Rain collection and filter

I use my rain water, unfiltered, for everything. I even have a dipper cup hanging from the tap so I can take a pull of cool rain water when I'm working outside.

I get pine pollen in the water but it's harmless and does't affect the taste. It collects in the bottom of the barrel so I rinse it out annually just to keep it from building up too much.

This year I had a taste develop in the water because of very extensive forest fire activity in the area resulting in heavy smoke and ash in the air this summer (it lasted for weeks). The water is safe to drink but it does taste a bit "smokey"...perfect for making a good Scotch I bet!

While it's good to have large storage capacity, the water quality will be better if the system is routinely used and the water replenished somewhat regularly ( I find if I can routinely replenish about % 20-50 of my volume, my water stays "fresh").

In short; unless you are dealing with other pollutants or the water turns "skunky" in the barrels due to storage (algae, dust, etc), or you are storing the water for extended periods of time (stagnant water), there is no real need to filter rain water if it's collected in the manner you are collecting it.

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Rain collection and filter