Cistern Vs. Well water for irrigation....

txdon · Sep 11, 2005

Which is best for irrigating gardens and landscape.

I found out some numbers on the cistern:
The future barn/garage roof will yield 32K water on a average year.
A 10K gallon fiberglass (25 year) cistern cost $6,300.

I have not prices the well + pump + energy to run the pump.
I think the well will have to be between 200 and 400 feet deep.

What else should I consider when comparing the two?
What are the advantages of one over the other?

Thanks for you help!
/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

MF1455v · Sep 11, 2005

Don, I don't have any answers for you but do look foward to seeing your responces. I have been thinking about the thing but my decision is farther off then yours will be.

I would like to add another option though, well + windmill.

James

Dozernut · Sep 11, 2005

A good well will likely not go dry. Runoff is weather dependant. Right now we are going through a drought and all of our lakes and ponds that depend on runoff are down quite a bit.

txdon · Sep 12, 2005

Dozernut, The cistern running dry during drought years is my biggest concern when comparing the two. I remember when my Grandfather's cistern went dry and a large water truck had to bring him water. I will have "city" water as my primary water source and during such years will have to figure in the extra water usage.

James, I do like the looks and operation of the windmill. About 10 years ago I was looking at them and a used 8' was about 2K. I will also need a 500 gallon tank. The well location will be on a windy hill so it is possible. We can also compare wind power to solar powered pumps - fewer moving parts and no tower needed. (But not as pretty or as Texas)

Hopefully by next summer I will figure which is best for my situation. I had to check into the cistern to see how high the edge of the roof will have to be on the barn I will be hopefully starting this winter. The cistern is 14 feet in diameter and 8' 8" high.

redlevel · Sep 12, 2005

txdon, I would say go with the well. I assume you are going to use drip irrigation. Just as a point of reference, one acre/inch of water through a sprinkler system = about 30K gallons of water. A good drip system will use a fraction of this, but when it gets dry, 10K gallons of water ain't much. A drip system using 5 gpm will use about 7K gallons in 24 hours.

I had a 4" well drilled two years ago, 460' deep, with the last 300' through rock. It cost me $4800. If you have a good well man, he can probably advise you on how deep you need to go to get a reliable water supply for the dryest periods.

In my 40 years of irrigating vegetable crops I have found that you can depend on a good well to keep you supplied through the worst drought and you can depend on a groundwater source supplied by runoff to leave you dry when you need water the most.

SPIKER · Sep 12, 2005

You could put up a solid concrete cistern under ground and not have to worry about the sight of it. only driving over it with the tractor /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif as for the well vs cistern, rain water is free when it comes, why not have the cistern put in first then run a smaller well simply to top off the cistern as useage drops it's level? simple well pump and a shallow well cost & concrete or block cistern would be less I belive than either of the other options alone. just one more thought to add to the confusion /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Markm