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Cisterns


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In another thread Mainecoons and cedros are correct.  The aquifer is being drained and will never recover.  This is water in the ground which has been stored for thousands of years.  Current rains add very little to it.  As the aquifer drops more and more wells will dry up.  There is the lake for water but when dry years come the lake would soon be not viable.  A partial solution is cisterns.  A good cistern would probably supply all the water a household needs thus help prolong the use of the aquifer.  Many countries get almost all their water from cisterns.  I remember as a kid we had a cistern for all our water.  The water level was to deep for a well in our area.  Now they have rural water but this was back when.  I am planning on more construction at my casa this fall and I am going to look into the cost of a cistern.  If people lakeside started putting in cisterns I am sure it would help the problem.  During rainy season a large cistern would soon be filled.  With a good charcoal filtration system you will also have some great potable water.

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It would have to be a very large cistern because the rain only falls in a 3 to 4 month period here. 1,000 litres of water occupies 1 cubic metre.

If you're only talking about potable water for consumption then it's possibly worthwhile. In this area with it's constant sunshine, I would like to try a condensing unit on the roof similar to this one: https://venturebeat.com/2020/01/13/zero-mass-water-how-the-water-in-the-air-can-save-us/

As to all the other things that use water, we should be reducing, re-using and recycling wherever possible.

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Now I am confused. I am planning on installing a 10,000 liter cisterna for my building which has a total of 6 apartments.  The reason I plan this is because I am tired of maintaining the existing water forwarding system which provides water for 66 apartments at my costs (CFE & maintenance). Now this cisterna will be supplied with water coming from a SIMAPA well 😩

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10,000 liters is quite small. I had a 35,000 liter cistern. I think my roofs would collect about 40,000 liters per year of rainwater. The rainfall collected could be quite significant. 

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I posted this before. But in one drought prone area where I used to live near, one free soul made a combination rooftop cistern and swimming pool. With strict no peeing and soap and scrub before entering of course.

Another rerun. The HOA guy comes up to me and says you can' t pee in the pool! I say, come on, everyone does it. The HOA guy says maybe, but not while standing on the diving board! baa baa bing.

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6 hours ago, HoneyBee said:

Now I am confused. I am planning on installing a 10,000 liter cisterna for my building which has a total of 6 apartments.  The reason I plan this is because I am tired of maintaining the existing water forwarding system which provides water for 66 apartments at my costs (CFE & maintenance). Now this cisterna will be supplied with water coming from a SIMAPA well 😩

Congratulation I am sure your apartments are a wise investment.  At the rate the aquifer is being drained with all the developments and berry farms, I think in just a few years the wells will be in trouble.  They can drill deeper with mixed results.  Sometimes you go to deep and the mineral content makes it unfit for use.  I am sure the lake will be tapped as a water supply.  Hopefully there will be a lot of rain to keep it supplied'  In your case the SIMAPA well will probably be hooked to a lake supply. Hopefully your cisterna would not be affected.

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6 hours ago, Ferret said:

It would have to be a very large cistern because the rain only falls in a 3 to 4 month period here. 1,000 litres of water occupies 1 cubic metre.

If you're only talking about potable water for consumption then it's possibly worthwhile. In this area with it's constant sunshine, I would like to try a condensing unit on the roof similar to this one: https://venturebeat.com/2020/01/13/zero-mass-water-how-the-water-in-the-air-can-save-us/

As to all the other things that use water, we should be reducing, re-using and recycling wherever possible.

I don't know any thing about condensing units but this sounds interesting.  The amount of rain received here if gathered properly will supply the water for a large cistern.  If people had dark water and grey water septic tanks and used all the grey water for their gardens this would help considerably.

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