No Water Connection

ojored

Hi All,

I have a propery that has no water connection and there is no mains connection in the locality. The original planning granted approval to take water from a stream that runs alongside the property, the water would then pass through a purification system. The issue I have is the stream doesn't look the best, it's very dirty/muddy and I'm afraid if there is a flood or heavy rain the water will become very dirty and discoloured. The house is 5,000ft2 and there is a granny flat of 1100ft2 on the property also.

I'm planning to do the following;

Install a rain harvesting system, with a storage capacity of 10,000l+. this would be passed through a purification system to make to make the water safe to use and drink.

As I don't have a mains connection, I was planning on using the stream as a backup system to topup the rain harvesting tank if the the level of tank dropped below min level. I had planned on installing a holding tank alongside the stream and have a flow in/flow out system but the bed of the stream is about 2-3 meters below the ground level, I would have to go double that to install the tank. I am now thinking of using a Ram pump to pump the water up to the holding tank in the Garage, this would then connected to the rain harvesting system. I intend to automate the two systems, if the rain harvesting system reached the minimum level, the backup system would kick in and fill the tank. I'm think of arranging the pipe work in a way that allows me to carry out maintenance on either system without loss of supply to the house. This must be done down stream of the first filter location.

If anyone has any experience of such a system or can give me feedback on my proposal, I'd be grateful.

Thanks,
Ojored

sky6

Yo haven't said why you can't just dig a Well for the House and use the harvested rainwater for the Toilets etc.

antoinolachtnai

First, your water demand has nothing to do with the area of the house. I think it is going to depend on the number of summer-season occupants, mainly, and to a lesser extent on the fittings.

The well sounds like a great idea to me if it is feasible.

The sediment in the stream water looks unsightly when you take it out for sure, but if you leave it settle for a few hours, it will most likely be very clear.

I wouldn't be inclined to have two systems, with one as the backup, certainly this should not be set up on automatic. The reason is that the backup system's pipes will only rarely be used and will likely end up full of grunge (real nasty bacterial gunge, not just sediment). One morning it will be fired up without notice and your water will be full of crap as a result of pipes that are dirty since the last time it ran. The bacteria will have been growing happily in there in the drought season heat. If you are unlucky, you won't notice any difference in taste because it is diluted with the other water, and will only find out when you get really ill.

You really need to get an expert in to evaluate the water demand and decide what the safest and most economic way to get the water is.

ojored

sky6 wrote: »

Yo haven't said why you can't just dig a Well for the House and use the harvested rainwater for the Toilets etc.

Sorry I forgot to mention the property is about 200 meters from the sea and its also quite low. I don't think the well is an option in this case or has anyone drilled a well this close to the sea and got good results?

Ojored