Water

[snousle]

The water situation has not worked out quite as I had hoped. Bill assured me we would have five gallons a minute, which is a lot, from the spring up the hill. We are getting water, but it's just a trickle, and it has recently fallen below our use. We have 5000 gallons stored - about a month's worth - and have only drawn down the highest tank a few inches. But I don't much care for the trend.

The rain will come in about a month and the spring will start flowing harder again. I think a lot of the water is being drawn away by trees, which suck harder on the aquifer on hot days like this. This has been an unprecedentedly dry summer - the reservoir down the hill is nearly empty, and I'm not sure how they will irrigate the grapes without it.

In the meanwhile, I'm putting a fair bit of time into looking at improving the situation. These springs are so marginal that I'm worried about doing anything to our existing feed; Bill excavated a little last year and said he regretted it, since that appears to have reduced the flow. Spring tapping methods talk about digging down uphill of the source, but I'm terrified of punching a hole through whatever structure is bringing the water up, and losing it all for good.

The locations of the springs themselves are inexplicable. They tend to occur immediately below big piles of rocks. I can't find any evidence of clay layers that would drive groundwater to the surface, and the catchment areas that feed them seem very small. The one we're using in particular has a "watershed" of less than an acre - surface runoff from anywhere else would go in a different direction. I sure wish there were a way of peering underground to see what's there.

There are several alternative sources, all of which we could start harvesting within weeks if we HAD to, so it's not like there's a crisis right now. But they are all more difficult than the current source.

One possibility is an ordinary well, at a cost of about $10K. There are opportunities to drill horizontally as well.

There is a substantial spring higher up on the mountain, but the hike up there takes half an hour and it's a real hard slog. There is no road access, and the approach from the neighbor's property above is too hazardous to make hauling things downhill any easier.

There is a wonderful spring right at the bottom of the property, but the water would have to be pumped up and it's several hundred feet from the nearest electricity. I'm not sure how far or how easily an electrical line could be extended down there.

Anyway, I'm glad we've got what we have, since it's delicious and unchlorinated. I consider it among the highest of luxuries. But we hardly have enough to share with a potted plant - just having a couple guests full time at this point would drain us dry inside of a month.

It's one of the adventures of rural life, I guess.

Comments

[furr-a-bruin.livejournal.com]

Although the upper spring is, as you say, a "hard slog" - and not to minimize the work involved - it sounds like piping to that could be put in a bit at a time, leaving the final connection to the spring until you're actually ready to/needing to tap it. Not needing electricity to access that water seems like a major plus - though of course I'm not familiar with the specific terrain you're dealing with. Does it freeze there? How much protection would a water line need?

I imagine if you had to trench in a pipe down to the lower spring, there should be some way to include a conduit to run an electrical feed through - but of course I am no electrician and have no idea what's considered proper practice in a case like this.

Best of luck in dealing with this - if your surmise is correct, here's hoping the trees get less thirsty soon.

[chefxh.livejournal.com]

I was shocked at how quickly our well water in Tempe became an issue.

[bbearseviltwin.livejournal.com]

Concerning your lower spring, have you considered a wind or solar powered pump? one that pushed your water up to a catch basin closer to your electrical connection where a conventional pump could take over ?

[snousle.livejournal.com]

Yes; as you might expect, they're expensive. However, we might be able to get water to flow by gravity to somewhere closer to the power line.

[sinnabor.livejournal.com]

There is a wonderful spring right at the bottom of the property, but the water would have to be pumped up and it's several hundred feet from the nearest electricity. I'm not sure how far or how easily an electrical line could be extended down there.

A solar panel connected to a pump might do it. I just saw a setup like that working the other day, moving water a couple hundred feet uphill for irrigation.

[bbearseviltwin.livejournal.com]

There is also the option of rain barrels or cisterns, not good for drinking, at lest safely but good for watering plants and gardens

[sierrabiker.livejournal.com]

Welcome to rural life. In Gorman we had a windmill and two tanks, a rairoad tank car, as well as an additional tank. It was a full time job to keep it all full and eventually we got an other well. The good thing is, you appreciate the water you do get more.

[sierrabiker.livejournal.com]

Wait till you start pumping mud.

Or, repair a windmill that has been stripped due to not locking the blades during a storm ... it could get much worse. Just enjoy what you've got. You have water ... that's great! and you've got a great property with a great house and a terrific view.

[snousle.livejournal.com]

It's a scale issue. The three of us use 150 gallons a day, while a modest garden would use 200 gallons a day. To get through just 100 days without rain, usually more like 150, that's a really really really big tank!

[bbearseviltwin.livejournal.com]

the gray water from your sinks (not your toilets) can be recycled as well, to a garden or to flushing toilets, all though that would be a bit of a hassle to retrofit to the toilets

[snousle.livejournal.com]

Quite the opposite - I could lay a quarter mile of one inch line inside of a few hours, for just a few hundred dollars, but tapping the spring itself is delicate and time consuming. We just put our lines on the surface since there aren't a lot of hard freezes, and 20 year old sections are still doing just fine.

Piping is a little too easy, actually - Bill's got all kinds of irrigation line lying around, and gathering up all the unused portions is a bit of a chore.

The stuff is incredibly durable. I cannot crush the 1" line with all my strength, even stomping on short sections in boots. It amazes me you can buy this for only pennies a foot.

[snousle.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately there is no concept of "gray water" in California building standards. I raised this issue way back but it is not allowed.

[bbearseviltwin.livejournal.com]

How odd, the concept of using gray water for toilets and gardening got it's popularity back in the 60's and 70's among the back to nature and living off the grid movement which was centered for the most part in California. Oh well and other good idea shot down

[sierrabiker.livejournal.com]

The link below likely is not the most current re: gray water systems in ca but it is an example at least. In the foothills and desert many people divert the water from the washer and sinks to the garden and use biodegradable soaps that wont harm plants or environment. You can also supplement your drinking water with some bottled water if you are worried about running low.

http://www.owue.water.ca.gov/docs/Revised_Graywater_Standards.pdf

[broduke2000.livejournal.com]

Save water:

Shower with a friend.

[bigjohnsf.livejournal.com]

Even an old-fashioned mechanical windmill would be expensive?

[snousle.livejournal.com]

Everything is expensive. Especially when they're old-fashioned.

[snousle.livejournal.com]

Hm, well, that is interesting since the architect said that there was no provision for graywater at all. We were actually interested as much for water disposal as savings since the septic situation was tricky as well.

But these guidelines are still quite restrictive and would be hard to implement... rural life is full of good sounding ideas that remain more difficult than the alternative, which in this case is to just get more water.

[snousle.livejournal.com]

Turns out there are provisions for graywater, see the comments below.

[sierrabiker.livejournal.com]

A mechanical windmill is the most expensive option of all. A simple briggs and stratton motor is far cheaper to replace/repair than a windmill. There are not may people that work on oldfashion style windmills and parts can be difficult to get. I have no knowledge however about big modern windmills, but I can imagine those are very expensive.

[sierrabiker.livejournal.com]

After a biog storm stripped the gears on our windmill, we ended up replacing our windmill for a briggs and stratton.

[sierrabiker.livejournal.com]

You don't necessarily need an electric line to the spring ... check out briggs and stratton. We didnt have electricity for nearly 15 years and managed without it, though it was ALOT of work and expense. Briggs and Stratton are experts at pumps used for water wells.

[sierrabiker.livejournal.com]

Unless we get serious rains this winter, the entire state will have a severe water problem. There are just too many people in a state that is nearly 2/3 desert. If we are to accomodate more people in the future we have to add to our water infrastructure. Have you seen San Louis Reservoir lately (off of hwy 152)?

[sierrabiker.livejournal.com]

Someone should tell the damn catholics to stop making so many babies.

[bbearseviltwin.livejournal.com]

good, nice to have some options open, considering the drought California has been suffering

[barbarian-rat.livejournal.com]

One thing I didn't consider until after we installed our new water system in Forestville was multiple storage tanks that would fill in the winter for use in dry summers. Just a thought.

Also, the line from the upper spring sounds like a good plan even though "tapping the spring itself is delicate and time consuming. "
Water tables are dropping all over Sonoma Co., the blame being put on vineyards, [or course domestic use would never impact the water table ;)] I would imagine that Mendocino co. will be facing the same problem in the future.
Gettin' yourself more water will be a wise thing to do.

[backrubbear.livejournal.com]

Your state's dept of environmental quality equivalent should have somewhat public hydrogeology maps available for your area. That should give you an idea where the aquifer is at and at what level.

Since it sounds like you're on top of clay, it's likely you can drill a well. That will definitely be in the lower thousands of dollar range, even around here in Michigan. You already have a cistern, so that makes storage a bit easier. The pump is an annoyance - especially from a noise consideration - but isn't all that bad.