How to store my water?

[PastorBlaster]

I need some help with my water planning. We have no shortage of water around here. I have two large creeks on our property that can supply emergency water though obviously needing filtered. The help I need is with my secondary water choice.

So here are my three options with their +/-

Shallow well:
I can put in a shallow well that will combine both a pump for when we have electricity as well as a hand pump for when it goes out.
+cheap (<$500)
+can be used for the garden at any time
-shallow depth may require fitering or boiling

Rainwater collection:
We have a large enough roof that if we had the storage tanks could cover 100% of our water needs.
+free and typically drinkable without filtering (though some will no doubt argue this)
+our roof is new steel and there are no trees overhanging to add polutants
+gravity would allow us to use this water for our garden without the need for pumps
-we currently have French drains and not gutters, so we would have to add gutters
-Adequate water storage would require 500-2500 gallon tanks which are far less than subtle and hard to hide

Inline Water Storage:
We could make room in our basement to put 100+ gallons of inline water storage connected to our current water supply.
+no need for filtering
+already in the house
+completely secure and hidden from sight
-because of our basement setup, I will have to dig out part of the crawl space to make room
-I'm not 100% sure I on how to pressurize them and connect them to ensure water circulation to my softener and heater.
-I'm resticted to 55 gallon barrels because of the access doors
-water contamination could occur if the water supply wasn't cut off pending any problems

I'm sure that there are other options, possibly much better ones, but these three are the best water collection and storage options I've come up with. Suggestions on which route to go? Thanks.

 

[BlueDog]

Do you have well or municipal water now?

 

[shibumiseeker]

Go with inline storage and a check valve on the supply side. Since you have two creeks nearby long term water isn't an issue and the inline tank can give you several days worth of normal water if you conserve.

If you want really fancy while you are putting in the inline tank add a fitting so you can run a pump and pump up your pressure tank from an outside source. Then filter or treat the water you actually drink (or you can chlorinate it from the pump supply). Then you can run the pump every few days and still have normal water in the house.