The old fart's been busy...

[CaptPatrick]

Some of ya'll may remember that last year I built an 8,500 gal concrete rain capture cistern coupled with a 1,500 gal poly storage/working tank.

I've just put the final piece of equipment to finish the water processing. So here's a brief run down on how I'll keep from getting thirsty...

http://bertram31.com/llano/equipment/wa ... /water.htm

[Tommy]

Now That is really a cool system, Pat; thanks for sharing. And yes, you have been keeping really busy. So how are the bullfrogs and turtles doing in your pond?

[PeterPalmieri]

Not quite sitting on the porch with a cigar. Unbelievable, well done, not suprised at all...

[Bertramp]

Busy man .... very nice !!

[Yannis]

Congratulations.

For how long do you expect the well to have water ? The more we use, the faster the water column drops.
How do you collect the rain? By tubes from the roof we see in the pic? First of all, is there enough rain ?
I liked your "solar conversion" promise !

[CaptPatrick]

Thanks Guys...

Tommy, the frog pond & waterfall continues to be the focal point of the house front, albeit it needs a serious hair cut; vegetation has grown into a bit of a jungle...

Yannis, I always have the thought that "is today the day that the well peters out". But there's no indication that points to that happening. I dropped the depth by 100' over 6 years ago and it's shown no sign of slowing down since. The original 100' well is over 20 years old and struggled a little to maintain a constant water level of 80'. The drop to 200' yielded 4 more stratas of water that keep the level well above 100' foot even during pretty dry times. All of my well water is dependent on rainwater; it's all ground water & no aquifer exists...

We get an average of 25" of rain annually which means that I can collect around 41,600 gal a year. In a severe drought situation irrigation would curtailed and if rain fall was reduced to 12" annually, I could still collect around 20,000 gallons. Should the well run dry and I had to depend on rain water alone, the 20K gal rain water would still allow me an average of around 1,650 gallon per month for personal consumption. For survival purposes, I and my pets only need about 5 gallons per day; 10 times less than the average "dry times" volume that would be available. I doubt that such a scenario will present itself in my remaining lifetime but the numbers are in my favor if they do.

This is all dependent on electrical power, hence the need to have solar and/or wind power generation either as a backup or main source.

[SteveM]

Very nice. You put many to shame in the Bahamas. Water systems have become quite popular, although they have to take the salt out..but your's looks so professional. Great job!

[CaptPatrick]

Steve,

Thanks for compliment. Ya'll get so much rainfall that I'd think cisterns would be the predominate system. Desalination is good and makes a smaller foot print but can be very wasteful with it's waste water unless it's some how recycled. Then there's the de-mineralization making the water taste flat...

Do you have your own water system or get your water from Hope Town?

[Bob H.]

Capt Pat great work...like you said water will be like gold in the future, I see so much wasted here in the northeast but when u get 100" of snow people think it's never going to dry up. Keep up the good work and can't wait to see what's next..BH

[CaptPatrick]

Thanks Bob... There's always a dozen or so other projects going on behind the scenes.

Get over to your "new ride" thread and give us the details on what going there!

[Tony Meola]

That is a great system. A lot of mechanical parts to keep up with. I love the filtration system. Have you actually had the water tested, pre filtration and post.

[CaptPatrick]

Tony, thanks!

I did a thorough set of tests prior to installing the filtration and disinfection equipment. I haven't done any more testing other than hardness at the well and at the final tap using a titration test. Hardness dropped from 24 gpg at the well to less than 1 gpg at the tap. Currently I'm running 100% well water. I'll be shifting to 100% rain water next month and will have a untreated sample of it tested before running.

Actually, the volume of plumbing pipes and fittings looks more complex than it really is...

[Tony Meola]

Way back when, during a mid 60's drought, my father had a well drilled. Started out as a shallow well, for the lawn. But we could never drive the point beyond 16 feet so could never get water.

Up here in North eastern NJ they only had to go 135 feet. The driller hit solid rock at 16 feet, hence why we could go no further. I remember that after pumping out of 11/4 inch pipe into the street and measuring the recovery, the water level was actually at around 20 feet. Pretty good flow.

We had no filtration and no softner. Water was really good. We used to get it tested every year. Problem is, back then, they only tested for bacteria and things that would make you sick. Never chemicals, which is what they will do now if you ask.

Today I would worry about chemicals more than anything.

But I miss that well. I have never tasted water as good as what came from that well.

[Yannis]

The islands of the Aegean sea are very dry.
Back in the sixties there was NO central water system provided, so to get drinking water you'd have to take your 20 or 25 liter jug and go to the village tap (at the central well), fill it up and walk home, most probably under a scorching sun... I remember my grand father doing that every so often.

For all other water needs, EVERYBODY on the island would rely on each house's cistern of, say, 30-40 tons. Water would be collected from the rain only (and there was not much) ,from the roof down to the cistern. That's why they would whitewash the roof; to disinfect against all bugs, no water tests, no filters, nothing...
I also remember my dad banging on the bathroom door saying : "aren't you finished yet with your shower" , this being 2 minutes after I had started it , needless to say how that rain water wouldn't rinse.

We went on like that for a few more years, then, as the islands started to develop, they started installing central water systems. But the water was still scarse and you still had to keep the cistern rain water as a back up.

Now, you can sit back and reminisce those days as you consume your tap water coming from the island's desalination facility.
BIIIIG change.

[CaptPatrick]

Tony,

One advantage of living out in bonnies is no chemical pollutants to contaminate the well. Every thing out here is cattle country so no agricultural pesticides, fertilizers, or other chemical sources nearby. No big city pollutants within a 70 mile radius...

Most of LLANO county sits on top of a 7 mile thick layer of solid granite rock, hence no aquifer and drilling is restricted to 300' maximum. Like a big rock in a stream, the aquifer just flows around us.

My final softener appliance removes heavy metals, inhibits bacteria growth in the media bed, filters water to 5 microns, removes sulfur smell and removes iron. Then it pumps through a 1 micron just ahead of the UV filter.

[SteveM]

Patrick
Currently we only catch rain water....we don't get that much rain, so it's a precious commodity.
There is no "City" water anywhere on the island. Up until a few years or so ago, everyone relied on rainwater catchment cisterns under the house.
The roof catches the water, and the downspouts route it to the tanks. I have three fiberglass tanks under my house. A pump with a pressure tank that provides pressure for the house. Some filtration and a UV system for the drinking water in the kitchen. The UV system burns the water I believe and gives it a funky smell like rotten eggs when you initially turn it on.
Some of the homes have their own well and a desalinization system. A must have, if you have a pool or are in constant need of lots of water. With the amount of time we get to spend out there, the investment for this system is not justified for us yet.
There are a couple local entrepreneurs on the island that have robust wells/systems and trucks with large tanks and will fill your cistern with water when needed.
...I've seen a lot of systems on the island and your work looks impeccable. I still want to get on of your live wells before you decide to quit making stuff!

[CaptPatrick]

The UV system burns the water I believe and gives it a funky smell like rotten eggs when you initially turn it on.

Steve,

Usually the "rotten egg smell" is an indication of sulphur in the water. The UV filter doesn't impart any taste to the water or change the properties other than to disrupt the DNA of any bacteria or virus that passed through it. UV lamps loose efficiency with time and should be replaced every 1,000 hours or sooner.

That aside, how are you making out with the hurricane?

[SteveM]

Patrick
Darn you know a lot. You are right. The taste of the water is fine, just a little smell at the sink initially when turned on, the water is warm then it cools and the smell is gone.

We are in good shape so far. The storm is about 300 miles from Hope Town. Smack dab over Rum Cay right about now. I have a buddy down there that runs the place, I'll find out more when it passes. So far I have seen pics of other places where the water is about up to first floor windows. The tides down here have been extra high lately too. Duchess is on my own set of jack stands, 3 on each side and blocked on the keel just like the image from this web site, with chains. I don't think we'll see that much action. Here's a local web cam with weather info. http://www.rockybay.com Today's maximum wind gust was only 27.8kts so far. and no rain. The seas look rough.
If any of you have Garmin's software called HomePort, you can overlay Google Earth with or without weather, waypoints, etc. Here's a screen capture of the location of Joaquin, just below Rum Cay. The lines are done with a ruler in the software. Hope Town is about 300 miles from Joaquin. West Palm Beach about 391 miles.