Escanaba, MI rainwater: 22,922 gallons off a roof

How much rain a roof in Escanaba, MI collects

22,922gallons a year

That is a 1,500 sq ft asphalt roof under Escanaba, MI's normal 28.8 inches of rain, about 795 gallons for every inch that falls.

In Escanaba, MI a single barrel does most of the work. Storms come often enough that a small tank refills before it runs dry, and a bigger one would mostly sit full.

Rainfall: NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, the Escanaba station (2.0 mi away). Escanaba, MI ranks 90th wettest of the 90 cities covered in Michigan.

Month by month in Escanaba

Month	Rain (in)	Off the roof (gal)	Garden shortfall (gal)
Jan	1.18	938
Feb	1.03	819
Mar	1.64	1,303
Apr	2.34	1,860	251
May	3.32	2,639	128
Jun	3.45	2,742	112
Jul	2.90	2,305	181
Aug	2.99	2,376	170
Sep	3.21	2,551	142
Oct	3.06	2,432	161
Nov	2.35	1,868
Dec	1.37	1,089

Jun is the wettest month (3.45 in, 2,742 gal off the roof); Feb the driest (1.03 in). Garden shortfall is what a 200 sq ft vegetable bed needs beyond the rain that lands on it, April to October.

Barrel or cistern in Escanaba?

Best fit: one 55-gallon barrel, which delivers about 892 gallons to the garden in a normal year (77.9% of its need).

Before you buy, a 55-gallon barrel with a downspout diverter is the whole job. Check that the overflow points away from your foundation, because most of Escanaba's roof water will pass straight through it.

Tank	Water used (gal/yr)	Spills over (gal/yr)
55 gal	892	21,025
110 gal	892	21,025
165 gal	892	21,025
275 gal	892	21,025
550 gal	892	21,025
1,000 gal	892	21,025
1,500 gal	892	21,025
2,500 gal	892	21,025
5,000 gal	892	21,025

Simulated storm by storm through a normal year using the station's count of days with 0.1 in or more of rain each month.

Is rainwater collection legal in Michigan?

No rainwater harvesting regulations

From the 2015 (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory report 24347); not yet re-checked against current law, so check with your state water agency before building anything large. Source