Help me drought-proof my life
So last night I posted that it was raining again. It was a fast short steepshot post because there was work to do and only an hour to do it before work! A severe thunderstorm had popped up a mile down the road, and had grown into a good sized cell.
The night before, I had inadvertently forgotten the kiddie pool as a resource for water collection and left it upside down in the yard. Last night was different. As soon as I heard rain on the windows, I bolted out to put it under the drip line of the house. I got it there before the water had started to drip.
Then I remembered the Rubbermaid tote! I used it the previous night on the roof of the chicken run and it had collected a bit there. This time I put it under the roof as well.
As the kiddie pool filled, I realized there was no way I could empty it into the big IBC tote if it got more than a little water in it. So I grabbed a bucket and started moving water. In hindsight, I could have let the pool fill and used the bucket this morning after work...
Between bucket gatherings, I made sure to spend time watching the water in the yard. What a great hour, I gotta say. When it started, you could see each raindrop hit and immediately soak into the ground. An hour in, and it was the same! I need to make a rain gauge so I can know for sure in the future, but I figure it was between a quarter and a half inch of rain. Completely absorbed. There was no runoff from my property into the ditch except that the front driveway overflowed.
Which brings me to the topic of this post:
WATER
As I've stated, our goals moving forward are the chickens, soil, and water. That's because as it sets right now, we already have the base materials to scale up those three foundational systems on our quest to homestead. We have a chicken coop and run with some chickens, we have a well, rooflines, and a water tote, and we have ground that we can work.
We understand that sufficiency and sustainability are progressive goals, and we're not going to walk in and be independent right off the bat. There's work to do, and we need to focus. I'm bad about that, so it's not very easy.
Water is big on the list right now because we're realizing its importance. It's summer in Texas and we're staring a drought right in the face. Yeah, we have city water, so this isn't an emergency. But there are better ways. We have a big IBC tote to collect and a non-functional water well, so those better ways are well within reach.
Here's my main concern:
Runoff.
Call me greedy, but I want that water in my yard. Not in a lake 30 miles away and not in the city water plant.
What can I do to put this stuff into my soil?
My initial idea is a few swales in the front yard with a drain pipe from the ditch to the swale, which would be deeper than the ditch. That sounds like a lot of work and like it could be risky to my big oak trees. We're talking about a four foot deep trench here that would need dug and filled with mulch... That's not easy or cheap.
Maybe I could put small dams in the ditch to make the drain pipes higher and be able to work with shallower swales? A few foot-deep trenches filled with mulch sounds managable.
Like I said, none of last night's storm water was running off my property. It's probably too dry to do anything but soak it all up. This water is coming from somewhere close and going far away while trees here are dying and people here are not able to sustain themselves off their land. I want the water here.
I'm wanting opinions here because I'm super new to this. I'm in brainstorm mode, and other brains can help that a lot.
Sorry there's not a lot of pictures today. The rain outing wasn't photographically documented because, well, it was raining. I was soaked. It was so much fun though, and I was energized all night at work! And, fellas listen up, my beard is SO soft right now. The latest conspiracy theory is that city water chemicals make your beard rough, which makes your woman not like it which makes you shave or get a divorce. Either way, it neuters you or destroys the family unit.
Moral of the story:
Become water independent!
Thanks in advance for your input! I've got an idea that I'm bouncing around. I think I want more trees. Expect a post soon with some brainstorming and arbitrary preliminary goals ;)
Stay relevant
Nate
I agree with @buckaroo! Use that grey water and catch every drop you can. I have swales and a concrete canal I collect runoff from the roadway. It drains into a large pond. We have two wells but they have salt water as we are close to the beach so I need to find an inexpensive way to desalinate that water. we also have tanks that give us close to 12,500 gallons of potable water. We can have 7 months of no rain every year so we try to be prepared. What's up with your wells? Can water be stored there?
I don't know if water can be stored in the well or even if it works. I got a phone number from a friend for her uncle that works on wells, and I'm going to give him a call this weekend. I'm hoping he can help.
It depends if it is a drilled well or a dug well. There has to be a reason it is dry...
Reason number one is that a fuse is blown.
The fuse is blown because I turned it on and it hummed for a bit while I looked at it. I think the motor is seized, but I'm not good enough at electrical work to diagnose anything like that.
Me either. So I leave electrical work to some one else.
The uncle of my chicken farmer friend is a water well tech. I've got his number and need to give him a call. Being a blue collar guy, I know not to interrupt him on his weekend. I'll make an alarm to do so on Monday morning.
Water is vital for survival and so much more appreciated on a homestead. We understand how valuable it is. Our need is different to the city folk who take for granted that the taps will always provide water and the shops the food they require. We redirect our grey water onto our fruit and nut trees or the veggie gardens. All rooves have gutters which feed into massive water tanks. We manage, despite the drought
I'm wondering about grey water lately. I'd need to change soap, which is no big deal. I have a friend from high school that makes natural soaps. Wife probably isn't on board with changing her soap though, so I'd have to have some kind of valve so that specifically my water was recycled... Yeesh.
Soap is really a walk in the park to make - once you know how. And once you know what rubbish goes into the regular store bought soap you won't want it near your body! In the next week or two I'll do a soap making post in my essential oil series....
howdy today sir! I agree with the excellent commenters already and hope we get more rain today!