Drought

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Toepopper
Patriot ⭐ Construction, Shelter
Patriot ⭐ Construction, Shelter
Posts: 1229
Joined: 16 Aug 2007 12:03
Location: Southwest Oregon

Drought

Post by Toepopper »

Southern Oregon and Northern California are in a severe drought. Last winter we only received 25" of rainfall (56" is normal) and virtually no snow pack in the mountains and now its taking its toll as local springs and wells are drying up. Some wells dried up last January but now many more wells in wetter ground have dust in them. This has caused many people, the ones who still have water, to stop watering their gardens and after all the work invested in those gardens since last March its heart breaking to lose all the vegetables because of no water. Fortunately I still have water in the well but the level is way down and we have had to restrict our water usage so as not to run out. The fire danger is extreme and there are many forest fires raging out of control around our area. I don't like the idea of not having water for fire fighting and have decided to install backup water storage tanks up on the hill that will gravity feed to our house and garden area. The first tank I purchased was a 1550 gallon green polly water tank. After clearing the hillside of rocks, tree limbs and other debris I pulled the tank uphill and into place using a block and tackle, then tied it to a tree so it wouldn't roll down the hill. There was a natural flat spot on the hill but I had to pick and shovel it to make it large enough to accept the water tank. The ground is so dry its like picking through concrete but I dig a little each day and next week the flat will be large enough and level so I can roll the water tank into position and begin running the black PVC pipe downhill. I took some elevation measurements from the well and the tank is about 70 feet above the well. This will allow me to use a solar water pump to push water from the well up to the water tank, once the well is full again and this extra 1550 gallons will be a nice back up If I ever find myself in this position again. Eventually I plan on installing 2 more tanks in different locations for greater water capacity and storage.
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