Lexington, NE rainwater: 19,282 gallons off a roof

Rainwater from a roof in Lexington, NE

19,282gallons a year

That is a 1,500 sq ft asphalt roof under Lexington, NE's normal 24.3 inches of rain, about 795 gallons for every inch that falls.

In Lexington, NE 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 Lexington 1.1 E station (1.4 mi away). Lexington, NE ranks 14th wettest of the 16 cities covered in Nebraska.

Month by month in Lexington

Month	Rain (in)	Off the roof (gal)	Garden shortfall (gal)
Jan	0.44	350
Feb	0.61	485
Mar	1.17	930
Apr	2.41	1,915	242
May	3.95	3,139	50
Jun	3.67	2,917	85
Jul	3.80	3,020	69
Aug	3.10	2,464	156
Sep	1.82	1,447	315
Oct	1.89	1,502	307
Nov	0.81	644
Dec	0.59	469

May is the wettest month (3.95 in, 3,139 gal off the roof); Jan the driest (0.44 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 Lexington?

Best fit: one 55-gallon barrel, which delivers about 923 gallons to the garden in a normal year (75.5% 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 Lexington's roof water will pass straight through it.

Tank	Water used (gal/yr)	Spills over (gal/yr)
55 gal	923	17,594
110 gal	1,017	17,500
165 gal	1,017	17,500
275 gal	1,017	17,500
550 gal	1,017	17,500
1,000 gal	1,017	17,500
1,500 gal	1,017	17,500
2,500 gal	1,017	17,500
5,000 gal	1,017	17,500

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 Nebraska?

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