Introduction
Discovering an old cistern in your yard can be an intriguing and unexpected find. Whether you stumbled upon it by hitting a cast iron cap or noticed a deepening hole lined with bricks, these historical structures were once a crucial part of early infrastructure. This guide will help you understand what options you have if you uncover an old cistern, including steps to restore it or replace it.
Restoring an Old Cistern
If you're reading this, chances are you just discovered an old brick or stone cistern in your yard. Perhaps you hit a cast iron cap? Or maybe you were out in the yard and noticed a small hole and, as you dug around, noticed that hole got deeper and deeper, and that there were bricks lining the hole?
Cisterns were a huge part of early infrastructure. It was commonplace — especially in the north — to incorporate a cistern when a new home was constructed pre-1920. Homes built in Columbus, Ohio by or before 1920 almost certainly had a cistern or a hand-dug well on-site. These were typically made from brick, hand-dug, and shaped into a sphere proportional in size to the roof from which they harvested rain. We ourselves have come across and been inside more than 50 old cisterns within Columbus city limits alone.
What Are Your Options If You Discover an Old Cistern?
Old cisterns can be relatively easy to restore if the following are true:
- It is not full of debris
- The downspouts are still connected to the existing downspout drains
- The cistern is still watertight
Typically, none of those three things are true with old cisterns we come across — in which case it can be a very labor-intensive process to get the cistern back up and running. If none of the above apply, it will most likely be less expensive to fill in the existing cistern and replace it with a new tank.
If the cistern does not have much debris in it, item #1 can be crossed off the list. Next, check whether downspouts are still running into it. Bring a garden hose to the nearest downspout, run water into the underground pipe for a few minutes, then go to the cistern and listen for incoming water. If you hear it, you're good on #2. If not, try another downspout. If nothing again, new drainage will need to be run.
If water is draining in, the final check is whether the tank holds water. Fill it to a visible level, measure, and record. Wait a day and measure again. If the measurements match, you're in luck on #3. If not, the tank walls need to be re-sealed or lined. Cleaning and re-sealing is a DIY-friendly project — see our video: How to stop a cistern water tank from leaking the RIGHT WAY!. We use MasterSeal 581 in gray and white for this purpose, available on our website for local pickup only.
Once the tank is sealed and the downspouts are draining to it, the last step is establishing a way to draw water out. Typically, our customers use electric pumps for this. Please see our line of electric pumps to help with your project.
Summary
Discovering an old cistern opens up a range of possibilities. Restoring it involves checking for debris, ensuring downspouts are connected, and confirming the tank is watertight. If restoration is viable, sealing the tank and setting up a water extraction method will bring your cistern back to life. If those conditions aren't met, replacing the cistern may be the better option. Feel free to contact us for further assistance.
Note: We offer cistern cleaning and sealing services within a 120-mile radius of our office in Yellow Springs, Ohio. We often have a backlog on service projects — it may take 2–3 months to get to your project, so book early if you need this service. Thank you!
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