Catch the water coming out the overflow drain
and measure it over a period of time? Yes. You are on the right track.
Figure out what you have to work with and when it is available. That would
be a good starting point.

Our peak Et rate (a term used to measure the amount of water used) for cool
season turf ,which usually occurs during the summer, is 1.5" per week.
Applying an amount somewhat less than this would be a good conservation
strategy for drought periods.

--
Baine

"Robert Gray" wrote in message
. com...
Thanks Baine for the application ratio,

Good point about the summer dry spells. Seems to me that this spot is
particularlly wet in the spring. I just might want to excavate a small
hole - maybe a four foot circle about three feet deep. Run an overflow
tench
that will drain it off when it fills. Then see if it stays filled all
summer. Might need to use the big rocks to stabilize the walls. I can
always implement the pump idea next year - if it produces steady water.
30,000 gallons is a lot of water!

How can I measure the flow? Catch the water coming out the overflow drain
and measure it over a period of time? There are two potential uses. A
shrub/flower bed - maybe 25'x25' - directly around the spring. Two lawn
areas ~ 20'x200' each (with elevation running hgiher away from the the
spring area). Based on 8k sqaure feet, I would need a bit more than 5k
gals.for the one inch

Or, at only 625 sq ft for the bed area, that would be 425 gals. If the
spring produces 1 gal per hour, then I could water the bed every 17 days
with one inch of water - or something like 1/2 inch of water every week.
Assuming of course that the hole can hold 210 gals.

But it would not be useful if it slows down during the drought...

Robert

"Baine Carruthers" wrote in message
. ..
Consider this, it takes 27,154 gallons to apply 1" of water to 1 acre.
You
need to figure the flow rate of the spring and then the area you plan to
irrigate. Generally you would need this water during the drought. Are
you
sure the spring is viable in the summer?

--
Baine

"Robert Gray" wrote in message
. com...
Well,

I have finally got around to backfilling drainage pipes in the
culverts
of
my yard. In one part of the yard, there was always a soft spot. Turns
out
that it is a natural spring, and it continues to bubble up through the
new
fill.

It is close enough to a drain (20') that I think I can excavate the
fill
and
put in a french drain to trap the water and direct it to the the drain
before it reaches the surface. Some landscape fabric, a truckload of
gravel,
some slotted drain pipe, and a day or so of digging, installing and
backfilling and it should work.

But, before I do that I thought I would check with others about the
possibility of using the water for irrigation. We have had some long
hot
summers without much rain lately, and the spring is ideally located to
service an area (where I will plant grass and shrubs) that is far from
the
water of the house. We do not have any other type of sprinkler systems
(on
a
well), but this just might make sense.

I have ideas of burying a holding tank, directing the water into the
tank,
and then pumping it out into a pressurized tank for the sprinkler
lines.
But, I haven't done anything like this before and need some technical
references to see if it is viable.

Anyone have experience they would like to share?

Thanks,
Robert