Offered another unusual project

[Hay Dude]

Sometimes the easiest way to preserve your reputation is to tell the customer that you’re unqualified to assess the project and maybe refer them to a knowledgeable engineer.

Funny….“them” is me. Bunch of rich elderly people without a clue what to do, so they ask me to fix everything.
I am consulting with an engineer for roof-runoff calculations.
FYI: Engineers have called me to do jobs like this in the past.

Engineers are great, but typically like to sit in air conditioned offices and drink coffee all day.
Someone like me has to do the actual work.

All in the planning stages now.

 

[Hay Dude]

If the square footage of roof foot print is equal to the square footage of the pond, then assuming it had vertical sides like a pool, in theory you could potentially add 43” (PA’s annual rainfall) to its height—over 1 year’s time. Those banks look pretty shallow, so I expect the actual water height increase would be much less.

Does the spring originate in the pond or above the pond? If in the pond you may be limited by hydraulic pressure and won’t see any improvement. Likewise, if there is a leak/drain somewhere.
You’ll have to play with the math based on roof area and slope of the pond.
From the house foundation point of view, 100 sq’ of roof foot print will collect 62.3 gallons of water per inch of rain—when it’s not coming down so fast it runs over the gutters. You need to move that somewhere else anyway.

It originates about 300’ above the pond.

 

[Hay Dude]

Attending their HOA meeting Wednesday night. Should get a good feel for how the residents want to proceed. There’s 6 “luxury” units in those buildings, but they don’t like spending much on anything.
I’d drill a non potable well with some kind of float or water level switch and start enjoying the pond again, but it ain’t my money.

 

[ericm979]

I hate to pop yr bubble but do some digging around before ya. invest in all the rain gutters . In several states it is against the law to harvest rain water . It is here in Calif

It's legal in California. You have to get a permit.

here's the laws for each state:

Is it Illegal to Collect Rainwater: 2025 Complete State Guide

A full list of the laws for rainwater harvesting by each state supported by links to current state legislation, government websites, and Senate, House, and Assembly Bills…

worldwaterreserve.com

Check with the local conservation district. There may be incentives that you can take advantage of, or you can at least find out what's legal and get advice.

 

[John Joseph McVeigh]

Oh my gosh . . . "Illegal" to "harvest" rainwater??!!

Kalifornia really needs to dry up and blow away.

Rain falls on my property and I cannot do what I want with it? Does that apply to air, dew and sunlight? Time to move, dude.

It might seem strange to people in Eastern and MidWestern States... it certainly seemed strange to me when I first read about it... but restrictions on capturing or changing the natural flow of rainwater are common in the arid West... and not just in California. A whole body of law has evolved in Western States concerning water. That is because water is a scarce resource in those States.

 

[Streetcar]

Attending their HOA meeting Wednesday night. Should get a good feel for how the residents want to proceed. There’s 6 “luxury” units in those buildings, but they don’t like spending much on anything.
I’d drill a non potable well with some kind of float or water level switch and start enjoying the pond again, but it ain’t my money.

Haydude
After further thought, I think you have a bigger problem than spring drying up. In southern Ohio we have had a wet spring and ponds are full. This site appears to be leaking water, since the pond is very low. Tree root can create channels to drain pond. If pond is leaking the additional water will not be permanent fix

 

[Hay Dude]

Haydude
After further thought, I think you have a bigger problem than spring drying up. In southern Ohio we have had a wet spring and ponds are full. This site appears to be leaking water, since the pond is very low. Tree root can create channels to drain pond. If pond is leaking the additional water will not be permanent fix

Well, if the spring dried up late last summer and the water level began falling shortly thereafter, one would think theres a correlation.
We do have to look at everything though.

 

[Ken45101]

We have a pond that never overflows but does drop own a couple of feet in summer. I wanted to get more water in it so I graded a shallow ditch across the hillside above it to collect water coming down the hill and direct it to the pond. It helped some in winter (heavy rains) but still not much in summer. Assuming it is springfed, I have to wonder if addng more water causes the spring to drain the extra water out?

Ken

 

[ning]

That's a very nice looking lake!!!!

Granite Springs reservoir WY

 

[Hay Dude]

Spoke with one of the owners and they seem to be leaning towards cleaning out the stream from the spring and the pond. This will entail a good amount of brush cutting and maybe some ditching with the excavator.
Then we will see what the status of the spring is.
I bet that the stream, which is just a trickle, is obstructed to the point of water just not making it to the pond anymore.