Water Storage and Management
Water is a precious resource. Having water capture and storage capacity on site is a primary element of suburban conversion. With the passage of time, this kind of home water system will look better and better. My system is only for irrigation but over time, will include water for drinking as well.
Water issues are becoming ever more defined all over the world. The potential for global instability because of water shortages is increasing constantly. Already much of the world is water stressed, including many parts of the United Sates. That includes humid as well as arid areas. With the increasing value of water as a commodity, privatization issues will become ever more acute. This is a worrisome prospect. Water controlled by entities with corporate values should be of concern to everyone.
My system is very simple and passive. The two 1600 gallon tanks are above ground. There are no pumps, all is gravity. Although my 1/4 acre is flat, there is a surprising amount of pressure even with the tanks less than a foot above ground level. I did have to re plumb the front gutter to flow east instead of west. One place the acquaduct had to go around a corner so I did have to modify a gutter to fit a downspout elbow. The front tank is located just a convenient 8 foot angle down from the existing downspout drain. The backyard tank requires about 28 feet of downspout acquaduct from the downspout drain. There are three angles as the water course follows an exterior wall. The joints between sections are caulked with exterior latex caulk and the sections are suspended by small wires from small hooks screwed into the house siding. Even a modest drizzle finds its way into the tanks.
In 2009 I added a 3000 gallon tank. See water tank fotos below.
With the addition of the 3000 gallon tank, I can water my garden and trees through the dry months of later June, July, August into September only using stored rain water. That is with careful watering, mulching, much done by hand. Even seeds and seedlings can be arranged in a depression in the soil so all are in the same basin so water does not run off in a not so productive way. One inch of rain on 1000 square feet is 550 gallons so filling my tanks is not a problem in the winter time, a rain of 4 to 5 inches will fill my front tanks, each with 600 or so square feet of catchment.
The larger tank has a smaller catchment area coming off the bungalow. With a catchment of about 250 ft sq, the 3000 gallon tank needs about 22 inches of rain to fill.
Using gray water would be a great help. I do use kitchen sink water already. Laundry water would help, bath water would help. Being aware of the potential for fecal bacteria contamination suggests caution with bath water. Of course, the Chinese have used "nightsoil" for 1000s of years. Solid research is recommended for gray water use beyond kitchen sink and laundry. Any recycled water [handle with care] will add to capacity for an off the grid water system.
I mostly use a watering can for watering veggies, shrubs and trees. The property is just too small to justify a complicated irrigations system. Besides, its fun and good exercise to water by hand. I strategically locate 50 gallon barrels in the back and front yards. These barrels are filled by gravity from the large tanks untill the tank level becomes too low to work. Careful not to let the barrels overflow. The process is a bit labor intensive but makes use of water very efficiently.
My water features also are used in the irrigation scheme. They act like the barrels. I dip the watering can into the small pools, one each in the front and back yards. Refilling the 300 to 400 gallon pools has a pleasant effect. They are both connected with underground half inch pvc tubing to their companion 1600 gallon tanks. The pvc tubes from the tanks are postioned to flow out over flat cement blocks [my former driveway] and then drop about a foot into the pools. A delightful on demand waterfall! The water features are also the core of modest but amazingly attractive habitats. Rough blocks from the cut up driveway make wonderful borders to the pools and stacked on top of each other, low walls, the highest - 4 to 5 blocks- are the locations of the waterfalls. The pools have gambusia mosquito fish for mosquito control. Its a very nice set up.
The surface I collect from is galvalume metal roofing. By many accounts, galvalume is the best surface to catch rain water, especially if you want to drink the water. Note, water coming off a galvalume roof STILL needs to be purified. If you are wanting a potable rain water system, you need to carefully research your options. Galvalume is an alloy of aluminum and zinc. It is not a painted surface. It is highly corrosion resistent even in marine enviroments. It has high reflectivity of sun light. It is not a good companion to cement products or animal confinement conditions. You can find out more about galvalume on line or call a roofing professional. Both of my roofs that supply my water tanks are galvalume. I do not drink the water but galvalume is a good place to start to construct a potable rain water system. Fotos of my galvalume roof below.
Managing the rain water is a lot of fun. It is practical, it is strategic. It is a learning experience. The practice will become far more common.
Hover the cursor over the image to see a caption. Clik on the image to enlarge.
Water issues are becoming ever more defined all over the world. The potential for global instability because of water shortages is increasing constantly. Already much of the world is water stressed, including many parts of the United Sates. That includes humid as well as arid areas. With the increasing value of water as a commodity, privatization issues will become ever more acute. This is a worrisome prospect. Water controlled by entities with corporate values should be of concern to everyone.
My system is very simple and passive. The two 1600 gallon tanks are above ground. There are no pumps, all is gravity. Although my 1/4 acre is flat, there is a surprising amount of pressure even with the tanks less than a foot above ground level. I did have to re plumb the front gutter to flow east instead of west. One place the acquaduct had to go around a corner so I did have to modify a gutter to fit a downspout elbow. The front tank is located just a convenient 8 foot angle down from the existing downspout drain. The backyard tank requires about 28 feet of downspout acquaduct from the downspout drain. There are three angles as the water course follows an exterior wall. The joints between sections are caulked with exterior latex caulk and the sections are suspended by small wires from small hooks screwed into the house siding. Even a modest drizzle finds its way into the tanks.
In 2009 I added a 3000 gallon tank. See water tank fotos below.
With the addition of the 3000 gallon tank, I can water my garden and trees through the dry months of later June, July, August into September only using stored rain water. That is with careful watering, mulching, much done by hand. Even seeds and seedlings can be arranged in a depression in the soil so all are in the same basin so water does not run off in a not so productive way. One inch of rain on 1000 square feet is 550 gallons so filling my tanks is not a problem in the winter time, a rain of 4 to 5 inches will fill my front tanks, each with 600 or so square feet of catchment.
The larger tank has a smaller catchment area coming off the bungalow. With a catchment of about 250 ft sq, the 3000 gallon tank needs about 22 inches of rain to fill.
Using gray water would be a great help. I do use kitchen sink water already. Laundry water would help, bath water would help. Being aware of the potential for fecal bacteria contamination suggests caution with bath water. Of course, the Chinese have used "nightsoil" for 1000s of years. Solid research is recommended for gray water use beyond kitchen sink and laundry. Any recycled water [handle with care] will add to capacity for an off the grid water system.
I mostly use a watering can for watering veggies, shrubs and trees. The property is just too small to justify a complicated irrigations system. Besides, its fun and good exercise to water by hand. I strategically locate 50 gallon barrels in the back and front yards. These barrels are filled by gravity from the large tanks untill the tank level becomes too low to work. Careful not to let the barrels overflow. The process is a bit labor intensive but makes use of water very efficiently.
My water features also are used in the irrigation scheme. They act like the barrels. I dip the watering can into the small pools, one each in the front and back yards. Refilling the 300 to 400 gallon pools has a pleasant effect. They are both connected with underground half inch pvc tubing to their companion 1600 gallon tanks. The pvc tubes from the tanks are postioned to flow out over flat cement blocks [my former driveway] and then drop about a foot into the pools. A delightful on demand waterfall! The water features are also the core of modest but amazingly attractive habitats. Rough blocks from the cut up driveway make wonderful borders to the pools and stacked on top of each other, low walls, the highest - 4 to 5 blocks- are the locations of the waterfalls. The pools have gambusia mosquito fish for mosquito control. Its a very nice set up.
The surface I collect from is galvalume metal roofing. By many accounts, galvalume is the best surface to catch rain water, especially if you want to drink the water. Note, water coming off a galvalume roof STILL needs to be purified. If you are wanting a potable rain water system, you need to carefully research your options. Galvalume is an alloy of aluminum and zinc. It is not a painted surface. It is highly corrosion resistent even in marine enviroments. It has high reflectivity of sun light. It is not a good companion to cement products or animal confinement conditions. You can find out more about galvalume on line or call a roofing professional. Both of my roofs that supply my water tanks are galvalume. I do not drink the water but galvalume is a good place to start to construct a potable rain water system. Fotos of my galvalume roof below.
Managing the rain water is a lot of fun. It is practical, it is strategic. It is a learning experience. The practice will become far more common.
Hover the cursor over the image to see a caption. Clik on the image to enlarge.
