We Have Water!

For Now …

One amenity that we often take for granted is water. Not just availability and potability, but pressure. It doesn’t just trickle out of the tap - it moves with force! Figuring out how to get water, make it potable and create enough pressure for a nice shower - while using as little electricity as possible has been the biggest challenge.

Clearing the road to the spring

Last summer I filled barrels at the spring and carted them above the house, where I then siphoned them into storage cubes. The water could then move by gravity down to the house. I spent a lot of time waiting for the barrels to fill, then waiting for the water to move from the barrels to storage cubes. Though not particularly difficult, the whole process took lots of time and patience. 

This year needed to be different. 

With daily chores, new things to build, and fun to be had the water needed to start moving on its own. There’s so much to do and not enough hours for two people. Also to our surprise, the nights started to cool in August - early this year. That really put the pressure on!

After thinking and scheming we came up with a plan. The only kind of pump that would move the water from the spring up such a steep slope is a well pump. Intended for lifting water out of a drilled well and to the house. Since one pump lifts about 150 feet, we decided that we’d need three in sequence. 

So at the spring, we have a 1000L cube collecting water. A pump then lifts that water from it - to another cube 150 feet uphill. In that second cube is another pump doing the same. One more pump in a cube pushes the water to the top, where there are three cubes, gravity-feeding water back down to the house below. 

Clear as mud, right? Here’s a very technical diagram;

Very Technical

The pumps are solar powered. Each pump has a panel, controller and battery. It’s quite the setup! Now, with the flip of a switch (or three) water moves above the house - where it’s ready to gravity feed to my shower, sink, and automatic bunny waterers. After two years of carrying water, it feels like magic.

Why not ram pumps?

Originally I wanted to do it more passively, using ram pumps - they’re super cool! However, it wasn’t feasible.  Basically, without electricity ram pumps use the flow and gravity of water to push water higher up. The problem for us was that because of how high we needed to lift the water, we would still need multiple pumps in sequence. Because of that, the amount of hose required would be ridiculous. In dry months there’s less water from the spring which changes everything. AND - ram pumps lose a surprising amount of water. Solar-powered pumps to the rescue!

This is working, for now.

After going through a ceramic filter the water is totally drinkable. Pumping it above the house gives us water pressure. It’s a bit surreal, and the water getting to the house is entirely silent, adding to that surreal feeling. Though far from ‘normal’ it sure feels like a luxury! If only it would last.

Once the world begins to freeze everything changes again. To make this system work through the winter, we would have to bury EVERYTHING. That’s all of the cubes, and over 600 feet of water line. Even then - the spring could freeze or solar may not provide enough electricity to run the pumps. For this winter we’ll have to come up with another plan.. FAST.