC reducing couplings
• 3-inch (7.6-cm) piece of 1½-inch (3.8-cm) PVC pipe
• 3-inch (7.6-cm) PVC cleanout adapter
• 1 racquetball
• 3-inch (7.6-cm) PVC cleanout plug
• Plumber’s strap, if needed
• PVC primer and glue, optional
Note: A word of caution on freezing weather. If the first-flush diverter is filled with water and freezes, it can break apart. If the pieces are not glued together, it may just pop apart and survive. If everything is glued, it may break the pipe. Therefore, keep the diverter empty of water during cold weather or build a self-draining version.
Cut a 3-inch (7.6-cm) piece of the 3-inch (7.6-cm) PVC pipe to connect the sanitary tee to one of the reducing couplings. Push the 3-inch (7.6-cm) PVC pipe into the sanitary tee.
Connect the reducing couplings with the 3-inch (7.6-cm) piece of 1½-inch (3.8-cm) PVC pipe. Push the 1½-inch (3.8-cm) PVC pipe into both of the reducing couplings.
Put the top of the sanitary tee over the bottom of your gutter downspout. Measure the distance from the bottom of the pieces you have assembled to the ground. Subtract 6 inches (15.2 cm, or however many you prefer) from that number so that you have space at the bottom for opening the cleanout to let the first-flush water out. Now cut a piece of the 3-inch (7.6-cm) PVC pipe to this length and attach it to the bottom of the reducing coupling.
Attach the cleanout adapter to the bottom of the whole pipe assembly.
Put the racquetball in the 3-inch (7.6-cm) PVC pipe and screw on the cleanout plug.
Figure out a way to secure the whole PVC assembly below the gutter downspout converter. This is usually where the plumber’s strap comes in. To make the PVC connections permanent, you may optionally use PVC primer and glue to fuse the pieces together.
You are now done with the actual first-flush diverter. The only thing that remains is connecting the rest of the piping to your water tank.
Beyond the filter you choose for your water filter system, there is also the housing, which holds the water to be filtered and the clean water when it is done. You can’t do much about the price of the filters themselves, but you can definitely save a lot of money by building your own water filter housing.
When you make the filter housing yourself, you also have a great deal of flexibility in the water capacity of your filter as well as the number of filters you put in it. For example, for two people, you could probably get away with one or two filters and some 5-gallon (19-L) buckets. For a larger family, you may need to add more filters, which is as easy as purchasing more and drilling a few more holes in your containers. You can also choose what size container is best for you within your budget.
Estimated Time: 1 hour (or more if you increase the complexity and size)
Estimated Cost: As low as $25 for a small basic system. Around $120 if you want to start out with two of the highest quality filters. If you choose stainless steel instead of buckets, your price will increase.
• 2 (5-gallon [19-L]) food-grade plastic buckets with lids
• Drill
• ⅝-inch (16-mm) drill bit
• ⅞-inch (22-mm) drill bit
• Gravity-fed water filter elements
• 1 water spigot
Locate places on the bottom of one of the 5-gallon (19-L) buckets where the bottom of the water filters will come through the container. You need to make sure there is enough room around the hole you are going to drill for the plastic nuts that come with the water filter elements to screw on without hitting any small plastic ridges or edges that will prevent a tight seal. Make sure the hole locations are far enough apart that the filters will not hit each other when you install them.
Drill holes in the bottom of the bucket for each water filter element you are going to install. The ⅝-inch (16-mm) drill bit should allow the filter tip to slide completely through.
You will have to drill corresponding holes in the bottom bucket’s lid so that the filter elements can drip their water down into the clean-water bucket.
Using the ⅞-inch (22-mm) drill bit, drill a hole in the side of the bottom bucket near the bottom where you want the water spigot to be. You may need to use a different size drill bit depending on your spigot size.
Install the water spigot in the bottom bucket.
Install the water filters in the top bucket. (Note: Some water filters require priming to have optimal water flow. Follow the directions provided by the water filter’s manufacturer before installing them in your top container.)
Put the lid on the bottom bucket and place the top bucket on top so that the water filters hang down into the bottom bucket.
Fill the top bucket with water and wait for it to filter into the bottom bucket. Drain the first batch of filtered water and do not drink it if indicated by the filter’s manufacturer.
Note: Stainless steel stockpots may be substituted for 5-gallon (19-L) plastic buckets. For water filters, Black Berkey filters are the gold standard. Doulton ATC Super Sterasyl ceramic filters are also very good. You can find cheaper ceramic filters as well. Water spigots often go by various names, such as water cooler spigot, plastic faucet or replacement dispenser spigot valve.
We catch rainwater off our various rooflines and have washout diverters on them, but we still end up with enough silt material in our water tanks to clog our filters. Yes, the filters are cleanable, but even with frequent cleanings, there is only so much water you can filter with a 5-gallon (19-L) bucket.
To overcome these issues, we modified a few things on our DIY filter design that proved to be game changers. The first night, the filter overflowed the 10-gallon (38-L) container, which seemed like a positive sign that things were working well. Since it overflowed, we added a few modifications to prevent that going forward. This DIY filter has significantly more filtering capacity and features than the largest Crown Berkey, which retails for around $400.
Estimated Time: 6 hours (including the construction of an elevated tank); 2 hours for just the filter system Estimated Cost: $330
• 3 (10-gallon [38-L]) water-storage containers
• Drill
• ⅝-inch (16-mm) drill bit
• 2 stainless steel pizza pans or plastic lids larger than diameter of the 10-gallon (38-L) containers
• ⅞-inch (22-mm) drill bit
• 1 water spigot
• 3 or 4 white ceramic filters with impregnated silver
• 4 Black Berkey water filters
• ½-inch (13-mm) float valve and feed hose, optional
• Ball valve, optional
• ¼-inch (6-mm) Uniseal, optional
• Overflow tubing for the ¼-inch (6-mm) Uniseal that has an outside diameter of 
inches (8 mm), optional
Locate places on the bottom of one of your water-storage containers where the bottom of the water filters will come out of the container. You need to make sure, particularly on plastic containers, that there is enough room around the hole you are going to drill for the plastic nuts that come with the water filters to screw on without hitting any small plastic ridges or edges that will prevent a tight seal. Make sure the hole locations are far enough apart that the filters will not hit each other when you install them.
Drill holes in the bottom of the container for each water filter element you are going to install. A ⅝-inch (16-mm) drill bit should allow the filter to slide completely through.
You will be placing one water container on top of another in the end, so there has to be something to set the top container on. Drill holes in the pizza pans that match the location of the filters in the container above (so that they fit down through into the container below).
Using the ⅞-inch (22-mm) drill bit, drill a hole in the side of the bottom container near the bottom where you want the water spigot to be. You may need to use a different size drill bit depending on your spigot size.
Install the water spigot on the bottom container.
Install the white ceramic filters in the top container. Install the Black Berkey filters in the middle container.
Note that some water filters require priming to have optimal water flow. Follow the directions provided by the water filters’ manufacturer before installing them in your top containers.
If you are going to do the gravity-fed water setup from an elevated tank, you can add a float valve to the top water container. To do this you will need to drill a ⅞- or 1-inch (22- or 25-mm) hole near the top of the container in the side. This hole should correspond to whatever size float valve you purchased. Install the float valve through the wall of the container. Attach the feed hose to it as needed using whatever adapter is required. For example, on mine, I had to go from a ½-inch (13-mm) male pipe thread to a ½-inch (19-mm) male garden hose. Someone at the hardware store should be able to help you locate the right part. You can optionally add a ball valve to the end of your feed hose to give you more control over your incoming water supply.
If you want to produce a lot of water without having to keep a constant watch on the system, the clean-water reservoir will need to safely overflow into another container. To do this, you can put in a ¼-inch (6-mm) Uniseal and some overflow tubing into the top side of the clean-water reservoir. Drill a ½-inch (13-mm) hole where you want the overflow to come out. Install the Uniseal and overflow tubing and arrange it as desired.
Put the second pizza pan on the bottom container and place the top containers on top so that the water filters hang down into the container below.
Fill the top container with water and wait for it to filter into the bottom containers. Drain off the first batch of filtered water and do not drink it if indicated by the filters’ manufacturer.
Since the large black tanks we use to store rainwater are very expensive and since we were able to create large ponds using a backhoe (see Ten-Plus Infrastructure Projects in One Week with a Backhoe), we wanted to be able to convert that pond water to laundry or even potable water, if the need arose.
The concept of a biosand filter is that it uses several natural methods of filtration, including a “bio” layer of good bacteria that kills bad bacteria. It is supposed to be extremely effective at eliminating parasites from water as well. If the biosand filter is functioning properly, you can use the water for cooking and drinking (it takes up to 30 days of use before you can use the water directly for human consumption)—but we do recommend running this water through a Berkey filter for drinking.
Estimated Time: 2 hours
Estimated Cost: $65
• Drill with 1¼-inch (3.2-cm) drill bit or hole saw
• 55-gallon (208-L) food-grade plastic drum
• ¾-inch (19-mm) Uniseal
• Circular saw, reciprocating saw or regular handsaw
• 4 to 5 feet (122 to 153 cm) ¾-inch (19 mm) PVC pipe
• 1 cubic foot (0.02 cubic m) lava rock or other large rocks
• 1½ cubic feet (0.04 cubic m) pea gravel
• 400 lb (182 kg) sand
• 3 (90°, ¾-inch [19-mm]) PVC elbows
• 5-gallon (19-L) food-grade plastic bucket, optional
• PVC primer and glue, optional (see note)
Drill a 1¼-inch (3.2-cm) hole on the side of the 55-gallon (208-L) drum near the bottom where the water will come out. Install the ¾-inch (19-mm) Uniseal in the hole.
Cut off the top of the 55-gallon (208-L) drum by running the circular saw around the narrow spot near the top (see the photo). If you do this right, you will be able to flip the “lid” you cut off and it will fit neatly on top of the barrel.
Create a solid foundation for your biosand filter. This could be on the ground or slightly elevated if you want the water to run somewhere else once it is filtered. This filter will be extremely heavy when it is done, so make sure it is well supported and in a permanent location.
Cut a piece of ¾-inch (19-mm) PVC pipe around 6 inches long.
Insert the cut PVC pipe into the Uniseal and slide it in (you may need to use soapy water to make it easier to slide in). Leave enough on the outside that you can attach other PVC pieces to it, such as a 90-degree elbow.
Place 1 cubic foot (0.02 cubic m) lava rock in the bottom of the 55-gallon (208-L) drum. Make sure the rocks do not block the end of the PVC pipe but rather surround it and allow cracks so the water can filter out. The rocks should be large enough that they will not fit into the pipe.
Place the pea gravel on top of the lava rock layer and place the sand on top of the pea gravel. Smooth out the top. Take the lid you cut off earlier and drill a bunch of small holes for water to go through. This will serve as a way to diffuse the water entering the drum so that it doesn’t hit and disturb the sand layer too much. Place the lid on the unit so that it fits snugly (remember it will be upside down now).
Attach the PVC elbows and the remaining ¾-inch (19-mm) PVC pipe as shown in the rightmost photo on this page so that the water must fill the barrel and only come out the nozzle after the drum is fairly full of water. The standing-water level should be a few inches above the sand. Fill the drum with water and wait. Eventually, water will go down through all the sand and start to come out slowly through the PVC pipe. Don’t drink or use the water that comes out initially. It can take up to 30 days before the biosand filter is fully operational for human use.
An additional option is to drill a few small holes in the bottom of a 5-gallon (19-L) bucket. Add some pea gravel and sand to the 5-gallon (19-L) bucket. This will serve as a pre-filter. Place this 5-gallon bucket on top of the 55-gallon (208-L) drum.
Note: To make the PVC connections permanent, you may optionally use PVC primer and glue to fuse the pieces together. The standing-water level should be about 2 inches (51 mm) above the sand. Higher, and the oxygen level in the water needed to sustain the bio layer can be too low. Lower, and it may dry out too fast in hot climates with intermittent use. Biosand filters need fairly regular use to keep them operating properly. If your gravel and sand are not clean, you may want to clean them before putting them in the filter.
Not having “running” water is something you can get used to surprisingly fast. It is something you have to think about for the first few weeks, but soon, fetching or moving your water becomes a bit like breathing—something you do as part of the everyday without even thinking about it.
When we first moved to the land, I was pregnant, so small buckets of water were hauled for about a month. Eventually Stewart was hauling every 5-gallon (19-L) bucket of water needed for dishes, laundry, filtered drinking water and bathing. It became worth his time and effort to install a water pump to bring water from an outside holding tank into a faucet in the sink. It was loud and cumbersome, to be sure, but it got the job done when I wasn’t supposed to be doing it.
Now that our children are a little older, they have actually built their own yoke, and we have used it as needed to haul buckets of water around the property to animals and gardens. But the real game changer came when we were able to let nature do the heavy lifting. We built with the idea that we would elevate a water tank and allow gravity to bring water directly into our kitchen sink, laundry sink and bathtub.
I couldn’t believe what a change to our daily lives this made.
If you are wondering how efficiently this simple setup runs, when our 1,500-gallon (5,678-L) tank is half full (around 700 to 800 gallons [2,649 to 3,028 L]), we have 2 gallons (7.6 L) per minute at our laundry sink and around 1¾ gallons (6.6 L) per minute at the kitchen sink through our garden hose outlet.
Critical: If you are planning to build a home that will input gravity-fed water, be sure to plan ahead and build a high enough roof so that the bottom of the tank is above your water input level (i.e., sink or bathtub).
• Level
• Dirt
• 12 to 14 grade stakes
• ¼-inch (6-mm) thick plywood
• ½-inch (13-mm) screws
• Drill
• ⅜-inch (9.5-mm) rebar
• 20 to 25 (80-lb [40-kg]) bags ready-mix concrete
• 1,500- to 3,000-gallon (5,678- to 11,356-L) water tank
• Solar water pump, optional
Create a platform for your tank. Our “water tower” is simply a hill of dirt we piled up with a backhoe. Be sure to build the tower at a slightly higher elevation than where your water output is going (i.e., a sink or bathtub). When deciding how high to elevate your tank, remember the tank has to be below the level of your roofline if you are directly catching rainwater into it. Also consider your water-pressure requirements. You can have fairly low water pressure that still fills things fairly quickly by using larger-volume pipe. If you can live with this, you can reduce your water tower height considerably.
Level the dirt pile out and prepare a form by staking out a circle that is at least 6 to 12 inches (15.2 to 30.4 cm) wider in diameter than your tank. Pound in stakes around the outside of the circle. Cut the plywood into strips 6 inches (15.2 cm) tall. Shape these inside the stakes to create the outer edge of the circle. Screw the plywood into the stakes in a manner that the tops of the plywood strips are level. Add rebar as desired for extra strength.
Next, mix the concrete according to the manufacturer’s instructions and pour a smooth, level slab inside the form. Let the concrete dry and cure completely before moving the empty water tank to the platform. You can place a small roofline over this tank to protect the hill from erosion and the tank from sun exposure.
For a pump-assisted gravity-fed water system, install a solar-powered water pump. Use this to pump water from other catchment tanks up to the elevated tank when the upper tank runs dry.
Pipe the water into the house. Keep in mind that standard faucets have very restricted piping because city water pressure is so high. For that reason, we like to employ laundry-sink faucets and garden hoses. Run ¾-inch (19-mm) PVC pipe from the water tank to your laundry-sink faucet or garden hose. For water conservation purposes, we also have a regular faucet in the kitchen sink that, due to its low flow rate, works well for handwashing.
Note: For a smaller-scale water tower, create a 12-foot (3.6-m) platform using 4 × 4s. Elevate 1 or 2 55-gallon (208-L) food-grade plastic drums and pump or manually move water to these drums every few days (see the Bicycle Wheel Water Lifter).
Surely there must be a simple solution for moving water anywhere on your property without a solar- or wind-powered pump, or even a manual water pump for that matter. This simple concept does just that—and it’s easy. You get the biggest bicycle wheel you can find and turn it into a pulley. Put the pulley on top of some type of pole or tower setup, then pull a bucket of water up via a rope. But, you say, lifting water vertically does nothing for moving it horizontally, right? Actually, it does if you have a hose connected to the bucket that can divert water to wherever you want it.
Your distance for moving the water is only limited by your tower height. The volume you can move at once is mostly limited to the size of the bucket. For example, if your tower and wheel were strong enough, you could lift a 10-gallon (38-L) bucket instead of a 5-gallon (19-L) bucket.
Estimated Time: 4 hours (it will vary based on your support design)
Estimated Cost: Depending on what you have around, it could be cheap. You can get used bicycles at thrift shops, or you may just have an old one around. The only other expense is building your pole or tower, but if you have scrap wood around this won’t cost much.
• 4 × 4 posts and 2 × 4 boards, as needed
• Large bicycle wheel
• Drill and bit sized to fit the rebar
• 1¼-inch (3.2-cm) drill bit or hole saw
• Rebar cutters, hacksaw or reciprocating saw
• ⅜-inch (9.5-mm) rebar
• 2½- to 3½-inch (6.4- to 8.9-cm) screws or nails
• 5-gallon (19-L) bucket
• ¾-inch (19-mm) Uniseal
• 4-inch (10.2 cm) piece of ¾-inch (19-mm) diameter PVC pipe
• ¾-inch (19-mm) diameter PVC to garden hose adapter
• Garden hose
• Rope twice as long as your tower is high
• Shovel and mixing hoe, optional
• Concrete, optional
• PVC primer and glue
Build a post or tower that will hold the bike wheel pulley. To do this, you could put a 4 × 4 post in concrete or be creative and come up with any method that will hold your pulley as high as you want the water to be lifted. In my first design, I used scrap 2 × 4 boards that I secured to our cabin.
Remove the rubber tread and tubing from the bicycle rim and cut 2 (2 × 4) boards of equal length that are at least 1 foot (30 cm) longer than the radius of the bicycle rim.
Line up the 2 × 4 boards and drill holes near the end in the same spot on each 2 × 4 where the rebar will go through to support the bicycle rim. These holes will support the pulley axle.
Cut some rebar long enough to go through both 2 × 4 boards and the bike rim. This will probably be at least 8 inches (20 cm) long (maybe a little longer).
Make the “pulley sandwich” by putting the rebar through the first 2 × 4, through the bicycle rim’s center hole and then through the second 2 × 4.
Attach these 2 × 4 boards to the top of your 4 × 4 post vertically on opposite sides of the post using screws or nails. Use extra material as needed to attach or reinforce this connection if you built a custom tower.
Drill a 1¼-inch (3.2-cm) hole in the side of the 5-gallon (19-L) bucket near the bottom and install the Uniseal in the hole you just cut. Insert the ¾-inch (19-mm) PVC pipe into the Uniseal (use soapy water as needed to help it slip through) and attach the PVC pipe to the garden hose adapter. Use the PVC primer and glue to make the connection permanent as needed.
Attach a garden hose to the PVC pipe via the new adapter. Depending on the type of hose you are using, you may want to get a 90- or 45-degree garden hose fitting to ease the strain on the garden hose as the bucket is lifted.
Tie a rope to the bucket and feed the rope up and over the bicycle pulley. Tie off the other end of the rope to the post so that the rope won’t slip off or go slack. Putting a screw or nail into the post at the right height to tie the rope to can be helpful.
Place the end of the garden hose where you want the water to go, fill the bucket with water and lift away. Hold the bucket up to the desired height until all the water drains out. To make it easier, you could add a simple clip or rope tie-off to the post to hold the bucket up while the water drains.
