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6 Feb ’14
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Thanks for the diagrams!
Which way is North? Up on the colored mockup.
Is the land mostly wooded? Yes. It's completely wooded.
Does it have open spaces? None at all except an ATV trail along the East border.
Are you planning on having any fruit trees? Eventually.
Garden? Maybe. Not sure. I plan to eventually have a big focus on Aquaponics.
annual or perennial plants? Don't know what plants yet.
animals? Yes. My cat. Dogs, guinea hens, chickens, goats, rabbits, pigs, bees.
Which region are you located? The south. (Central Arkansas)
Hardiness zone? USDA zone 7b. (5 to 10 degrees)
6 Feb ’14
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Can I ask what state that is?
Central Arkansas.
Dude, why are you not planning to capture a spring as well as rainwater?? I'm sitting here looking at the sat photos and to me I see enough slope to make one or more springs likely. Looks like the center of your land is "V" shaped.
I have walked the property, and yes, the center is "V" shaped.
When I was first looking at the property, I thought I might have a spring. There are spillways draining into the runoff stream at the bottom of the valley. It is all seasonal. It all drys up and is dry most of the year except from good snow or rain fall.
Some of the spillway water does appear to come out of the ground. People that I have spoken to including a state Geologist had me second guessing if that meant "spring". It seems I've had some mistaken assumptions about what a spring is. Your question prompted me to question those assumptions, so I looked it up. I did indeed have some faulty notions. I now have a whole bunch of reading and studying to do on the nature of springs and of the different types, and how it all relates to my local geology.
Have you walked that area looking for springs?
Not with that specific purpose in mind. Now, after the next good rainfall, I am going to trace each spillway very carefully looking for water coming out of the ground. I know of at least one (if I can find it again), but expect I will find more than one.
If you can't do a well there you might consider putting your house nearer the water source instead of at the top of your property.
The slope on the south side of my valley varies from about 5% to 15% grade, while the north side slope is 10% to 30% grade (most is 30%). On the south most side, there is a narrow plateau of between 3% to 7% grade, and on the north most side there is a much broader plateau of between 3% to 8% grade.
In addition to privacy, the back of the property has the broader plateau more suitable for a building site in my opinion.
You will always be reliant on your pump.....
You lost me here. No matter where I am on the property, how would I not be reliant upon a pump? (Serious question)
I am aware of water ram pumps which require no electric, but unless I had a cistern under a waterfall and my house under the cistern, I'm baffled how I'd get around needing a pump.
Could you please elaborate your thinking in that statement?
24 Mar ’13
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Sorry for being confusing. Water is so VERY VITAL to every situation. I was thinking ahead to a time when getting things like replacement pumps, parts etc... might not be doable. (I am a prepper, after all lol) If you live and garden or have livestock above your water supply, you will not have ANY water without your pump working. If you build below the elevation of your water supply, you will have gravity fed water available even without electric or pump etc... You will never know how much you depend on turning that faucet and getting water, until you turn it and nothing happens! The first year I lived here we hauled many tanks of water for the livestock and us during the dry months.
24 Mar ’13
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ETA... When you are walking the land next time... find your damp/wet places and follow them up hill as far as you can go. Thats where you dig out the spring to capture. You might get a pleasant surprise and find out its way higher up than you thought. Your other options might be digging a long trench below seeping water. I can't even explain that so I will try to find you the article I read about it and post it for you here. Kvr reads a lot, he might know where to find it also. Lastly, you can always buy multiple water tanks and catch every drop that runs off the roofs of every building. A lot of folks in Australia get their entire water supply from their roofs.
6 Feb ’14
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Sorry for being confusing. Water is so VERY VITAL to every situation. I was thinking ahead to a time when getting things like replacement pumps, parts etc... might not be doable. (I am a prepper, after all lol) If you live and garden or have livestock above your water supply, you will not have ANY water without your pump working. If you build below the elevation of your water supply, you will have gravity fed water available even without electric or pump etc... You will never know how much you depend on turning that faucet and getting water, until you turn it and nothing happens! The first year I lived here we hauled many tanks of water for the livestock and us during the dry months.
While I completely agree that water is vital, I'm concerned that even if there are any springs on my property, that either their flow will be too low to be of much use, or non existent most of the time. The reliable water source to prioritize and develop first will be rain water harvest which is just a matter of storage and capture. The barrels I have mentioned can expand my storage over time, while if roof capture isn't adequate, I should be able to use tarps to enhance capture surface area as an inexpensive temporary measure.
The water storage will be very close to home. More than likely above ground to start. A pump will still be needed though since the stored water will be at or slightly below the level of it's distribution.
On the prepping, I guess we can simply agree to disagree. An interest in homesteading does not necessitate an interest in prepping as in my case. So I don't automatically assume that someone is coming from that perspective.
If a scenario happens where I am unable to obtain a replacement water pump, I will deal with that then. For all I know, inability to obtain a replacement pump may be as simple as not being able to afford one.
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