What if it Snows?

Indeed it is, or a sewage ejector for the more refined amongst us

They are macerating pumps but a macerator can also be something simple like an electric pig aka a garbage disposal

The pump used to move the liquid from a septic tank to elevated fields or whatever is an effluent pump, basically a pump that can handle small solids.

 

Our new place is septic and town water, first time not having a well. We are buying drinking water now.

 

That is what I did to our last house, gutted it and redid almost everything before we moved in. Took me 15 years to do the one ceiling i didn't get done before we moved in.

When I was doing bathroom renovations back when I always reset the toilet st the end of the day, as mentioned there was other sinks but not a kitchen commode.

 

Rainwater collection is a big Go To form of household water supply out here in The Hill Country. They say it makes fantastic drinking water. A typical system is a 40,000 gallon tank, two filters and some infrared sanitizers. Depending upon your location, it's cheaper than a well when city water is not available.

Knowing how stupid parched it is in the great southwest makes rainwater collection more of a fantasy creation.

 

One of the criteria for me when looking for this property was required well water. I grew up with too many "boil water" orders while on city water.

Looked at one with a 4 way well share.... passed on that one after meeting the property owner that the well was on. That felt like it was going to go down the path of a bad HOA in a hurry.

This place was vacant but power was on. Turned on the tap and after a bit of rusty but not bad smelling water the tap cleared up. Took a sip and said to myself "sold".

 

That's what San Jose does also. Good water storage, they just would put in a small pump station in the middle of a subdivision to replenish. Was fed by the Perc (Percolation) Ponds that received water from the reservoirs (and ag water before the state got smart and cut them back). 2 stages of perc ponds for initial filtering then pump to the neighborhood station. Helps stop massive sink holes when the bubbles remain full of water and don't collapse.

 

PHX is on an old flood plane on the western edge of the Rockies with a couple of big rivers running through it. Western edge of the state is the Colorado river.

Figure that city is sitting on top of a saucer of rock that trapped the sediment flow from the mountains and the water keeps the saucer full but below the soil.