Rainwater collection

[KathyLauren]

We are trying to get our garden set up for growing most of our own food. Problem is, we get almost no rain in the summer, and our well doesn't produce enough water for the garden. On the other hand, we get lots of rain in the winter, so rainwater collection and storage is a no-brainer.

I've got 2500 gallons of storage on-line right now, and I'm only a week or so away from connecting another 2000 gallons of storage. I have two tanks (1000 gal and 1500 gal) under the deck, and I am adding another 2000 gal tank at the back of the garden. Every millmetre of rain on the roof collects 41 gallons.

One tank under the deck:


Tank plumbing:


In the garden, I have a solar-powered pump to provide pressure for watering with soaker hoses. I have a timer on the pump so I can set it for however long I want to water, and it will shut itself off.

The fire department connection is because we live in an area of extreme forest fire hazard. It just makes sense, if you have a bunch of water stored, to have it available for firefighting. The connection only added about $30 to the total cost.

[jim]

Dear KeithBC,

I have been thinking of escalating our rain harvesting from water butts to installing a tank under the decking, but was at a loss as to how to access it when it began to run low. Having seen your photos I now realize that a hose outlet and the position - at the top of a sloping garden - will allow siphoning to drain the tank when it does begin to run down. Thanks for that!

Start saving for a big enough tank and plumbing now!

Love and Peace
Jim

[contadino]

In the garden, I have a solar-powered pump to provide pressure for watering with soaker hoses. I have a timer on the pump so I can set it for however long I want to water, and it will shut itself off.

Hi Keith,

Nice post. Could you tell me more about your solar-powered pump? Which pump do you have, what panels, whether it's battery or direct, throughput, etc.. By the sounds of things, your soaker hoses are higher than the water outlet?

I found this one:

http://www.liujia.com/index.php

But I'm a bit unsure about it's reliability so would prefer a recommendation. My water tank is underground, but due to the layout of my land, is higher than the veg plot. Unfortunately, the people that built it didn't put a drain near the bottom, so at the moment I have to pump water down to the veg plot. What I'd like to do is pump water using a solar pump into a smaller tank, which I can drain to the irrigation system each evening.

Many thanks.

[KathyLauren]

Could you tell me more about your solar-powered pump? Which pump do you have, what panels, whether it's battery or direct, throughput, etc.. By the sounds of things, your soaker hoses are higher than the water outlet?

My soaker hoses are actually downhill from two of the tanks, but the total head is pretty minimal when the level is low. They work better with a bit more pressure. When I get the new tank hooked up, I will need the pump to lift the water a little way.





The pump is a ShurFlo 12 volt diaphragm pump, rated at 2 gallons per minute. Its cutoff switch is set to 45 psi. The battery is a standard marine battery. Don't use an ordinary car battery, since they aren't intended to provide continuous power; marine batteries are. The solar panel is a 12 volt, 15 watt single panel. At 15 watts, you don't need a charge controller. If you use a higher wattage panel, you do.

If your tank is uphill from the garden, you would only need the pump to prime the hose. Once it is filled with water, it should siphon by itself without a pump.

[KathyLauren]

Update...

Yesterday, I finished digging the trench and made the final connection to the third tank. I gave it its first test as soon as it was connected. It fills at about 8-10 gallons per minute by gravity from the upper tanks, which is all I need.

When full, it will feed by gravity to the garden, but, near empty, I have to lift the water a couple of feet. So, with about 100 gallons in it (almost empty), I pumped a bit of water to see how well it worked. The pressure at the hose nozzle was a bit lower than I am used to, but it worked just fine.

And, best of all, none of the connections leaked! So now, we have 4500 gallons of storage. All we need is some rain to fill it...

[mrsflibble]

wow this is just astounding!!!

[paul123456]

Hello there ,

that's a good system you've got there , a good step in the direction of ss .

We have an old well here in the garden but ........... we are in the low turf country , so the water is brown.
But it is still good for the garden though , using it for drinking it would needed to be filtered, alot of hassle.

When we lived in Ireland on the west coast , we had a natural spring 15 meters above our house ,it supplied
spa water which came from around 600 meters below , and it was pure !What the farmer did though was develope it into
a drinking place for the cows , not considering the people who would like to use it .

Recently I spoke to someone who was planning on making a grey water system ,one for flushing the toilet
and washing machine ,pretty popular out here , but ............

she found a bit of a snag , they needed planning permission !

for collecting rain water ,on your own land !

What a great way of creating income for the council !

The expectation is that water is going to be the new oil of the future , the dutch prince willem alexander
has put himself in the position of being the new drinkwater embassador.Like in the past the dutch royals
placed themselves in to key positions of the world economy.

So water is going to be an interessting subject in the years to come .

As long as people are in the position to regulate their own supply , great ,but watch the government
they'd like to control it .

All the best ,

regards ,

Paul

[KathyLauren]

Hello there ,
she found a bit of a snag , they needed planning permission !

I've heard that - that some jurisdictions require planning permission for collecting rainwater. To me, that is truly bizarre. I mean, if you were planning to pump the water into trucks and export it, then sure, you are robbing the local groundwater of rain that rightfully belongs there. But if you are collecting water that would have fallen on the ground and using it to put back onto the ground, what's the big deal? Makes you wonder, doesn't it?