Homes with water catchment systems can design their homes so that water will flow from the tank to the home and garden without a water pump. Nobody would have a pump to steal. Electricity consumption for water pumping needs would be eliminated.

Why single level homes with water catchment would rely on a water pump when they could have designed their home to not need one, is a mystery.

Siphons lack moving parts. Why would one, given the option, buy a pump instead of use a siphon?

JMG.

Most people in the US enviroment can not use a cathcment system as their pure source of water. The few I've seen have a water pump that pump up from a well as well.

Originally posted by Persol
Most people in the US enviroment can not use a cathcment system as their pure source of water. The few I've seen have a water pump that pump up from a well as well.

Good answer. In East Hawaii it rains. We have two seasons, wet and dry. When I was growing up we initially had a water tank on a plateau above ground level to our home. At some point our water needs increased and a larger tank was installed in back to replace the first tank. The second tank was high enough to water the front yard but not high enough to fill toilets, sinks or showers from the front house. We went from no need for a water pump to needing a water pump. Although it makes sense to use a pump to supply water to a second story, a ground floor could be designed to recieve water from gravity flow.

JMG.