Sunday July 6, 2014 Guerneville CA.
I let the tourists have the river today and did some more work
First off today, was get the stuff together to take up to tap the spring, I worked on yesterday. I needed to make a new stainless steel strainer witch I did and remembered to take the shovel with me today too.
This was the road I took to get to the spring I was working on.
Tapping a spring for water
This is the spring I removed the pipe from first and filled the hole in with blue clay to make it smaller to make it easier to tap. Small hole stake less rock and our easier to deal with than a big hole. The water for this spring is coming down the hill from the top back of the hole.
A thousand legger was too close and got some mud on it before I saw it and moved it out of he way.
This is the spring I filled up with blue clay and put a new pipe tap into. The clay is forming a dam in front of the green drainer in the hole if you can see it.The screen goes on top of the green drainer in the hole. It’s basically a little sink that catches the water and directs it out to a holding tank.
This system does not back up the water in the hole. I’ve learned through the years, backing up the water in the hole is not a good idea, as it promotes contamination and water can be lost leaking out of the backed up hole.
This picture shows the screen in place in the sink hole I made with the blue clay. Lots of fun playing with the blue clay forming it to work for this application.
I then put small rocks around the screen forming little channels to the screen that the water can use to get out through the drain pipe. I fill the hole up with little rocks, packing then in to take up all the space.
I had a piece of plastic, a bag, so I formed it over the rocks and pushed it around to seal the hole as best I could.
Then, I dug some more blue clay, which I found just below this spring and sealed up the hole, so nothing could get into it.
The spring tap hole sealed up with blue clay.
I measured the water and there was just under three quarters of a gallon per minute coming out of this one. Not bad for the type of springs around here.
This picture shows the galvanized screen that was in the old spring I removed. It’s starting to rot, but it did last for a number of years, which I don’t remember, how long. I try to use stainless steel screens now. I think a plastic screen might work well too with the right size holes, maybe about an eighth inch?
Checked out another spring
That took longer then I thought it would, but I got it done and headed on down the hill. On the way, I stopped to check another one of my brothers garden springs at this nice spot.
There is water here, but it needs some work too.
Stainless steel tanks
I headed on down to our collecting tanks at the bottom of the hill. I checked the gauge on the tanks which showed them to be almost full, which is good, around twenty thousand gallons of water. :O)
Measuring the water from the springs
Above the tanks is a valve system where I can divert or check the water from each main pipe lines for the springs.
I wanted to measure the water here coming down from the spring area where I was just working. I measured only about a gallon a minute here, which I thought was a little less then there should be.
Could be a leak in the main water line?
Maybe there is a leak in the main water pipe line, so I’ll have to check it soon. I let the water run onto the ground for now, as I want the new spring tap and pipe to clean out a bit, before I turn it into the water tanks.
The other springs going into our tanks are dumping two gallons a minute into them from the main spring area.
Humm, plums
I remembered the plums I picked in my brothers garden the other day, so I stopped an picked and ate a few of these plums.
Home for a rest
I was thinking of maybe going kayaking this evening earlier today, but it was now 3:30PM and I was hungry and tired so I ate some stuff and had a good nap.
Digging what couldn’t be dug
Around six PM, I found some energy and went out front and started digging on the great ditch project. I was in the bamboo which made the going rough. I also ran into some old cement that I had to break through. I was determined and kept at it until I was done. I could barely move by this time, my body said it had enough.
I tunneled under the bamboo as it was easier than removing it.
The great ditch is done
That finished the digging part of the great ditch project. Now I have to get materials to install the water pipes. That can keep a bit as I rest up.
That was a very productive day for sure, even if my body can barely move. Tomorrow is another day, which just might be a little hard for me to get it going in the morning. :O)
Nice day playing up in the woods.
