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JDCanuck
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Rainwater Retention and Use in Baja
We have one final goal yet to be resolved in recovering our limited rainwater on hardened surfaces at our home and storing it for future non-potable
use. Site restrictions require a non visible storage system. Anyone come up with a relatively inexpensive manner of burying reservoirs to hold
approximately 40,000 liters?
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chippy
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https://tecnotanques.com/cisternas-rotoplas-medidas-y-precio...
This is what I have.
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advrider
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We use a 1500 gallon and 1000 gallon holding tank at our cabin tract for our water supply (spring fed). They have to be underground, so they aren't
crushed when we get 30 plus feet of snow. You need to keep some water in them at all times, so they don't get pushed back above ground.
It was a job, but we hand dug the holes to put the tanks in because of the remote location on a hillside in the National Forest. The tanks are
available everywhere in the US and I would think Mexico. Might work for you?
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JDCanuck
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Hi Lencho: Yeah, it is a lot to most people. It includes runoff from 300 M2 roofs, additional from driveways and hardened surfaces in the courtyard
that we are collecting, prefiltering and so far discharging to ground. Having to keep them somewhat partially filled means we expect half that
collected each year, and drawing it down half way or more during dry season.
3 to 4 large linked 10,000 liter Rotoplas tanks (as Chippy suggested, I have only found 15000l low profile tanks available in the US) so far is the
best we've come up with, buried and protected with cement surrounds. Tougher self protected tanks are far more expensive but don't require cement
surrounds.
[Edited on 3-14-2022 by JDCanuck]
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JDCanuck
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Advrider: Thanks for the response. That does not seem like a whole lot of water storage for household use, so I assume the spring runs pretty much all
year? Unfortunately, at our place the rains are very short duration and heavy when it hits for the most part. I have calculated about 50% rainwater
retention of 10 cm over 600 m2 and suspect there may be excess of 20000l per year collected.
A lot of guesswork involved here.
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advrider
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Yes, spring runs all year. The system feeds 14 cabin and as long as we don't have leaks we never run out. We keep it running all winter with a valve
at the end of the line so that the system doesn't freeze. Our spring puts out about 2.5 gallons a minute and down to one at the end of dry years. We
are off grid and everyone trys to conserve water, 60 years as still going strong.
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JDCanuck
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Quote: Originally posted by advrider  | | Yes, spring runs all year. The system feeds 14 cabin and as long as we don't have leaks we never run out. We keep it running all winter with a valve
at the end of the line so that the system doesn't freeze. Our spring puts out about 2.5 gallons a minute and down to one at the end of dry years. We
are off grid and everyone trys to conserve water, 60 years as still going strong. |
Which leads me to my next question: Have you considered a micro hydro generator system, or is the head and flow too low at the source?
[Edited on 3-14-2022 by JDCanuck]
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advrider
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I have thought about it but need to investigate the head pressure. It might be too low but I'm not 100% sure yet. Would be awesome if it would work, I
had a friend with one in a creek at his cabin and it worked really good.
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4x4abc
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a one acre garden in Baja (palm trees local shrubs) uses a minimum of 1,000 liters a day
so, rainwater collection will not get you very far.
if you intend to use the rainwater for you house - the average American family uses 300 gal a day (1,100 liters)
even if you cut that in half, rain water collection in Baja will not get you very far.
Harald Pietschmann
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JDCanuck
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| Quote: Originally posted by 4x4abc | a one acre garden in Baja (palm trees local shrubs) uses a minimum of 1,000 liters a day
so, rainwater collection will not get you very far.
if you intend to use the rainwater for you house - the average American family uses 300 gal a day (1,100 liters)
even if you cut that in half, rain water collection in Baja will not get you very far.
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Harald: Two of us should use 1/2 that or less when we are there as we won't be drinking any of it, but you are very correct, 40,000 liters of water
isn't a whole lot if you are in full time occupancy. Rainwater tho is a whole lot softer than the 300+ ppm from the well that we have supplied to the
10000 liter cistern. Secondary reason to capture rainwater is to try and dilute that closer to 180 ppm and save on heating appliances.
[Edited on 3-15-2022 by JDCanuck]
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JDCanuck
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| Quote: Originally posted by 4x4abc | a one acre garden in Baja (palm trees local shrubs) uses a minimum of 1,000 liters a day
so, rainwater collection will not get you very far.
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Thanks for that estimate Harald. Based on what we intend to plant, I think we can keep our plantings well watered and have enough left over to
supplement our storage tanks and still be well within our water usage contract limits without paying excess fees. If I remember right, I think your
pool was right around 40,000 liters volume am i close?
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4x4abc
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yup, my pool is 38,000 liters (10,000 gal)
evaporation is 500 liters (125 gal) a day on average
Harald Pietschmann
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advrider
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Wow, I never realized a pool would lose that much to evaporation. Crazy. Whatever amount you catch is good, that much less you have to pay to haul in.
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JDCanuck
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Water seems to be becoming a more and more precious resource everyplace except here, where we get way more than we want.
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4x4abc
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my water account allows me 17,000 liters a month for $380 pesos
above that it gets really expensive
trucked in water is $1,000 pesos for 10.000 liters
Harald Pietschmann
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David K
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Harald, have you considered a pool cover to reduce the evaporation?
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JDCanuck
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Very cheap water compared to what we pay up here, Harald. I'm sure you have looked at conservation anyplace you can tho judging from what I observed
at your place. Trucked water will likely be getting far more expensive as fuel costs rise.
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4x4abc
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No
the pool is an important joy factor in my life
when warm enough, I use it several times a day
and when not in the water, I enjoy looking at it
a pool cover would destroy that experience
I have considered a pool cover for the winter to reduce heat loss over night
and night use would not effect the vista during the day much
but pool covers are ugly (especially when rolled up) and expensive
so I will add more solar collectors to increase the energy input during the day
Harald Pietschmann
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David K
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Nice! Yes, your pool was wonderful to slip into on a hot La Paz afternoon.
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pacificobob
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| Quote: Originally posted by JDCanuck | Hi Lencho: Yeah, it is a lot to most people. It includes runoff from 300 M2 roofs, additional from driveways and hardened surfaces in the courtyard
that we are collecting, prefiltering and so far discharging to ground. Having to keep them somewhat partially filled means we expect half that
collected each year, and drawing it down half way or more during dry season.
3 to 4 large linked 10,000 liter Rotoplas tanks (as Chippy suggested, I have only found 15000l low profile tanks available in the US) so far is the
best we've come up with, buried and protected with cement surrounds. Tougher self protected tanks are far more expensive but don't require cement
surrounds.
[Edited on 3-14-2022 by JDCanuck] |
Given the collection surface area, how many gallons would be collected per inch of rain?
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