Lightweight but durable water storage

I live at the bottom of a valley, with a river running on our boundary. Assuming I can work out how to make it, I am able to pump water from the river to elsewhere on the property via a ram pump. The obvious place to move it to is the highest point, which is 72ft higher in elevation than the river bank.

There is an issue, as always; the high point is up a very steep slope that I can only access on one side via some rough, single stone steps. At points, this slope is 40-45%+, very, very steep. Currently, it is a meadow, but I have about 20 bare root fruit trees that I am about to put into the slope. Digging, mowing, hedge work, any work up there is only with hand tools.

Given the access and gradient, I am struggling to work out what I can physically store the water in, at the high point. Fortunately the slope flattens out at the very top, but whatever it is, I have to drag the container up there physically, with sweat and toil. An IBC (or a few of them) would be great, I guess, but at 65kg each, I feel like it would be arduous to get them up there. I do not have anyone to lend a hand.

I want to store as much as possible and am happy with a modular system, but does anyone have any ideas for a water container that someone could lift? The elevation + river gives me a really secure water source, with probably very good pressure for watering in the garden below.

Glad to do hard work; I'm not ruling out dragging 2/3x 65kg cubes, but I am concerned that it might be a little too much...

Rope and pulleys?

R Scott wrote:Rope and pulleys?

I had the same thought. Or that thing called a "pull along", or is it a "come along"? It's called something like that. It'd be a little bit of an investment, but it may be of help for another project as well in the future.

I have some suggestions.  

What is the purpose of the water storage?  

To water only the fruit trees?

Thinking of stacking functions, it would be nice if the water could be stored as a pond, so providing wildlife habitat and possible aquatic edibles. if you don't have clay then a butyl pond liner would be my suggestion. Dig out a hole and line it, instant water container....with just a little hard work!
Don't ram pumps run all the time? So you'd have water overflowing as well to manage/use.

It sounds a bit like a piece of land we are working on, though now I realized we are blessed to have a semblance of a road along the ridge, so the access to the land is from the top.  Our plot is roughly 2000 meters by 2000 meters, and all of it is steep slope. There is water running way down at the bottom and there is technically enough rainfall for the land not to be considered arid, but it falls from June to October with almost no rain from November to May.  On the other side of the road, more of a track really, the hill continues to rise a bit further until having a fairly large flat plain on the crest of the hill.  We've chosen to big a smallish unlined pond near the top and we are able to direct road runoff into it as well as the rain that just falls. This is our Kueni Kueni (which means slowly slowly or little by little)  long term plan, but we are in a government reforestation plan and have planted 2000 trees, many tiny seedlings, on this plot which need to be kept alive until they are well established. For that, we decided to temporarily bring in some tinacos the rooftop water tanks that are common in Mexico. They are not heavy, but difficult for one person to manage. But two adults and two teenagers can maneuver them into place just fine. They are made to be outside in the sun, so durable. We are hoping to use them in this location only for the next 3-5 years and we can later move them to some other location, or sell/gift them to someone who needs them.  I'm not sure where you live, you used a feet/kilo combo in your post, so I'm not sure how available these are to you.

Anne Miller wrote:I have some suggestions.  

What is the purpose of the water storage?  

To water only the fruit trees?

No, although that is a major accelerator to the implementation; given the steepness of the slope, getting up there in the summer with watering cans (too far for a hose) will be arduous.

Storing high will also mean plentiful water stored ready for zone 1 watering as well, some of which is also, not reachable by hose.

Nancy Reading wrote:Thinking of stacking functions, it would be nice if the water could be stored as a pond, so providing wildlife habitat and possible aquatic edibles. if you don't have clay then a butyl pond liner would be my suggestion. Dig out a hole and line it, instant water container....with just a little hard work!
Don't ram pumps run all the time? So you'd have water overflowing as well to manage/use.

Indeed they do; it would require switching on / off with a valve. I am estimating my summer requirement, hoping to find a container to meet it (or, if IBC for example, 2/3 containers) and would just fill them before switching off.

The pond is also a consideration and is part of the plan - actually 2 ponds most likely. However, the cost of earthworks, placement in the landscape, licensing required (UK...) all means this is not imminent. It also would gain me nothing for water storage high in the landscape - the main pond will actually be near the river, at one of the lower points on the property.

Melissa Ferrin wrote:It sounds a bit like a piece of land we are working on, though now I realized we are blessed to have a semblance of a road along the ridge, so the access to the land is from the top.  Our plot is roughly 2000 meters by 2000 meters, and all of it is steep slope. There is water running way down at the bottom and there is technically enough rainfall for the land not to be considered arid, but it falls from June to October with almost no rain from November to May.  On the other side of the road, more of a track really, the hill continues to rise a bit further until having a fairly large flat plain on the crest of the hill.  We've chosen to big a smallish unlined pond near the top and we are able to direct road runoff into it as well as the rain that just falls. This is our Kueni Kueni (which means slowly slowly or little by little)  long term plan, but we are in a government reforestation plan and have planted 2000 trees, many tiny seedlings, on this plot which need to be kept alive until they are well established. For that, we decided to temporarily bring in some tinacos the rooftop water tanks that are common in Mexico. They are not heavy, but difficult for one person to manage. But two adults and two teenagers can maneuver them into place just fine. They are made to be outside in the sun, so durable. We are hoping to use them in this location only for the next 3-5 years and we can later move them to some other location, or sell/gift them to someone who needs them.  I'm not sure where you live, you used a feet/kilo combo in your post, so I'm not sure how available these are to you.

Interesting, thanks. I will look into this, but yes, sadly our access is only via the slope - no road or track on the top at least not one that I can access. The flat(ish) part that could site the storage is quite small - I do not have a large piece of land. It is maybe 3m wide (before the slope kicks in) and 5-6m long (running along as a ridge of sorts). I'm in the UK, apologies for the mixed units, I was trying to make sure it made sense for a primarily US reader.

That tank that Melissa pictured looks like a good idea if that kind of tank is available where you live.

I like Nancy's suggestion of doing a pond to store the water.  Placing the trees near the pond makes sense.

Once the trees start producing fruit will it be a problem getting the harvest down off that steep meadow?  Or maybe you will use the fruit as needed.

Anne Miller wrote:That tank that Melissa pictured looks like a good idea if that kind of tank is available where you live.

I like Nancy's suggestion of doing a pond to store the water.  Placing the trees near the pond makes sense.

Once the trees start producing fruit will it be a problem getting the harvest down off that steep meadow?  Or maybe you will use the fruit as needed.

Its not optimum for harvest, but I figure planting trees is only ever a good thing. Some fruit will 100% not be consumed by us; that's fine.

Trees will go in near the pond at the bottom of the landscape - but its wet down there, not suitable for fruit trees in the majority.

Maybe something like THIS to haul the totes up the hill?