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Catching water - in Ca. olden days
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Posted by bejay9_10 zone 9/10 (My Page) on Wed, Oct 25, 06 at 10:08
| This old house was probably built long before the water company supplied water to the local residents. It has - what looks like a cement slide on the southern side of the house, with a "V" catch basin below - then a flat slab. (Perhaps a tank below).
I haven't looked into the idea of using it to catch rain water, but if it wouldn't prove too costly, it might be desirable after all. (The water company recently doubled my bill - not nice to gardeners).
Is anyone familiar with this type of "water catching" and methods for recycling to water plants? The water here is very alkaline, and if it would be financially feasible, I would like to try salvaging this system.
Bejay |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Catching water - in Ca. olden days
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| I've never seen a system like yours, but we use water that runs off the roof to water our garden. We just use plastic barrels under the downspouts to catch the water and then a small pump to save it in 250 gallon holding tanks. I'd like a larger system becuase we can use 500 gallons of water in an afternoon of watering our gardens and fruit trees. Cheryl |
RE: Catching water - in Ca. olden days
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| How is your 250 gallon tank placed? Is it below ground or up high for gravity feed for watering your trees? I'm not sure how I would be able to use regular hoses for watering - unless the holding tank is higher than the hose outlet. In my case, the tank would be below ground - and not quite sure how to retrieve it through the hoses - perhaps it would siphon OK once started, but the actual process for getting the water out - is a bit unclear - especially if one wanted to use a hose. We get little rain here, but when we do, it usually comes in a time of several months, so it may not be cost effective - but if the system is already in place, I might be willing to salvage it. Appreciate the feedback. Bejay |
Catching water - in Ca. olden days
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| The tanks are above ground behind our garage, and we have a small submersable pump to get the water into and out of them. It runs on electricity, so we have an extension cord that runs to the garage outlet. Once the water fills the rain barrels by the house, we drop the pump into the barrel and pump it through a hose to the big tanks. Then to use the water from the tanks, we use the pump and hose. It can be a little cumbersome to drag the hose around like that, but it sure saves the well. Last summer we had a serious drought and the well water started to get a little sandy. When that happens we have to back off on watering the yard so we have enough for drinking and washing. Can you see down into your catch tanks to tell if they are full of debris or other stuff? It sounds like a neat system, and if it has water in it, you can use a fairly small inexpensive pump (about $25) to pump it out. The pump creates the pressure in the hose and I use a hose end sprayer to water the garden. The catch with the sprayer is that if there is debris or leaves in the water, they go through the hose and pump ok, but will clog the sprayer. So you do have to keep an eye on it while it's running. Cheryl |
RE: Catching water - in Ca. olden days
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| Thank you for the heads-up on your system, sounds great. Yes, I'm afraid whatever is catching the water must be full of - probably sand, as the inlet pipe is only about 3/4 inch. Awhile ago, we had a Rotorooter fella come on another job, checking out the ancient septic tanks here - still going strong, made of cement block and with a redwood cover. He put one of those "endoscopy" tubes down the entrance, and looked inside the holding tank. It is something like a camera on the end of a tube that they can check out and have a look-see inside the lines. (just like a Dr. when he looks inside the human body - isn't that amazing?). One of our kids threw a stuffed toy down the toilet many years ago, when they were small. This instrument correctly identified that the critter was a teddy bear, still somewhat intact stuck in the pipes. Once it was removed, the line was free, and we could then use the toilet in that part of the house - amazing? Anyway, I thought it might be worthwhile to have them run that thingy inside that inlet pipe, and perhaps I can come up with some better answers. I like the idea of catching rain water - and perhaps one way or the other I can have such a set up here. Thanks again for the input. Bejay |
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