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Saturday, October 13, 2018

Snow predicted and my water supply



There's a chance for snow this morning. So what am I doing? Working on a water line.

I had some setbacks and delays while trying to fix the old line. Digging was difficult, rocks and tree roots. Then just to make it interesting the trench filled with water. I probably should have started the job earlier in the year, but it just didn't happen. Frankly, the job grew bigger than what I estimated.

With time pressing, I had to come up with a plan B. It's impossible to get heavy equipment to the site as it's a steep wooded hill with unstable areas. Last year I buried a second water line, but not as deep as was really needed. It work until -30 Fahrenheit temperatures at the end of December. Then we closed up the house and went camping in Florida.

The shallow bury line will have do one more time. However, it's now covered with thick panels of high density foam insulation. All the panels are in place. Now I'm in the process of covering them up with dirt. Some helpers are showing up to help so the job shouldn't take too long. The extra insulation should keep the water flowing.

My lovely wife and I were talking about our water options. Back in the 70s there was a well next to the house. At the time there were about nine or ten people using that little well. It did not supply enough water during a particularly dry August. That's when we went with the bigger well further from the house. The little well was filled in. We are thinking about redigging it and putting it back into service. It would easily supply enough water for two or three people. We don't want to rely on just one well anymore. The location is such that it could be pumped with a shallow well pump or even a hand pump. That's an advantage.

The snow is not supposed to amount to much and probably won't last. It is a sign of things to come.

-Sixbears

12 comments:

  1. I've always been of the opinion that NO well should be filled in unless it goes bad. The guy who bought the place where I was raised filled in the 44 foot deep hand-dug well the very first thing. Now, he has no back-up and is totally dependent on city water.

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    1. Dad still owned the place at the time. I'd have never closed it. I hope it's not too badly filled in.

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  2. I grew up on well water and that is what I drink today. Only drank city water for a year or two.

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    1. My home town city water used to be good, until the put in a new system. Instead of drawing from mountain springs they decided to pump from the river.

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  3. I was the water girl growing up at the old Missouri homestead. The water was cold and "sweet." I miss it to this day. I've read about Flo-Jack and the Simple Pump for hand pump wells. The Simple Pump is quite expensive and the Flo-Jack can work for a lot of people. Amazing to fill in an old well. "People perish for lack of knowledge."

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    1. It was filled in before I owned the place. It was shallow enough that a hand pump could have lifted water to the kitchen. That's one of my goals with bringing it back.

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  4. I believe Gorges referred to an old neighbor filling in the 44 ft well. Not referring to you. Hope you get your hand pump going.

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    1. Spring project. I think we'll be Okay this winter. Unless, of course, we get one of those -40 winters with no snow. Then everyone freezes.

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  5. I have never been in -40 weather. It is hard to imagine. Missouri was cold enough for me at -5.

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    1. It's cold enough for NH folks to put a jacket on.

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  6. Good luck with the water situation.

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    1. I got the line covered. Should do the job. Thanks!

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