Thursday, July 18, 2013

State of the Water Address

Had lots of rain in the area lately but not much here at TFL.  Reckon it is time to asses the catchment and usage for my desert empire.  One of the things I was warned about when I first moved out here was evaporation from the water tanks.  I have discovered that it really isn't much of an issue.  I have been checking one of my 1550 gallon tanks - without being completely sealed, in over a year it has only lost about 75 gallons to evaporation.

This is where we stand today:
Total rainfall for 2013 so far = 5"
Total water in storage = 9,950 gallons
During a light rain event of 1", my roof surfaces catch 2250 gallons
During a heavy rain event of 1"when the creek runs, I catch an additional 3000 gallons via pump.

Water usage per week:
Ben and Bud = 175 gallons
Greenhouse = 140 gallons
Chickens and rabbits = 1 gallon
Washing dishes/showers = 25 gallons

I have yet to set up purification and filtration for my potable water from my catchment for cooking and drinking because I only use about 5 gallons per week.  For that I fill 5 gallon jugs ($1.75)
from the water machine outside the grocery store when I do supply runs to Alpine.  79,88,69, .08",B,0

7 comments:

Under The SC Sun said...

Thanks John. This is timely information. Now that I am under a year from the big move... You have spared me from emailing or IMing to ask this very question.

God is great!!

mike said...

Where do the range cattle get their water?

Rev.jimmyleebob said...

An actual State Address that isn't pure fiction.

Under The SC Sun said...

I would be curious what bulk potable water costs there. For instance 1000 gallons.

remmij said...

gold in the desert, but hard to mint… except in julep form.

Jay P said...

Well John, you're a smart man so you know that the storage of ANY kind of liquid requires for you to provide "the angels share". The fact that you might notice a drop in volume is proof that the angels are there looking after you and yours. I wouldn't bother to ever check it again. The angels never take more than they need, nor more than you can afford. :-)

Unknown said...

Hey John,
You may want to try a water filter like I describe in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrfcuqQ76qI

I like the the Aqua Rain but Berkey is good too.

I've been watching your YouTube videos for a while but forget you have a blog. So I've been catching up.