State of the Water Supply

Total rain so far this year is 4.41" - and I have 17,400 gallons on tap as of today.  It has been a while since I was this close to topping off all 20,000 gallons of my storage tanks.  The last time I was full to capacity was 2016 when I got 12.26" of rain over those 12 months.  76,82,70, .23",B

Casita overflow line...

 

This is something I suggested to the new owners last year.  If the catchment tank overflows, all that extra water would just pool up by the foundation (not good).  I routed a 2" line from near the top of the tank to 30' downhill from the Casita.  There is a screen at the end of the line to keep critters from making their way into the water supply.  The tank is nearly full, and we have a good chance of more rain coming Sunday and Monday - so this line may very well get a chance to serve its intended purpose.  93,101,69,0,B    

State of the water supply...

 

Been a pretty lean year so far rain-wise.  Less than a half inch since the beginning of 2022.  Checked my tanks this morning and I have 7,900 gallons on tap.  Tank prices have really gone through the roof since then.  When I bought mine 14 years ago, a 3,000 gallon tank from this company was $975 including shipping.  87,91,56,0,B

water transfer

 

Moving water from my creek tanks to my greenhouse tanks.  By gravity, the flow rate is about a gallon a minute.  The two greenhouse tanks I am topping off need about 1,400 gallons each.  I get 1,500 gallons per inch of rain off the greenhouse roof, but I can pump 3,000 gallons out of the creek after a fast 1/2" of rain so it is good to have some room in the creek tanks in case that happens again this year. It would be nice to top off all the tanks for a change as it has been 2 years since that has happened.  Total rainfall so far for 2021 is 5.71".  Last year I only got 1.95".  76,83,64,0,B  

tank to tank...

State of The Rainwater Supply Address

So far this year I've had .67" of rain.  Out of a total storage capacity of 21,000 gallons - I have 10,850 gallons on tap.  90,105,69,0,B

gutters and tank...

Chance of rain coming later in the week.  

The Casita is ready to catch it.

Video of the install Friday.  

77,89,54,0,B

The Field Lab Rain Gauge

Are you a true off-gridder? Here is a test. My "rain gauge" has 150 gallons of rainwater in it after the last 24 hours. This was caught off a roof surface that is 352 square feet. How much rain actually fell? 80,86,63,?,B

State Of The Water Supply

Well it looks like the dry season is finally over.  Got an inch of rain over the past two nights.  Up until last week, TFL got only a half inch of rain over the past 6 months.  My total storage capacity is 20,000 gallons and I was down to 9,225 gallons as of Saturday.  All my catchment surfaces combined yield 2,000 gallons per inch of rain - and if the arroyo runs, I can pump an additional 3,000 gallons after a good rain event.  Sunday night I got 1/2" of rain and caught 1,000 gallons off my roofs and pumped 2,500 gallons out of the arroyo.  Monday night I got another 1/2" of rain - so another 1,000 gallons off my roofs...but it was too late to pump the arroyo again.  As of today, I now have 13,725 gallons on tap.  Chance of more rain tonight so this might get updated.  83,91,66,0,B

State of The Water Supply Address

Last time I had a good rain out here was last year on December 6th (.65").  Since then I have only had .24" of rain in almost 5 1/2 months.  Might get a little rain Sunday and Monday so I figured this was a good time to check my tanks.  Out of a total storage capacity of 20,400 gallons, I currently have 11,150 gallons on tap.  I am almost half empty (or half full).   95,102,68,0,B

tease

...some of my tanks are a little thirsty...77,88,55,0,B

State of The Rainwater Catchment Address

Recent storm activity has gotten me thinking about my water supply.  So far this year I have gotten just shy of a half inch of rainfall.  Last year by this time TFL had almost 4" of rain.  Checked the levels in all my tanks and I am happy to report that as of today I have 11,450 gallons on tap.  I am currently using about 40 gallons per day (mostly for Ben'n'Bud and the chickens and rabbits).  At that rate, my reserves will last 286.25 days.  Looking forward to some more substantial gains.  80,92,71,0,B

rain ready

Good chances of rain coming up (not a drop so far) so I shuttled some tank water around to make room.  Added a larger tank for the west shade gutter.  Installed a drip edge on the hut to keep light rains from seeping around under the roof...something I should have done 5 1/2 years ago due to the shallow pitch..

Carl has decided we are friends again so I let him out of jail  The two hens seemed happy to roam around with him all day.  They have been penned up their whole lives until today.  It was also time to mouse proof the chicken feed.  80,89,70,0,B,.26

1550

Transferred 1550 gallons of old creek water and topped off one of the 3000 gallon tanks. Took about 2 hours to clean out the newly emptied one.  Rolled it over to BenLand...it's the new catchment tank for the barn roof.  Ben approved after giving it the lick test.  BTW...Bud is doing fine after yesterday's surgery. (Wonder if he has phantom pain - I'm still feeling it after watching the procedure.)   65,79,40,0,W,0

water in the bank

Low of 36 - High of 50. Cold dreary day today with lots of fog in the morning and low clouds all day - but no more rain for now. One of the few swamped in cloudy days I will get for the entire year. Finished pumping out the pond and filled the 3000 gallon tank by 4PM. That's 25,020 lbs of water earmarked for growin' food this summer. My little 12 volt pump worked 12 1/2 hours over the last two days to do the job. The good thing is the new dam holds the water till I'm done pumping, even at that rate. I think I will move the other big tank down to the reservoir as it has proved to be an easy spot to snatch and store the water when it happens. Had a brief bit of sun just as the tank was dribbling over and dashed out to enjoy a glimpse of my shadow.

Ordered one last set of the cheap (on sale) Harbor Freight solar panels to dedicate to my swamp cooler once it warms up to the point where I will need it. Will try to remember this chilly day fondly when we start hitting 110 this summer. Also ordered two 123 watt solar panels through my friend Bennett Jones in Alpine - one for fun in the future and one to supplement the wind turbine battery house. With all the cloud cover we have had for the past two days, I'm powering this blog tonight with the juice from the turbine battery house via an inverter and 300' of extension cord. Seems I've got water and power to spare now.