Looking for advice on water systems. Cisterns / Stream water ?

[tabasco]

I'm looking to buy a cabin in West Virginia. It has a babbling brook in the backyard, a stream that comes off the top of the mountain in the National Forest and is fast moving water and doesn't even go by any othr houses.

The place has a well with a 220 pump, which I suppose is a lot of maintenance and they haver had problems. This is a very rocky area at 3000.'

I was wondering why I could not simply harvest the stream water in a cistern and use that for a water supply. Can you just set up a cistern and use reverse osmosis for the drinking water? Are there high efficiency pumps for use with a cistern that provide good water pressure? It seems like it would be a better idea for a place like this than a deep well drilled into rock.

It is just myself and my girlfriend living a low impact lifestyle.

I'm googling for information now, but if there are any experts with advice, I would greatly appreciate it!

THANKS & MERRY CHRISTMAS!

[zeemike]

1. That sounds like a perfect place for watter power

But I am not an expert.
But I do know how others have used this resource. There is a pump that runs off the power of falling watter. I can't remember what the name of it is but it requires no power and will pump watter from a stream. You could use this to pump to an elevated tank to supply watter to the cabin, but the pressure will not be great unless the tank is 30 or 40 feet above the level of the house.
The pump is a simple device that can be made out of PVC pipe and works as long as the stream is running. Wish I could remember the name.
Well there will probably be an expert come along that will tell you. Good luck and I am excited for you.

[tabasco]

3. That's a great idea!

Thanks & Merry Christmas!

Now I have some more stuff to google. Water-power pump!

[izzie]

5. I knew people who ran power like that in Alaska.

They did not need a lot of power so it all came from something he put in a stream. He was not at this camp in the winter. He said it was like a water wheel what ever that is. It was a running stream but no falls that I saw. The falls of the whole east coast is where the mills set up. Piedmont I think it is called. They are hundreds of mills inland in the south but it is interesting to see just how the people of NE used this power and it is still around. Just hundreds of old mills

[cornermouse]

2. Cisterns?

:spray:

My family's experience: Habitat of salamanders and if lined with rocks, also habitat of snakes.

Note: If you see snakes on the rock walls, do NOT shoot them unless you have a way to fish them out because as their bodies decompose, your water turns fizzy and you lose all interest in drinking it.

[tabasco]

4. I'm probably thinking more along the lines of a big plastic tank.

Snakes in the cistern???????
:scared::scared::scared::scared::scared::scared:

[zeemike]

6. Here is a link in case you haven/t found it yet

http://journeytoforever.org/at_waterpump.html

How could I forget that it was called a Ram pump? That is just what you would expect it to be called.

[tabasco]

10. Thanks!

Really - thanks a lot.

Merry Christmas!

[izzie]

7. Read about the water system in Saudi Arabia.

Now that is a place with no rivers and all water is put into tanks and made pure etc. Most running water in homes is a gravity fed system. All comes from oil money. Free to the people if they come and get it besides that they have it come to their homes by truck.. Good to drink also.

[tabasco]

12. I'm thinking about doing something like that.

Just fill up a big tank from the stream and then treat it with filters. I'm just looking online for any system designs.

Strong filter for drinking water & weak filter for toilets & stuff.

[izzie]

18. I am sure it is on this thing. If it is in a library it is on this.

How we use water in this day and age I think is new and wasteful so I am sure the new 'green' ways to build have lots on this business.

[cornermouse]

9. The house was probably over 100 years old, the barn

definitely was over 100 years old so the cistern had been around for a while, was large and lined with rock, and as they said in Jurassic Park, life will find a way. I hope the plastic liner works for you.
Good luck. :)

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

8. I've lived with wells, cisterns, and running water

the only kind that is really reliable is going to be a spring. Surface water like that is ok, but is it a stream that runs all year? Realize too that you are harvesting open water that can be easily contaminated from a number of sources. Better to use the water power for generating electricity.

Setting up a cistern is always a good idea. Get a stock tank and run pipes from the eaves troughs. Rain water is soft, great for really cleaning clothes and for washing your hair.

You can put a well pump on a solar cell so it can run. But make sure the pipes are well insulated or they break in winter.

Whatever kind of water source you use, it is a good idea to have some sort of filter on the system, especially for drinking water. Reverse osmosis will work, but still have the water checked for contaminates to make sure it is working.

[tabasco]

11. Thanks!

I'm thinking maybe just use the well and someday get a higher efficiency efficiency pump.

Thanks for the advice & Merry Christmas!

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

14. That's what we did

but I'm serious about making sure the pipes are insulated. Otherwise you break them and can even break part of the pump that is above ground. Good luck on your endeavors!

[catnhatnh]

13. For a great source of "back to basics" living...

Check out a book published by Reader's Digest called, I believe, "Back to Basic's". Also check out the magazine "Mother Earth" for tons of alternate energy ideas including water ram plans...

[tabasco]

15. The site looks good for a ram pump, which I just learned about today

here on DU. Thanks to my good friends here!!

I checked out the links Zeemike gave above and it looks like a perfect place for a ram pump, with plenty of fall to fill an elevated tank which I could place right behind the cabin!! I AM PSYCHED ! Stuff like this just amazes me. Almost like perpetual energy.

Thanks everybody - I never expected such quick answers. Merry Christmas to everybody!!

[don954]

16. one last note

check out www.homepower.com if you havent already, its the best resource for R.E. living, I think. You can download issues for free, and there are lots of adds for micro-hyrdo systems and well pumps and such.

[tabasco]

17. Thanks!

I knew DUers would have some excellent links.

[BeFree]

19. Coupla thoughts

The well has the best water, so use it for drinking. The pump works best when it runs without stopping and starting, so get a bigger reservoir tank.

Use stream water for flushing the toilet and general cleaning.

Cisterns work great. I have two rain barrels under gutters. I use that to flush the toilet, etc.

I even recycle my clothes wash. The rinse water goes back into the tub for the next wash cycle.

Oh, a concrete tank is the best for drinking water since it is made of earthy materials. Some folks use new concrete septic tanks for the task. But you could make your own.

Have fun up there at 3,000 ft.

[tabasco]

20. What kind of pump do you use with the rainwater tanks?

Can you recommend a brand name or line of pumps that pumps from the tank to the toilets?

I plan to do the same thing with rain / stream water, ie, flush the toilets.

I'm looking for a good 12v pump / filter system.

THANKS A LOT! HAPPY NEW YEAR !

[BeFree]

21. Hand carried

One day I might get motivated and run a line from the tanks to the toilet. My next girlfriend might just be that motivation.

If you have enough 'head' on your stream, you can run a line down to your tanks. If I had a stream, I'd set up a ram pump.

I've used a few 12v pumps before, bought from a marine supply store. Any brand name ought to do. Shure is one I remember.

Some research I have done on homemade filters has led me to believe a non-potable filter could be made out of an old cooler filled with clean white sand. There was even one rec for such a filter that would treat radiated water. With all the nukes around, it may be wise to have one like that ready to go, eh? Gonna have to look that one up again.

Good luck... especially with your girl. Hope she can handle the inconveniences of rudimentary water systems. My luck has been poor in that pool, so far. lol