On Fri, 18 Apr 2003 11:39:32 -0400, Dwight Sipler
wrote:



I would call the local extension service first, or possibly the local
USDA Natural Resources people. They would know what the local regs are
and you wouldn't stir up the local people unnecessarily. My personal
opinion is that if the water is going to be used in the same watershed
area, and if you aren't sucking the stream dry, it shouldn't be a
problem. You have to register stream withdrawals with the feds if you
exceed 100,000 gallons per day.

Good suggestions, I wish to keep this as low key as possible, Plus
we are only talking about irrigating a quarter acre of beds, which
range from well drained areas to bog like areas ( all on a 1/4
acre). 100,000 gallons per day would flood my entire
neighborhood.


You lose some from evaporation when you use sprinklers, and you lose
some from transpiration through the plants. If you use drip irrigation
you can mitigate the former problem.

As far as the setup is concerned, I have this picture of you setting a
bucket with holes into the stream bottom and using plastic fabric to
filter the water going into the bucket, from which you pump it out. I
see 2 problems with that approach. First, if you pump the water out of
the bucket faster than it can come in through the filter, the bucket is
likely to float and you will lose your setup (and probably your bucket
when it floats downstream a way before sinking). Second, five gallons is
too small. Think larger.

I have a small greenhouse that is supplied with water through a hose.
When cold weather comes through the hose freezes and I can't water
anything. I put a 55 gallon drum full of water in the greenhouse and got
a cheap sump pump from Home Depot. It has a hose fitting on the outlet.
It gives me enough pressure to run a watering wand (about 50-75% of what
I would get out of the hose from the house). The sump pump has a built
in filter for large debris (but an accumulation of leaves would clog
it). It only needs 1/4" of submersion but will work fully submerged. I
suspect it would easily run a small sprinkler, but not a large one.
If you use such a sump pump in the bucket, I would recommend a hardware
cloth filter rather than landscape fabric. It will provide a larger
water flow into the bucket and keep out the leaves. The built in filter
will keep out the medium size debris. If you use drip irrigation, you
will need a disk filter (much cheaper than a sand filter) to keep the
really small stuff out of the drip lines.

More good suggestions..... I like the 55 gallon drum idea for
rainwater collections, Tried the drip solution a few years back and
had neighborhood dogs, and wild deer tear out the system. I also
ran over it with the lawn mower once or twice...... that didn't help
matters much either.

Again, we're only talking about a 1/4 acre here, complete with
house. Just that I'm very reluctant to use or waste city water in
watering the lawn, when I have a stream in the back...and the run off
and ground water penetration all go back to the
same source.


Thanks again for the information..... time to start making it happen
!!!