What is minimum amount of water needed?
- Thread starter edlegault
- Start date
BIG DOOLEY
Platinum Member
A neighboring township just south of us has a large sod farm.
The sod farm has a large irrigation well.
During the very dry summers recently the people of the community have run out of water.
The sod farm pumps so much water from their well that is apparently deeper than most of the surrounding wells.
It has been a local news topic for many years .
I guess townships limiting the the water usage has been an issue other places.
The sod farm has a large irrigation well.
During the very dry summers recently the people of the community have run out of water.
The sod farm pumps so much water from their well that is apparently deeper than most of the surrounding wells.
It has been a local news topic for many years .
I guess townships limiting the the water usage has been an issue other places.
Fossil Farm
Platinum Member
Is this a surface water (stream) withdrawl rate or well water withdrawl rate? What are your plans for the water? Who put the deed restriction on the property? Government water district or a landowner? Lots of questions that need answered before getting too serious about it.
This is in Eastern Washington State. In the Kittitas County area. Some parts of this area are heavy agriculture growing areas... hay and wheat in some parts, vegetables/salad stuff in others, fruit trees and vineyards in others. Geographically a very large county.
There is KRD water which is basically like "blue valve" water, irrigation water that comes from irrigation distribution ditches. Domestic water, with limited field/garden/orchard watering comes from wells. They are all metered (or soon will be) by state order. Well water can be used for household water use and for irrigating up to 2 acres of lawn, garden, orchard, vineyards, etc. Not much agriculture-wise. Any bigger agriculture use has to come from the irrigation ditch water, UNLESS you have "senior" water rights deeded to your property.
In this particular land case, water would come from a well, there is no stream or creek for surface water (which wouldn't belong to the owner anyway, unless deeded to the land years ago).
I don't know how the "5 gpm" is figured, whether averaged out over time or a max draw per actual minute (how would that be measured?). My understanding is that property owners with the metered wells have to report to the state their water usage (I believe monthly, I could be wrong). 7000 gallons a day would more than likely meet my needs. There is not any KRD irrigation ditch water associated with this land.
I was just curious how normal that was for a pumping rate for wells (high, low, average). One or more large water storage tanks certainly would be in order. I am not sure a property owner can capture the rainwater off the roofs on his property in that area. The surface water "belongs" to the KRD, unless your property had (senior) deeded water rights before the KRD was formed.
Water is certainly getting to be a precious commodity.
Note: "The Kittitas Reclamation District is located in Central Washington in the Kittitas Valley. Here are some brief KRD facts: Approximately two thirds of all the irrigated acres in Kittitas County, approximately 60,000 acres, are serviced by the KRD's 330 miles of canals and laterals. It is the 6th largest irrigation district in Washington State."
There is KRD water which is basically like "blue valve" water, irrigation water that comes from irrigation distribution ditches. Domestic water, with limited field/garden/orchard watering comes from wells. They are all metered (or soon will be) by state order. Well water can be used for household water use and for irrigating up to 2 acres of lawn, garden, orchard, vineyards, etc. Not much agriculture-wise. Any bigger agriculture use has to come from the irrigation ditch water, UNLESS you have "senior" water rights deeded to your property.
In this particular land case, water would come from a well, there is no stream or creek for surface water (which wouldn't belong to the owner anyway, unless deeded to the land years ago).
I don't know how the "5 gpm" is figured, whether averaged out over time or a max draw per actual minute (how would that be measured?). My understanding is that property owners with the metered wells have to report to the state their water usage (I believe monthly, I could be wrong). 7000 gallons a day would more than likely meet my needs. There is not any KRD irrigation ditch water associated with this land.
I was just curious how normal that was for a pumping rate for wells (high, low, average). One or more large water storage tanks certainly would be in order. I am not sure a property owner can capture the rainwater off the roofs on his property in that area. The surface water "belongs" to the KRD, unless your property had (senior) deeded water rights before the KRD was formed.
Water is certainly getting to be a precious commodity.
Note: "The Kittitas Reclamation District is located in Central Washington in the Kittitas Valley. Here are some brief KRD facts: Approximately two thirds of all the irrigated acres in Kittitas County, approximately 60,000 acres, are serviced by the KRD's 330 miles of canals and laterals. It is the 6th largest irrigation district in Washington State."
Bikewanderer
Gold Member
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5gpm average is PLENTY of water. You will want a booster tank to handle peaks if they limit water. They are cheap and easy to install. I'd get a big one and call it good. 5gpm is enough for two showers with low flow heads, but add a toilet flush or dishwasher, etc and you'll have a noticeable pressure drop when taking two showers. At my house these things happen concurrently somewhat regularly, but for most people 5gpm is more than enough.
dave1949
Super Star Member
From what you say, the issue isn't a lack of water in the well, it is the use restriction. You can do fine with 5 gal/min. in my opinion, as far as house and limited outdoor use needs go. If the neighbors are reporting monthly, then the restriction may be based on some average usage. Please let us know the details of how the metering works if you get that far along with the land.
Fossil Farm
Platinum Member
Our old water well partially collapsed after 60+ years. We got by on 1 gpm until our new well was drilled. We did not wash clothes, but were able to do all other household chores. You don't realize what you have until it is gone. Especially water and electric. My wife grew up with cistern water, so she has always used water conservatively. Nice to be back to 15 gpm. 5 gpm should do you well. Good luck.
sixdogs
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Even though we are very careful with water usage I made sure we drilled our well extra deep and with extra good flow--just in case. Also used a higher horsepower motor--same reasoning. You never know and as already stated, you aren't going very far without water.
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CurlyDave
Elite Member
We got a similar water softener recently, and our 2 person household with 3 dogs, but no horses is right around the same usage. 130 to 140 gallons per day. At 5 gpm we would get an entire day's supply in less than 30 minutes. You have plenty of reserve capacity for household use.
Another way to look at it is our septic system is extra large -- we have 4 bedrooms total, and they required a system capable of handling 350 gallons per day. That works out to just under 0.25 gpm. 5 gpm is 20 times what you would need for a family of 8.
The real restriction is that you will be limited in how much you can irrigate. Probably about 1 acre. Do you really want to cut more than one acre of grass?
gwiley
Bronze Member
Our well refreshes at 6gpm - had to go to 805 ft to get better than 3gpm (judged inadequate). 5gpm isn't bad - it will handle everything you need unless you start a big garden.
We have a column of water of about 500ft above our pump which yields about 800 gallons in the well - so I am not worried about running the well dry.
One thing to bear in mind is that if you run your pump dry you will earn yourself a few days of hard work to replace it. We just finished replacing our deep well pump.
We have a column of water of about 500ft above our pump which yields about 800 gallons in the well - so I am not worried about running the well dry.
One thing to bear in mind is that if you run your pump dry you will earn yourself a few days of hard work to replace it. We just finished replacing our deep well pump.