I am not against rain water tanks, in fact my father is buildingone into the house he is now building. All I am saying is that the use of water is up and the amount of rain is down, just have a bcakup. Any form of conservation I favor, to a degree.

CG, this is a dumb question, but how do you know that you're using your rainwater tank, instead of city water?
You have a switch that turns off the city, or bypasses it from the pipes. You then switch on your water pump and tank water fills the pipes. As a safety precaution I turn off the tap at the city meter so that none of my rain water gets into the city system.
How much does a tank cost?
I can’t tell you that. It came with the house and is built under part of it. In those days one had to build a tank under any new house. That was in 1939.

I have been in the tank (it is like a cave!!) At a rough guess I would say 20 feet long, 10 feet wide and 10 feet deep!!! I am sure that anyone who is good at math can tell you how many gallons it holds but it must be in the thousands! One good rainy season and it is full and will last for months and months.

I am sure you could retro fit one to your house, an above ground one. They come in a number of sizes but you will need pump, and a gutter system to collect rain from your roof.
And on average, how much do you spend on water w/ the gov't?
So far this year we have spent $12 which is high (for us) but it has been a dry season. :)

As you know we have to pay a quarterly “rental” fee for our city meters. Included in that fee is 2,000 gallons of water “free.” After that you pay for the water used. Each quarter, I draw off that 2,000 gallons and put it in my water tank - when there is room. Why not?

City water pressure can vary depending on the time of day but with my pump I get 55 pound of pressure all the time from my tank . It can reach every sink etc in the house.