I like the idea of two cisterns.
Before I filled the tank, it held a half a tank - roughly- of water. It had sat half full for a very long time. I think that rules out a leaky drain.
Kevin, I salute you and all the people who are water thrifty, what ever the motivation. I have lived through major droughts in arid regions. In fact I have never lived in other than arid conditions. In some situations lasting months, I have hand carried or hauled every drop I have used or my goats have drunk. I value water.
I want to share the context of this situation where I could live with a “loss” of 50 gallons per day into my soil.
In this arid region, people speak of “filling the sponge.” Another common expression is “the best place to store water is in the soil”. Water goes into the soil where it works many miracles, and supports diverse life forms.
It may seem that the idea I could live with a “loss” of 50 gallons a day indicates that I am wasteful with water, and maybe have no regard for the precious nature of water.
Western slope of Colorado is part of the headwaters of the Colorado River. Water is a sensitive topic here. Metropolises on the east side of the Rockies divert the would be Pacific bound water to supply new suburbs. Las Vegas Nevada, Phoenix Arizona and Los Angeles California consider themselves “the lower Colorado basin “. They think it’s “their” water. An agreement of sorts was reached in 1922, allocating various amounts of water to various stakeholders. The provisions of that agreement have never been followed.
In Colorado, we are not allowed to catch rainwater! It is considered to belong to down stream users. They plan to build new subdivisions and supply them with water from the Colorado. The Colorado River is already over allocated.
Water is seen as a single use item by many.
All the irrigation water that arrives on my property is destined to soak into the soil. All of the domestic water has the same destination. Some of it passes through my house on the way to the soil. I do not use compounds on my property that are not biodegradable, or in any way questionable.
I consider my role in relation to this property as custodial. It’s on loan from the future. How could I, an ephemeral being, own a piece of the planet we hope is eternal? Silly idea! My responsibility is to let it pass to others in good condition. It’s already in a lot better shape than when I bought it less than a year ago.
The soil will benefit by moisture to re-establish a healthy soil food web. It takes more water to establish the flourishing biocommunity I seek than to maintain it. The water rights I have purchased are enough to maintain an established community. It will be a lengthy process to get it all established. That’s what is left in life of interest to me.
So, the 50 gallons a day, the 1500 gallons a month, it’s going into the soil, supporting organisms. I think that is as legitimate as washing a car 1000 miles distant, or watering a golf course. 🤷🏻♀️. If I established a leak proof cistern, that would not change how much water I used, nor where it ended up. Right now there is an evergreen tree which is probably alive only because of the cooling effect of the partially filled cistern. That tree will benefit from the future leakage as will the other plants there.
The vegetation I intend to establish will support the soil community. It will support the few animals I will have, to help with establishing the bio community. It will feed me and my friends and neighbors. It will support insects, reptiles and amphibians, prairie dogs, eagles, meadowlarks, crows & other birds, bobcats and coyotes. It will increase the soil carbon, it will convert CO2 to oxygen. I consider that use of water legitimate.
Also, vegetation will contribute to the localized small water cycle. If you could mark a water molecule you might track it from the snow on the mountain above, down the stream to the irrigation system to my place, into the ground, into a plant, into a goat, out as urine, into the soil, into a plant, into the air, into a cloud over the mountains from where it might fall again…. Water evaporating is not water wasted, it is water being recycled. Water used, unless it is contaminated by some toxic substance will be used and used again.
I have paid for my 6 acres. I have paid for the water rights and I pay again for the water delivered. Furrow irrigation is labor intensive, and does not require the manufacture or distribution of plastics.
So, I have paid and paid and paid again for the privilege of being here and working hard in this beautiful location, marginal housing, and harsh climate in my old age, working hard to do something that is beautiful & meaningful to me, constructive & responsible as a member of earth’s biosphere.
I fail to see the logic of the expense and labor and resource expenditure of capturing 50 gallons a day, only to have more control over where and when I bring it into contact with the soil. I fail to see the logic of sending the water downstream to be utilized elsewhere where it potentially may not be used to broadly support life as my use does.
