What to do during hosepipe ban?

Zzippy

TomOnBoard wrote: »

How much water are you using is the issue.

To my mind, you're using a length of hosepipe within a plumbed well-managed irrigation system. An uncontrolled open- ended 1/2" hose pipe delivering water at mains pressure is the issue that Irish Water are trying to deal with.

If you have your drippers properly regulated, I don't see the issue, assuming your system is properly set up.

I haven't got a meter on the setup to measure litres used, but it is well set up and every drop is delivered to the soil above the roots, nothing wasted. I use a moisture meter to make sure the soil is moist but not wet,. As far as I'm concerned it's a permanent fixture. I think a hosepipe ban refers to waving a hose around and spraying water that results in waste, not a fixed setup that just happens to incorporate a length of hose and which I don't touch from one week to the next.

TomOnBoard

Zzippy wrote: »

I haven't got a meter on the setup to measure litres used, but it is well set up and every drop is delivered to the soil above the roots, nothing wasted. I use a moisture meter to make sure the soil is moist but not wet,. As far as I'm concerned it's a permanent fixture. I think a hosepipe ban refers to waving a hose around and spraying water that results in waste, not a fixed setup that just happens to incorporate a length of hose and which I don't touch from one week to the next.

I fully agree. You probably use a fraction of the water per day compared to someone just watering a few pots from a hose.

Ive use hydroponics in my tunnel (not this year) and used collected rainwater. I am always amazed by how little water you can use so long as you manage rate of irrigation and most important in this kind of weather in a tunnel is rate of evaporation. And that's where all the cardboard comes in. One of the best insulating mulches known to man....

garv123

Massive queue outside lidl this morning when I was passing for work, I wonder is it all for the swimpool? didnt see anything special on the website for today

Zzippy

TomOnBoard wrote: »

I fully agree. You probably use a fraction of the water per day compared to someone just watering a few pots from a hose.

Ive use hydroponics in my tunnel (not this year) and used collected rainwater. I am always amazed by how little water you can use so long as you manage rate of irrigation and most important in this kind of weather in a tunnel is rate of evaporation. And that's where all the cardboard comes in. One of the best insulating mulches known to man....

Only problem with cardboard is the slugs love to hide under it. I find the irrigation pipe just soaks the soil immediately adjacent to it, not the whole bed, so I plant what I want to grow beside the pipes and the rest of the soil surface remains dry. Helps with weed control too.

theyoungchap

I would love to make a few modifications to my house. My number 1 issue being I want to put in a water butt (easy enough) for watering the garden.
Another thing that really galls me is flushing 10 litres of treated water down the toilet every time I have a pee (I haven't been flushing it at all of late though unless its brown flush it down.....).
Water charges etc might be gone for another generation thanks to Paul Murphy and his element, but I for one want to conserve water and keep it solely for drinking where possible.
Is it difficult or expensive to install a tank, etc for rainwater and plumbing it for flushing toilets? My guess is it is difficult enough to stop dirt etc getting into the tank and cleaning a filter would be a constant issue?

scarepanda

Zzippy, do you mind me asking what kind of system and set up you have? I'd love to set something up, and had planned on doing it this spring when I was filling the veg beds, but impatience got the better of me and I just wanted to get to a stage of being able to sow stuff. My husband is into gadgets and IOT stuff so he's going to set up some meters for me before next spring.

magicbastarder

theyoungchap wrote: »

Another thing that really galls me is flushing 10 litres of treated water down the toilet every time I have a pee

you can pee in the garden.

my3cents

theyoungchap wrote: »

I would love to make a few modifications to my house. My number 1 issue being I want to put in a water butt (easy enough) for watering the garden.
Another thing that really galls me is flushing 10 litres of treated water down the toilet every time I have a pee (I haven't been flushing it at all of late though unless its brown flush it down.....).
Water charges etc might be gone for another generation thanks to Paul Murphy and his element, but I for one want to conserve water and keep it solely for drinking where possible.
Is it difficult or expensive to install a tank, etc for rainwater and plumbing it for flushing toilets? My guess is it is difficult enough to stop dirt etc getting into the tank and cleaning a filter would be a constant issue?

The dirt isn't too difficult a problem, google first flush diverter for how to keep the majority of the crap out of your rainwater tank.

Not worth bothering with for a water butt which you can give a yearly wash out to and will be dipping watering cans into. No one uses the stupid tap at the bottom of a watering can I hope

Best watering can btw is this Haws one https://www.amazon.co.uk/Haws-Deluxe-7-Litre-Outdoor-Watering/dp/B002PHRKXQ/ (yeah I know they are expensive but last a life time and the brass rose is perfect for watering seedings) they are designed to be filled quickly by dipping them in a water tank. Hold the spout where the support joins it and just dunk it to fill it takes seconds as opposed to the age that using a tap on a water butt takes. Other watering cans can be filled in the same way.

LirW

Not worth bothering with for a water butt which you can give a yearly wash out to and will be dipping watering cans into. No one uses the stupid tap at the bottom of a watering can I hope

I do! because it's mounted and I'm a bit too small to actually dip in it when it's not full to the rim.

my3cents

LirW wrote: »

I do! because it's mounted and I'm a bit too small to actually dip in it when it's not full to the rim.

But if you didn't have the water butt on blocks or a base so you could use the tap then you would be able to reach over the butt as the level went down.

The long spout on the watering can I mentioned also makes it easy to reach down into a water butt.

theyoungchap

my3cents wrote: »

The dirt isn't too difficult a problem, google first flush diverter for how to keep the majority of the crap out of your rainwater tank.

Not worth bothering with for a water butt which you can give a yearly wash out to and will be dipping watering cans into. No one uses the stupid tap at the bottom of a watering can I hope

Best watering can btw is this Haws one https://www.amazon.co.uk/Haws-Deluxe-7-Litre-Outdoor-Watering/dp/B002PHRKXQ/ (yeah I know they are expensive but last a life time and the brass rose is perfect for watering seedings) they are designed to be filled quickly by dipping them in a water tank. Hold the spout where the support joins it and just dunk it to fill it takes seconds as opposed to the age that using a tap on a water butt takes. Other watering cans can be filled in the same way.

Shouldn't I just put the water butt at a level where I can put my standard watering can in under?

Wheety

LirW wrote: »

I do! because it's mounted and I'm a bit too small to actually dip in it when it's not full to the rim.

I use the tap. I don't want to keep taking the lid off. It fills up quicker than the mains tap when it's full because of the pressure and when it gets low, it's too much of an effort to try and reach into it anyway.

my3cents

theyoungchap wrote: »

Shouldn't I just put the water butt at a level where I can put my standard watering can in under?

If you want to have to bend down place the watering can under the tap open the tap wait for a lot longer than I have patience for close the tap and then lift the watering can then yes.

Dipping the watering can saves the bending and a lot of waiting around.

theyoungchap

my3cents wrote: »

If you want to have to bend down place the watering can under the tap open the tap wait for a lot longer than I have patience for close the tap and then lift the watering can then yes.

Dipping the watering can saves the bending and a lot of waiting around.

All you need is just a little patience.....just a little patience

Alanstrainor

theyoungchap wrote: »

I would love to make a few modifications to my house. My number 1 issue being I want to put in a water butt (easy enough) for watering the garden.
Another thing that really galls me is flushing 10 litres of treated water down the toilet every time I have a pee (I haven't been flushing it at all of late though unless its brown flush it down.....).
Water charges etc might be gone for another generation thanks to Paul Murphy and his element, but I for one want to conserve water and keep it solely for drinking where possible.
Is it difficult or expensive to install a tank, etc for rainwater and plumbing it for flushing toilets? My guess is it is difficult enough to stop dirt etc getting into the tank and cleaning a filter would be a constant issue?

Most modern toilets have 2 flush options. One which does not empty the cistern and only uses a smaller %. The other is the full flush. I would think this is the easiest solution if reducing water usage is you goal.

As for getting a rainwater tank that will connect to your loos... I would think this would be an expensive thing to fit. A lot of plumbing involved, and it would have to have some sort of backup to allow use of regular tank water in the event of drought.

I think I'll consider investing in a water butt for next year, the space they take up and the look of them is the biggest issue I think.

my3cents

theyoungchap wrote: »

All you need is just a little patience.....just a little patience

With a hose it takes me over an hour to water the pots here so imagine waiting to fill a watering can with a tap on the bottom of a water butt.

Main pressure is a massive 150psi (bottom of hill same pipe for houses 2-300 ft higher) and that takes about 10 seconds to fill a watering can but its still quicker to dunk a watering can to fill it.

my3cents

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Most modern toilets have 2 flush options. One which does not empty the cistern and only uses a smaller %. The other is the full flush. I would think this is the easiest solution if reducing water usage is you goal.

As for getting a rainwater tank that will connect to your loos... I would think this would be an expensive thing to fit. A lot of plumbing involved, and it would have to have some sort of backup to allow use of regular tank water in the event of drought.

I think I'll consider investing in a water butt for next year, the space they take up and the look of them is the biggest issue I think.

Using rainwater to flush toilets has certainly been done by DIYers here and is fine for bungalows if you can mount a IBC tank above the level of the cisterns but can look dead ugly if you can't hide the tank or tanks somewhere.

I've toyed with the idea a few times but we as we are one of a couple of houses on the end of long supply pipe at the bottom of a hill it can be days after the water is cut off that we actually run out ( its been off a few times in the past). Then I also have the option of pumping water out of a river next to us.

johnlcvi

I have a rain water collection system with 1100 litre tank. I use a hose pipe to water the flowers directly from the rain water tank. With the hosepipe ban coming in on Friday, does that mean I cannot water my flowers with the hosepipe. If someone spots me with a hosepipe in my hand, they will call the guards I will get a fine. Or is it the city council issue the fine.

my3cents

johnlcvi wrote: »

I have a rain water collection system with 1100 litre tank. I use a hose pipe to water the flowers directly from the rain water tank. With the hosepipe ban coming in on Friday, does that mean I cannot water my flowers with the hosepipe. If someone spots me with a hosepipe in my hand, they will call the guards I will get a fine. Or is it the city council issue the fine.

If you read what Irish Water have said about this then you'll probably realise that they aren't just handing out fines. They will investigate first and only take action if they there is no other way of stopping the user from using a hose.

In your case its your water so even if you are reported any investigation would show that you are using your own water.

Lumen

I predict the number of fines issued will be zero.

my3cents

my3cents wrote: »

But if you didn't have the water butt on blocks or a base so you could use the tap then you would be able to reach over the butt as the level went down.

The long spout on the watering can I mentioned also makes it easy to reach down into a water butt.

The tap is easier!

Malayalam

I am very, very conservative with water in general. This essay is my response to the hose pipe ban...


Okay say I eat a lot of vegetables when they are in season, (and that means I eat much less bread, for example). To grow these vegetables there are the following requirements approximately….
1 kg potatoes needs 280 - 500 litres water over their season.
1 tomato needs 50 litres of water, so let's give me 3 of those in a day at 150 litres
1 pound of lettuce require 114 litres of water over the season. I'll have a big salad, please.
1 apple takes 125 litres of water
1 onion takes 17 litres, I probably use two, your average day, that’s 30 litres
1 courgette takes about 50 litres
100 grams of beans takes about 275 litres of water, as an example, and I will throw in another 200grams of random vegetables at about 250 litres per 100g which seems the average, so that's 775 litres.
There's my days intake, maybe Monday - yeah okay I even eat vegetables for breakfast. The total of the above is approximately 1730 litres. (I did that in my head, and I rounded off, so could be a bit out, and I went for the higher figure regarding spuds)
If you are eating too - and presumably you are - you will also be eating this much embedded water at least, and note that I picked vegetables and fruit that are grown here in Ireland, so it is Irish embedded water that you are eating. Everyday. And me too! Coming from Irish aquifers and water supplies.
Now if you don't eat lots of vegetables..maybe you like toast at breakfast - well, your bread consumption pushes up your embedded water intake..
1 kg wheat takes about 1500 litres, so work that out per slice, I don't know what it is, but it's significant. Note we grow wheat here, and oats, so we do eat homegrown cereals.
If you also eat meat, (which I don't, so I am saving Irish Water my embedded water allowance in meat,) the amounts are…
1 kg meat needs 15000 litres of water. That's a fair amount of water. And again, you are buying a lot of Irish meat, because isn't that what we are famous for, so it's Irish water you are consuming. Likewise 1 kg of chicken takes 3500 litres embedded water and an egg 500 litres!
Adds up pretty quick, don't it. So say you ate half the vegetables above - 850 litres for ease - and say 3 slices of bread at around 100 grams - 150 litres - 100 grams of meat, that's not much, but we'll go with it - 1500 litres, and an egg - 500 litres. That’s 3000 litres of embedded water…from Irish water to make Irish produce. To feed you. Today. Tomorrow. Every day.
Going a little aside here, and it's not Irish water but if you drink coffee, then you should know…
1 kg of coffee takes 18,900 litres of water - 150 litres per cup, it is said.
So…I have reckoned it takes me less than 100 litres of water a day to water my vegetables. And then I eat the vegetables, which means I am not using up embedded water Irish Water has provided to commercial growers to feed me my daily intake. Which could be in or around 3000 litres per person per day in Ireland. I am consuming LESS embedded water from Irish sources by a fairly significant amount.
But I am not saying I am going to water my vegetables that I work on all year round and that would die without it. Nuh-huh. I ain't saying that.

Mooooo

Malayalam wrote: »

I am very, very conservative with water in general. This essay is my response to the hose pipe ban...


Okay say I eat a lot of vegetables when they are in season, (and that means I eat much less bread, for example). To grow these vegetables there are the following requirements approximately….
1 kg potatoes needs 280 - 500 litres water over their season.
1 tomato needs 50 litres of water, so let's give me 3 of those in a day at 150 litres
1 pound of lettuce require 114 litres of water over the season. I'll have a big salad, please.
1 apple takes 125 litres of water
1 onion takes 17 litres, I probably use two, your average day, that’s 30 litres
1 courgette takes about 50 litres
100 grams of beans takes about 275 litres of water, as an example, and I will throw in another 200grams of random vegetables at about 250 litres per 100g which seems the average, so that's 775 litres.
There's my days intake, maybe Monday - yeah okay I even eat vegetables for breakfast. The total of the above is approximately 1730 litres. (I did that in my head, and I rounded off, so could be a bit out, and I went for the higher figure regarding spuds)
If you are eating too - and presumably you are - you will also be eating this much embedded water at least, and note that I picked vegetables and fruit that are grown here in Ireland, so it is Irish embedded water that you are eating. Everyday. And me too! Coming from Irish aquifers and water supplies.
Now if you don't eat lots of vegetables..maybe you like toast at breakfast - well, your bread consumption pushes up your embedded water intake..
1 kg wheat takes about 1500 litres, so work that out per slice, I don't know what it is, but it's significant. Note we grow wheat here, and oats, so we do eat homegrown cereals.
If you also eat meat, (which I don't, so I am saving Irish Water my embedded water allowance in meat,) the amounts are…
1 kg meat needs 15000 litres of water. That's a fair amount of water. And again, you are buying a lot of Irish meat, because isn't that what we are famous for, so it's Irish water you are consuming. Likewise 1 kg of chicken takes 3500 litres embedded water and an egg 500 litres!
Adds up pretty quick, don't it. So say you ate half the vegetables above - 850 litres for ease - and say 3 slices of bread at around 100 grams - 150 litres - 100 grams of meat, that's not much, but we'll go with it - 1500 litres, and an egg - 500 litres. That’s 3000 litres of embedded water…from Irish water to make Irish produce. To feed you. Today. Tomorrow. Every day.
Going a little aside here, and it's not Irish water but if you drink coffee, then you should know…
1 kg of coffee takes 18,900 litres of water - 150 litres per cup, it is said.
So…I have reckoned it takes me less than 100 litres of water a day to water my vegetables. And then I eat the vegetables, which means I am not using up embedded water Irish Water has provided to commercial growers to feed me my daily intake. Which could be in or around 3000 litres per person per day in Ireland. I am consuming LESS embedded water from Irish sources by a fairly significant amount.
But I am not saying I am going to water my vegetables that I work on all year round and that would die without it. Nuh-huh. I ain't saying that.

Your still using treated water. If it was rainwater collected there would be no issue

Malayalam

Mooooo wrote: »

Your still using treated water. If it was rainwater collected there would be no issue

The commercial growers are largely using treated water and the cattle farmers giving their cows drinking water are getting it from the tap in the yard

magicbastarder

Lidl apologises to disappointed customers after swimming pools sell out across Ireland

A further statement said:

“Due to the recent water restrictions that have been put in place, we would hope customers who purchased this item act responsibly and adhere to the guidelines set out by Irish Water.

http://www.thejournal.ie/lidl-swimming-pools-4110387-Jul2018/

thundering idiots, the lot of them. would it have killed lidl to delay the sale? would it have killed the customers not to buy them in advance of a nationwide hosepipe ban?

standardg60

magicbastarder wrote: »

Lidl apologises to disappointed customers after swimming pools sell out across Ireland


http://www.thejournal.ie/lidl-swimming-pools-4110387-Jul2018/

thundering idiots, the lot of them. would it have killed lidl to delay the sale? would it have killed the customers not to buy them in advance of a nationwide hosepipe ban?

Yep, foresee IW saying there's been a sudden spike in demand over the next couple of days. Amazed no public representative or media brought this up over the last few days..fully expected Lidl to withdraw them from sale due to the ban.

Hopefully anyone seen filling one is reported, be a bit difficult denying using a hose with a full swimming pool in the back garden.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

standardg60

Malayalam wrote: »

The commercial growers are largely using treated water and the cattle farmers giving their cows drinking water are getting it from the tap in the yard

The difference is they're paying for it!
All commercial properties are metered and the vast majority of farms have their own wells or are on group water schemes.

Malayalam

standardg60 wrote: »

The difference is they're paying for it!
All commercial properties are metered and the vast majority of farms have their own wells or are on group water schemes.

I'm on a group water scheme and I pay for what I use as per meter

Mooooo

Malayalam wrote: »

The commercial growers are largely using treated water and the cattle farmers giving their cows drinking water are getting it from the tap in the yard

Majority of farmers are using wells they fitted themselves or group schemes again which they pay for. Likewise commercial growers or using metered sources or rivers depending on location.