Old Point Loma Lighthouse Rain Catchment Basin

A coastal desert is a difficult place to secure water before modern plumbing.

NPS / Amanda Gossard

Take the stairs back down to the first floor and exit the lighthouse. On your way down, take a moment to imagine how your family might live in this house without the luxuries of our modern world. Remember, this house did not have running water. So how did this family living in a remote area in the coastal desert get access to fresh water?As you exit the lighthouse, walk down the front steps. In front of you, you will see a fenced area called the catchment basin. Before the catchment basin was created, the family would collect rainwater and moisture from the fog using gutters to guide it from the roof into containers. The catchment basin was built to create additional surface area for the water to condense and collect on—giving more opportunity to collect even more water. The construction of a cistern, a waterproof area to store collected water, was completed in 1883. This cistern was the only source of fresh water for the lighthouse. Even though the family had the means to collect rainwater, rain events were infrequent, and water had to be used sparingly.