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Green Building Bible, Fourth Edition
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General: Sourcing water from old field drains

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    • CommentAuthorShevek
    • CommentTimeJul 4th 2014 edited
     
    When we were digging our foundations we hit one of the two or three fields drains that run through our property (in NW London) at about 1.5 m deep.

    The water quality looked and smelled excellent. Not surprising given that it's filtering through London clay.

    The next morning, when I noticed just how much water is trickling through these things (after our repair the previous night hadn't worked), I had the crazy thought of one day digging another hole to break the pipe and form a spring/well. Suffice to say I had to rush to shore up the hole and re-channel the water.

    If not for drinking water then water for the garden? What do you think?
    •  
      CommentAuthordjh
    • CommentTimeJul 4th 2014
     
    Posted By: ShevekThe water quality looked and smelled excellent. Not surprising given that it's filtering through London clay.

    Can you smell the plague pits? :devil: :bigsmile:
    • CommentAuthorShevek
    • CommentTimeJul 4th 2014
     
    Heh, I think we're out of that zone!!
    •  
      CommentAuthordjh
    • CommentTimeJul 4th 2014
     
    Generally, any surface water is regarded as suspect isn't it?* Including anything underground that hasn't been down through some filtering rock formation. Could be fine most of the time then give you cholera when you least want it!

    * Though having said that, I was always taught as a kid that if you wanted to drink water from a stream, you needed to check it for a mile upstream to make sure there were no dead sheep or whatever in the stream.
    • CommentAuthorTriassic
    • CommentTimeJul 4th 2014 edited
     
    Posted By: Shevekthen water for the garden?
    at least watering the garden will only kill the plants if infected with the plague :wink:
    • CommentAuthorCWatters
    • CommentTimeJul 5th 2014
     
    Send a sample off for testing?
    • CommentAuthorSprocket
    • CommentTimeJul 5th 2014
     
    I'd be curious what was in it. Not sure I would want to use it for anything except filling a garden pond or watering the garden but those should be fine.

    I topped up our garden pond with tap water once. Only about 5 to 10% total volume so chlorine level not a problem for the pond. But then in the following days we got a huge diatom bloom which I assume (tho can't be sure) was caused by silicates in the tap water (can be caused by having been through a sand filter at some point).
    •  
      CommentAuthorfostertom
    • CommentTimeJul 5th 2014
     
    And in the country, can be sure that surface water will be full of agricultural chemicals. We do suspect there's lots of fertiliser residues in our well and our watercourse, which is just a field drain - because the veg garden puts on lots of leafy growth not matched by the fruit it bears - and the pond (dammed watercourse) is full of duck weed.
    • CommentAuthorShevek
    • CommentTimeJul 5th 2014 edited
     
    The other thing it could be used for is to flush toilets and wash clothes in the same way as rainwater recycling systems.

    I think we'll have a go at doing something. I'll post back here with the results.

    Can anyone think of any potential legal issues? And how do we go about testing it without breaking the piggy bank?
    • CommentAuthorCWatters
    • CommentTimeJul 5th 2014
     
    •  
      CommentAuthorjoe90
    • CommentTimeJul 6th 2014
     
    I am going to put in a well on my new build, there is an existing one which currently supllies all the needs for the house (via filtration) and although surrounded by agricultural land it is all grazing pasture and used to be a boggy moor so the water table is very high. I am going to put concrete rings down about 10 feet and use the existing pump to supply the house, I have also thought about either a wind pump (think american mid west) or solar pump to a large header tank on stilts to water the plants and maybe toilets. I am sure to start a thread on this subject when I get planning and get closer to the actual build. My thought is you may as well use it if you have access to it especially if it is free. I also think water is going to be the next expensive bill after electricity and gas in the future.
  12.  
    Posted By: joe90I also think water is going to be the next expensive bill after electricity and gas in the future.

    If here is anything to go by its not so much water that is expensive but dirty water. Here foul water is charged at double the cost of clean water. And as all on grid water is metered and there is a base assumption that water in = sewage out so anything that reduces the metered in water has a disproportionate effect on the bill. Hence using rain water for the loo and washing machine saves drinking quality water but more importantly for the general householder means that the sewage bill is reduced. Yes it's a cheat and someone (else) has to pay for the sewage treatment but the driver is not to save drinking water, but to reduce the monthly bill!!
    • CommentAuthorShevek
    • CommentTimeJul 7th 2014
     
    We need sewage meters :wink:
    • CommentAuthorbarney
    • CommentTimeJul 7th 2014
     
    You may well neeed a permit just to remove the water - basically it's an Abstraction regime in principle

    Regards

    Barney

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