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SPRING through RAM, downhill through PICO HYDRO then Collected in Water barrels for home use?

 
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We're living on grid at the very front of our families 52 acres of woodlands in NE Texas and planning on moving my family of 4 into the middle of woods, off grid, into a dome home cluster. (Story for some other time) I'm a 28 year old mom of 2 (4 and 1 yrs old) but.... I'm brainstorming! Because as we all know, Water is the beginning of any permie design and i just need some more experienced help!!

I feel pretty certain we can locate a spring uphill of where we plan on building our home! Is it feasible to integrate my power and drinking water systems? I was thinking if we could use a ram pump to pump water downhill maybe a 20' drop across 200' or 15' across 150' over a micro hydro system and into our water collection tanks for useable drinking water?

I eventually want to set up a high pond and low pond and have the perfect land for it but.... that's alot more work, time and money before we can move, and honestly, we don't have any extra reserve of any of that!!! I can surely then make hydro work! I'm trying to cut the least amount of trees possible to have shade from this fearsome Texas Sun besides, I want to work with the land and live alongside its creatures not destroy it!

We also have a creek, but it's very low and our neighbors are clearing there land and I just can't be sure what they might do and I want to set a system that will last and serve my family well... we're planning on this build being our forever home!

Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks!!
 
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There are a few things to consider;
- can the neighbours clear their land? Laws may have changed.
- Will they pollute or reduce stream flow?
- How far past their land does the creek start?
- Can they keep the creek within a vegetated strip?
Water
- Rams only pump up hill
- hydro systems need either very high water at the top end, or lots of it.
 there are topics and people on Permies who can help.
- Rainfall collection for drinking will work, my signature has some details about it.
- minimum water tank volume should be about 5000 Gals with first flush systems on the catchment roofs
- dams to store water may not work well.
 
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You might be able to get both water and power, but in my experience any kind of dual combination system typically ends up meaning the system does neither function well.

I really don't have the right numbers here to make any meaningful calculations because I am not sure of flow. You got some differential pressure, about 10 psi, with a 20 foot drop in 200 feet, which is okay, but not great. You could bump it up with a venturi set up and get a little more. But really it is all about flow.

1 cubic foot per second will produce 2 kw, but that is a lot of water. About 90 gallons a minute...a pretty sizeable spring. You could get by with an off-grid set up with half that, or even a quarter, but you still need a lot of water. Obvious 45 gallons per minute for 1 KW and 23 gallons per minute for 500 watts.

I will try and take a picture today of what low flow looks like.
 
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Wren Waller wrote:
I feel pretty certain we can locate a spring uphill of where we plan on building our home!


Ummm, let's start with that.  How about actually finding the spring before you start planning for it.  I see a potential major disappointment ahead of you don't have all your ducks in a row.  

This is a very wet year at my own homestead.  I'm seeing springs now that I know have not been there for years.  Most likely it will be again gone come next year.  You need to factor this into your planning.  Is your area of Texas also above average this year?  What happens if you plumb a spring, and then it turns dry in a year or two?
 
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