Water storage

[slowworm]

Like many other people I'm looking at increasing our water storage. As we have an always on pump for our water supply we have a 1000+ litres concrete over flow tank and we have 5 water butts, so another 1000 litres. However, it times of drought like this it does seem to go far so I'll add to what we have.

What does everyone else do? I've looked at large rainwater harvesting tanks but they often seem to work out a similar price per litre as additional water butts; and I'm happier with 5 water butts than one tank.

 

[British Red]

Like many other people I'm looking at increasing our water storage. As we have an always on pump for our water supply we have a 1000+ litres concrete over flow tank and we have 5 water butts, so another 1000 litres. However, it times of drought like this it does seem to go far so I'll add to what we have.

What does everyone else do? I've looked at large rainwater harvesting tanks but they often seem to work out a similar price per litre as additional water butts; and I'm happier with 5 water butts than one tank.

Funny you mention that, I've just been overhauling part of our water harvesting solution. We have a brick rainwater cistern and well, but, as you say, it goes fast. We use above ground 3.5 bar (50psi) pumps to pressurise stored water to mains pressure. They can use 1,000 litres an hour easily. As well as our cistern and well we use connected & adapted IBC tanks - cheap, long lasting, decent storage

 

[Broch]

This last few weeks has made me think of this. I've mitigated the power cuts (we're on a bore hole so need electricity to get water) by getting a good generator. But, I have no way of knowing how much water is in the seam we're tapped into. So I thought I'd get at least one 1000L tank hidden in the wild shrubs above the house that I fill in spring and just keep as a reserve for if we get more droughts in future years. Still mulling it over though.

 

[British Red]

This last few weeks has made me think of this. I've mitigated the power cuts (we're on a bore hole so need electricity to get water) by getting a good generator. But, I have no way of knowing how much water is in the seam we're tapped into. So I thought I'd get at least one 1000L tank hidden in the wild shrubs above the house that I fill in spring and just keep as a reserve for if we get more droughts in future years. Still mulling it over though.

If you are keeping it for months I'd definitely ensure that it's an opaque tank to avoid algae

 

[TeeDee]

What are the laws/rule if one was to pump water from a stream running through your land into holding tanks?

 

[knowledge=gain]

i am lucky here as i live very close to waterways and have never seen them dry up and they are not showing signs of drying up anytime soon and are free flowing

thus and thankfully i have non need to stock up too much

however i respect that many do not live close to water courses

i do know that there are natural springs and many throughout the UK thus may be worth looking for their locations for the closest near your homes as this may be a viable option for many

also locate land with water wells on them and converse with the land-owners for some water in exchange for an extra pair of hands if they need or other bartering skill you may have

i know many have not prepared or got preparations ready thus we need to look at all options available that may be viable that when they read this thread they can gain the knowledge that can help them too

 

[knowledge=gain]

What are the laws/rule if one was to pump water from a stream running through your land into holding tanks?

is the watercourse on said land or neighbouring land...??

if it is on said land then there should be non-issues for pumping water to holding tanks for livestock as far as i remember

and as we get treated as cattle then we are classed as livestock are we not...??

 

[Broch]

What are the laws/rule if one was to pump water from a stream running through your land into holding tanks?

Good question! If it was a large and regular quantity I suspect you would need an extraction licence of some kind. Farmers do this regularly so there's a mechanism for charging for the water (of course) - I just don't know what quantity you would need to own up to

 

[knowledge=gain]

If you are keeping it for months I'd definitely ensure that it's an opaque tank to avoid algae

painting tanks black or cover in black cloth or black plastic will help

 

[Broch]

If you are keeping it for months I'd definitely ensure that it's an opaque tank to avoid algae

Yeh, the plan is to cycle it when ever there's plenty of water around. Of course, how anyone knows how much water there is 100m down I don't know.

 

[British Red]

What are the laws/rule if one was to pump water from a stream running through your land into holding tanks?

Check if you need a licence to abstract water

If you abstract water or plan to, you may need to apply for an abstraction licence.

www.gov.uk

 

[Broch]

Wow, that's quite generous for a single dwelling - 20 cubic metres a day! OK, maybe not if you're running a business that uses lots of water, but certainly for 'domestic' use.

 

[knowledge=gain]

this may help

Water abstraction and irrigation​

If you want to abstract more than 20 cubic metres of water per day from a surface source (river, stream or canal) or underground source (groundwater), you need an abstraction licence from the Environment Agency.

Manage water on land: guidance for land managers

How to manage water use, levels, drainage and irrigation, and avoid pollution from waste water and sheep dip.

www.gov.uk

according to https://www.metric-conversions.org/volume/cubic-meters-to-liters.htm

Liters to Cubic Meters
20m³= 20000.00L

Liters to UK Gallons conversion: L to UK gal calculator

Liters to UK Gallons (L to UK gal) conversion calculator for Volume conversions with additional tables and formulas.

www.metric-conversions.org

UK Gallons to Liters
20000.00L= 4399UK gal 3.080000pt

 

[Mesquite]

What are the laws/rule if one was to pump water from a stream running through your land into holding tanks?

Providing you don't plan on extracting and storing more than 20,000 ltrs per day from a stream, river or canal then you don't need an abstraction permit. If you abstract it from the same source at different points then the sum of all extraction points is measured to get the total and that must be under the limit.

If you're intending to abstract from a well or a borehole you may need a permit.

More details here

 

[knowledge=gain]

water divining may be imminent

do not knock it as it really works

 

[TeeDee]

Wow, that's quite generous for a single dwelling - 20 cubic metres a day! OK, maybe not if you're running a business that uses lots of water, but certainly for 'domestic' use.

Well , hypothetically , i'm glad I've been following the correct protocol by serendipity.

 

[British Red]

Wow, that's quite generous for a single dwelling - 20 cubic metres a day! OK, maybe not if you're running a business that uses lots of water, but certainly for 'domestic' use.

Definitely not for a farmer. It sounds huge. If you are irrigating a 50 acre field its a litre of water on 10 square metres. They are already talking of bans from abstracting from a number of rivers

 

[Mesquite]

Definitely not for a farmer. It sounds huge. If you are irrigating a 50 acre field its a litre of water on 10 square metres. They are already talking of bans from abstracting from a number of rivers

SEPA has already started banning river abstraction in the Fife area Hugh. It came into place at midnight last night

 

[knowledge=gain]

They are already talking of bans from abstracting from a number of rivers

if this heatwave continues then i am not surprised if this were to happen

SEPA has already started banning river abstraction in the Fife area Hugh. It came into place at midnight last night

wow just as i started typing this comment you share this knowledge

i am surprised at scotland first for me to hear of due to it being a typically cold climate

 

[British Red]

SEPA has already started banning river abstraction in the Fife area Hugh. It came into place at midnight last night

Good to know. I don't keep track up there tbh. It's very weird here because many of the flowing bodies of water aren't rivers (or streams) at all. Unless people have spent time in the fens, they don't realise that what they are seeing are dykes and drains. We have one called the forty foot drain. Whilst not as evocative as "The hobhole drain" its bigger than many an upstream river!