Level 6 Water Restrictions - Cape Town

[Christos]

I have space for possibly 3x 5000l drums on the side where nobody looks and it won't be unsightly.
The rain water catchment I would like around the house so I think those 750l slimlines would look the best but I would need to empty them into something bigger when full.
It's nice to draw on experience from people who have done this exercise already!

 

[Resistance]

@Christos get those three tanks underground with a submersible pump I'm each.then have ball valve sensors automatically pump over as a mechanical weir system.your main tank you get a pressure switch to operate your pump and it will automatically start when you open a tap

 

[Resistance]

you can even add in inline filters making the job of purification easier when you use it as drinking water

 

[Christos]

@Christos get those three tanks underground with a submersible pump I'm each.then have ball valve sensors automatically pump over as a mechanical weir system.your main tank you get a pressure switch to operate your pump and it will automatically start when you open a tap

Unfortunately I need permission to dig as I have the municipal sewerage lines run under my property with manholes on my property.

Will still keep this in mind though as the spot I have in mind is where the manhole is.

 

[Resistance]

@Christos then you would need permission to have the tanks there too.unless its clearing three metres from the manhole.I think and its elevated

 

[Resistance]

if this was my property then I think I'd be about 80℅ off the grid.that excludes hunting and vaping.I have to get that from somewhere

 

[Resistance]

ask at your local council office @Christos they all have different rules regarding such stuff.

 

[Jp1905]

View attachment 121863
Rain water in the tank on the dog kennel, washing machine and buckets from elsewhere in the blue drum both going to the well point pump. One outlet to the front sprinklers and one to the hose pipe to fill buckets for re-use inside. Works a charm.

Regards

How long does your wellpoint run for before going dry?I get 10-15mins max,cant use the water for anything other than irrigation or maybe flushing the loo,not sure if you experience the same?


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[Raindance]

How long does your wellpoint run for before going dry?I get 10-15mins max,cant use the water for anything other than irrigation or maybe flushing the loo,not sure if you experience the same?


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I do not have a wellpoint, the pump was bought for that purpose but we had no luck actually finding a decent water supply. Today I would be happy with what you got however, reckon that would be in the region of 150 to 200 Liters?

Regards

 

[Jp1905]

I do not have a wellpoint, the pump was bought for that purpose but we had no luck actually finding a decent water supply. Today I would be happy with what you got however, reckon that would be in the region of 150 to 200 Liters?

Regards

Im thinking a bit more...but Im busy with a setup with two drums that I wanna mount behind my bathroom,one to catch shower water and the other to pump full of wellpoint water if necessary,all to be used for flushing the loo.Us men are luckier than the women,I have squashed down my showers and rather take a swim.I hate it,love being clean but I cant do 90second showers,takes 90seconds just to wash my beard.


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[Raindance]

Im thinking a bit more...but Im busy with a setup with two drums that I wanna mount behind my bathroom,one to catch shower water and the other to pump full of wellpoint water if necessary,all to be used for flushing the loo.Us men are luckier than the women,I have squashed down my showers and rather take a swim.I hate it,love being clean but I cant do 90second showers,takes 90seconds just to wash my beard.


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Actually contemplating to do a brushcut hairstyle just to cut down shower time. Using about 12L per shower at the moment.

My pool is a mess. Pump can not run as the water level is below the weir level. Mosquito heaven.

Regards

 

[Hooked]

As promised, here are pics of my water tank. @Resistance @Andre @Christos



In the pic above, the thin pipe on the left, back, is connected to a tap in the front, so that I could use it to wash the car. However, washing the car is no longer a priority!!

In the pic below you can clearly see the change in water level from the rain two nights ago. The lower, greenish part is the old water. The top, clear part is the new water. Kudos to the guy here in Yzer who fitted this pipe so that I can see how much water is in the tank!!

 

[Hooked]

@Christos I spoke to my brother and this is his set-up.

He has two tanks, both of which are new.

Tank No. 1
Water from the roof (when it rains!) flows into it, with a filter to catch leaves and stuff, so the water in that tank is relatively clean. This water is used to fill the washing machine and use in the kitchen sink. It’s done manually – a hose is attached to the tank and when you need to use the washing machine just drag the hose inside and put it in the machine. My brother has a front-loader, so he holds the hose in the compartment where water would usually go in. If you have a top-loader it would be much easier.

Tank No. 2
Water from the washing machine and kitchen sink flow into a “big bucket thing” and a pump (installed by a plumber) pumps that water into this tank. The water in this tank is “grey” water and is used to water the garden – though even that might stop soon. A pump is attached to the tank and a hose with a sprinkler is attached to the pump.

In addition, this grey water is connected to the toilet (also done by a plumber) in order to flush the toilet. @Jp1905 this is what you want to do, right?

Tank No. 3
Has been ordered and will be used for “something”.

Hope that helps.

 

[Raindance]

As promised, here are pics of my water tank. @Resistance @Andre @Christos

View attachment 121957

In the pic above, the thin pipe on the left, back, is connected to a tap in the front, so that I could use it to wash the car. However, washing the car is no longer a priority!!

In the pic below you can clearly see the change in water level from the rain two nights ago. The lower, greenish part is the old water. The top, clear part is the new water. Kudos to the guy here in Yzer who fitted this pipe so that I can see how much water is in the tank!!

View attachment 121958

That is a decent size tank @Hooked. Congratulations.

Regards

 

[Hooked]

That is a decent size tank @Hooked. Congratulations.

Regards

@Raindance I'm lucky - it was already here when I bought the house.

 

[Hooked]

Actually contemplating to do a brushcut hairstyle just to cut down shower time. Using about 12L per shower at the moment.

My pool is a mess. Pump can not run as the water level is below the weir level. Mosquito heaven.

Regards

@Raindance I know that people may not refill their pools, but I hadn't thought about what you're experiencing. There's nothing worse than a mosquito. By the way, here's a handy "hack" as it's called nowadays (I wonder how "tip" became "hack"?): Put toothpaste on the bite to stop the itching. It works too, but not immediately; just wait a minute. It won't stop the mosquito from biting you, but it will stop you for scratching yourself to pieces.

 

[Resistance]

@Hooked nice size tank.I saw something that bothers me though.you footing for your tank is too small.it needs to be at least 300mm wider than the tank.You might be OK now but when the tank fills up it might cause problems

 

[Resistance]

@Raindance a tip is to use your already recycled washing machine water to fill your pool slowly.also get some surgical alcohol for those bites.it works like a charm
@Hooked it takes the itch away and counters the venom the mosquito leaves behind

 

[Hooked]

@Hooked nice size tank.I saw something that bothers me though.you footing for your tank is too small.it needs to be at least 300mm wider than the tank.You might be OK now but when the tank fills up it might cause problems

@Resistance Oh crikey that doesn't sound good! I just assume that the builders/renovators knew what they were doing when they built what I call the "platform". Thanks a lot for mentioning it - I'll speak to my current builder about it. The last thing that I need is to have the whole thing tumbling over!!

 

[Resistance]

@Hooked don't think of replacing that tank you got there. that is an awesome tank we used to store hard chemicals in those Nels. believe me that tanks outlive the rest

 

[Hooked]

From http://www.capetownetc.com/best-of-the-cape/rains-cape-town/

"Capetonians waited with baited breath for rain on Friday and while some areas received a notable downpour, others didn’t. One of the biggest music festivals graced our shores, Ultra Music Festival, but the downpour didn’t put a damper on the night. It had quite the opposite effect.

A video of a man trying to make the most of the downpour caught our attention. When the rain started, he pulled out his bottle of shampoo and used the water from he skies to wash his hair. This is priceless! And so quick-thinking. It shows you how innovative people are becoming in the water crisis currently strangling the Mother City."

 

[Resistance]

or @Raindance get a small submersible pump just to rotate the water

 

[Resistance]

or you could use an existing poolpump and get black irrigation hoses to and fro the pool @Raindance

 

[Resistance]

@Hooked I still make it 300 bigger than the tank to compensate for whoever worked there before me.the last person always get blamed.and I got you a link

http://www.rainharvest.co.za/2012/10/how-to-prepare-a-base-for-a-water-tank-on-the-ground/

 

[Resistance]

Crusher Dust / Sand Base: For round tanks. The sand or dust must be well contained to ensure it will not be undermined by water run off etc. water tank stands. Tank Stand: The stand and footing should be engineered to take weight
that's a copy and paste