RoofRainYield

Kerman, CA rainwater: 8,473 gallons off a roof

Kerman, CA: gallons off the roof each year

8,473gallons a year

That is a 1,500 sq ft asphalt roof under Kerman, CA's normal 10.7 inches of rain, about 795 gallons for every inch that falls.

Kerman, CA's rain arrives in a wet season and stops, so storage is what matters. It takes a cistern of 2,500 gallons to carry spring rain into the dry months.

Rainfall: NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, the Helm 2.7 Nne station (10.8 mi away). Kerman, CA ranks 323rd wettest of the 376 cities covered in California.

Month by month in Kerman

MonthRain (in)Off the roof (gal)Garden shortfall (gal)
Jan1.941,542
Feb1.931,534
Mar1.941,542
Apr1.10874405
May0.54429475
Jun0.1295527
Jul0.0324539
Aug0.018541
Sep0.0756534
Oct0.55437474
Nov0.79628
Dec1.641,303

Jan is the wettest month (1.94 in, 1,542 gal off the roof); Aug the driest (0.01 in). Garden shortfall is what a 200 sq ft vegetable bed needs beyond the rain that lands on it, April to October.

Which tank size is worth it in Kerman

Best fit: a 2,500-gallon cistern, which delivers about 3,337 gallons to the garden in a normal year (95.5% of its need).

If you buy one, ask about a rebate first: cistern-sized storage costs real money, and a buried or tall tank may need a permit. Place it where a full tank (about 8.3 lb a gallon) sits on firm, level ground.

TankWater used (gal/yr)Spills over (gal/yr)
55 gal2757,655
110 gal5357,395
165 gal7557,175
275 gal1,0636,867
550 gal1,3876,543
1,000 gal1,8376,093
1,500 gal2,3375,593
2,500 gal3,3374,593
5,000 gal3,4374,493

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 California?

Legal. Use of rainwater collected from rooftops does not require a water right permit (Rainwater Capture Act of 2012, Water Code 10570 et seq.). The Act does not change existing water rights; local building/plumbing codes still apply to installed systems.

Checked against the current source on 2026-11-06. Source