Juniper Hills Farm

Juniper Hills Farm

Juniper Hills Farm, home to Onion Creek Kitchens, a culinary school and B&B relies entirely on rainwater for the needs of the owners, the school and guests. Facing the need for a very deep well with uncertain capacity and production, rainwater was the obvious choice.



The buildings on the property, both the residence and the guest cabins, are designed in the style of Northern Italy, an area of the world that has relied on rainwater for thousands of years. This system has been tastefully integrated into the Italian motif.



The system features a total of 45,000 gallons of storage capacity. Rainwater is collected from the roofs of the guest cabins, the swimming pool pavilion roof, and a water barn with a total collection surface of 4,300 square feet. Yes, rainwater is also used for the swimming pool!



The water barn (simply a metal pole barn) houses 20,000 gallons of storage and provides space for the "pump house" where final filtering and UV exposure is located. An additional 15,000 gallons are stored in partially buried tanks located next to the barn. A single 10,000 tank (not shown) holds water collected from the cabin roofs.

In the top right photo, a supply of Richard’s Rainwater can be seen. While the guests are provided rainwater for bathing, this bottle rainwater is provided for their thirst. The owners rely on their harvested rainwater for all uses.



But humans are not the only beneficiaries of the rainwater systems. The owner’s growing "herd" of miniature donkeys have their own rainwater supply, captured from the roof of their stall and stored in a 1,000 gallon tank. Similarly, local wildlife find supplementary water captured on a small pole barn and stored in a 500 gallon tank.



For more information about Onion Creek Kitchens and their impressive rainwater harvesting system, go to www.juniperhillsfarm.com

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