Rainwater cistern grant
Adult homeowners living in Lotte can receive €150 per full cubic metre for a new underground garden-watering cistern of 3–5 m³.
Collect rainwater underground to water your garden and reduce drinking-water use. This entry covers garden-only cisterns of 3–5 m³: the one-time grant is €150 for each full cubic metre, so 3 m³ attracts €450 and 5 m³ attracts €750.
You can combine this grant with grants and subsidised loans from other funders. Awards are discretionary and depend on the annual €10,000 budget; there is no legal entitlement.
Eligibility
You must be an adult private individual with your main residence in Lotte, owning the developed property in the municipality where the cistern will be installed. Property held under a hereditary building lease and new buildings under construction are included. Businesses, self-employed people, foundations, cooperatives, schools, nurseries and registered associations cannot apply.
- Install a new underground cistern of 3–5 m³ for garden watering under the route described here. Existing installations are excluded. Apply before placing an order, and obtain approval before beginning installation.
- Filter rainwater before it enters the tank. Keep rainwater and drinking-water networks completely separate in accordance with DIN standards. Label open rainwater taps “Kein Trinkwasser” (not drinking water). Connect the overflow to the public rainwater or foul-water sewer and protect the building against sewer backflow.
- Garden use has a general exemption from the requirement to use mains water, provided the systems are separated as required. Obtain any construction or operating permits that apply. Permit municipal or water-supplier staff to inspect the installation after prior notice.
How to apply
- Status
- Open continuously
- Round restrictions
- Applications must precede any order; obtain approval before construction. Funding ends when the annual €10,000 budget is exhausted.
Send the signed application form and an installation quotation to Gemeinde Lotte, Fachbereich Bauverwaltung/Umwelt, Westerkappelner Straße 19, 49504 Lotte, or email wilm-chemnitz@lotte.de, using the subject “Förderung Zisterne”. Complete, verifiable applications are considered in receipt order while funds remain.
Wait for approval before work begins. Complete installation within six months after receiving approval; notify the municipality in writing if completion will be delayed. Photograph the open excavation. After the installation is ready for use, submit the photograph, final invoice and proof of payment to receive the approved grant. The form warns that support can be reclaimed in the circumstances set out in the funding rules.