looks pretty good nick
Nick,
The write up is good, but not entirely accurate. When one speaks of a true cistern, they speak of a throwback to a past time. Cisterns, by todays standards, are mass water-storage tanks. To that end, the article is fairly accurate. Traditional cisterns were made of metal, concrete, stone, or wood. Most were buried in-ground and relied on gravity-fed water runoff, often through collection systems and pipes. Some were adjacent to wells in basements. All, if used to store potable water, were a bateriological mess.
Often, the modern equivalent of a cisten is found in 2-stage well systems, usually as a result of an under-yeilding well or spring. In any case, in order for stored (the therefore stagnant) water to be safely consumable by humans, it needs to be chlorinated or treated via ultra-violet light. Also, residential water storage tanks are rarely serviced, rarely inspected, and rarely cleaned.
In the mountains here, the county makes every homeowner install a cistern. You can’t get a building permit without installing a cistern. The purpose is for firefighting.
Cisterns are still used here and are mostly plastic (high-density polyethylene). Builders like to hide them under porches. They are mostly used in areas outside of city water boundaries where a well isnt an option such as waterfront property. Water is hauled in typically on a monthly contract basis.
Mosquito breeding ground too. But yea, as Nick said, especially in dry areas like where we are (CO) they are used for firefighting.