Jumping the Moon Dairy - the next chapter

[Bruce]

The wonderful state of CA keeps threatening to put meters on our wells and charge us to use the water that we paid to access.

That is pretty rude! Just another way to get money or an attempt to keep the aquifers from going dry quite so fast since people that MIGHT be "wasting" now might think twice if they paid a per gallon "fee"?? Seems like if they want to tax what you use they should have to buy the well from you first. And I wouldn't be asking my state rep to vote for that at all.

It is nice that you don't notice the pump dropping pressure if something else is on

There is the pressure tank, yes? I would think one would have to be using a LOT of water all at once to notice a pressure drop.

Our pressure switch is 30-50 psi, you said you have a pressure switch as well. What does it do if the controller provides constant pressure? Wouldn't that mean the pump is running all the time any water is being used?

Yes, I am

 

[babsbag]

It does pretty much run all of the time. It is supposed to save money as the pump doesn't have the high draw on start up. It has a very small pressure tank, maybe 5 gallons. A few years back DH put a bigger tank on it so that it wouldn't run all of the time as it is right outside our bedroom window and annoying at night. Also if you are outside trying to enjoy a summer evening on the deck it was always running. So now it doesn't run as much and perhaps we defeated its purpose but we didn't see any change in our power bill when he made the switch so it is any ones guess. We tried to figure out how much it was costing to run by shutting off everything but the well but could never really get a good estimate.

Since we have grid tied solar on a time of use meter I try to water everything between 9 PM and 10 AM so our water usage can be demanding at times and this summer while I pump was dying I was constantly fighting no water pressure, I think that the pump was having a hard time keeping up with the demand. It isn't on as much now and the pressure is good even during things like lawn watering. The long term plan is putting in a 2000 gallon tank, fill it at night, and use it during the day instead of the well.

As far as the well being metered by the state I would bet that most people on a well use less water than city folks as we know that it costs money and that water isn't an endless resource. I am much more conscious of it now than I was when I just sent money to the city.

 

[Bruce]

Seems to me unless you are using a LOT of water A LOT of the time, there is much more "high startup draw" with the system you have now. Kind of like our on-demand water heater. That thing has to light up every time the hot water is turned on for even half a minute. And of course it has to kick on the vent pipe blower each time as well. Likely the only time our well pump has to run much is when someone is taking a shower and the pressure in the tank drops to 30 PSI and triggers the pump. Otherwise when the tank is full, there can be plenty of small uses before the pump has to run again.

That 2,000 gallon tank plan sounds good. I don't know what that would cost but was surprised to find out that the top surface area of a 1,000 gallon septic tank isn't much bigger than a sheet of plywood. I guess a 2K water tank won't be terribly big.

People on wells may or may not know how much they are using since there is no meter. But there is that constant reminder with the pump running. You hear that and the $$ come to mind

 

[Baymule]

Can you gutter the house/barn and funnel rain to a cistern? I know in Colorado, rain belongs to the state, which is just about the screwiest thing I ever heard of. Here we can capture all the rain we want.

 

[Mini Horses]

I don't believe there is much rain where she is.

Colorado & rain...I have always thought THAT was insane!! Wonder how that could even have happened??? If that is theirs, then why wouldn't the wind be also?? If so, they why don't they pay for the damage from "THEIR" possessions upon others???? You can't say the wind & rain were "acts of God" and still own them.

 

[Bruce]

Water rights, the same way a lot of the water in northern CA is owned by "entities" in southern CA.

 

[Latestarter]

I believe recently CO changed their water rights laws to allow a person to collect water off their roof in a rain barrel for personal use. It is still illegal to in any way alter the slope, build structures, create holding tanks, on the land to prevent water run off as those "downstream" already have established their rights to ownership. When you live in a near desert, water is everything and very valuable. Farmers want more of it, home owners want more of it. Everyone wants more, but there only exists what exists.

CA "owns" the CO river. Back when the rights were established, the river produced far more water than it does now. There was enough for Coloradans to have some and still provide what CA claimed as theirs downstream. Of course there are also a few other states along the way who want their share as well. It's a climate issue. Not as much snow to melt, not as much rain, not as much water to flow down to CA. As a result, CA is due more water annually than actually flows down stream. The result is a dry river bed where it enters the gulf of CA. It's sucked dry before any gets there. (I believe in recent years, legislation has required that "some" water be allowed to enter the gulf from the CO river. That being said, I believe the amount is barely a trickle http://news.nationalgeographic.com/...elta-pulse-flow-morelos-dam-minute-319-water/) Required water release from lake Mead has been a contributing factor to the severe drop in water level behind the Hoover dam. CA (and others) need to get "their" water.

If everyone was allowed to collect, save, store, stop, divert, retain, rain/water run off, the problem would be even worse. The aquifers would not be able to replenish, and of course the amount of water available to/owned by those downstream would be even less. Hasn't stopped Californians from moving to Colorado... similar climate conditions and cheaper cost of living. "States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Colorado was 5,540,545 on July 1, 2016, an increase of 10.17% since the 2010 United States Census." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado I moved here to TX to get away from the crowds and costs of CO, the legal and political system becoming "Californiated", and because of the water issue.

Of course right now it's pretty dry here and we could use some rain...

 

[Baymule]

At least in Texas you can dig a pond if you want to, gather rain water from the roof and trap water run off on your land.

 

[Bruce]

Same here. Though we don't tend to have the terrible droughts that CA and TX have seen. Maybe one bad year but recovery the next.

 

[babsbag]

I can trap all the rain water I want, no restrictions on that...yet. But I can't water my yard with grey water. I say charge a modest fee and inspect a grey water system and let us use it for non food plants, makes too much sense.

Water on our planet is a closed system; we can't make it or destroy it, we just pollute and use it in different ways. If CA didn't have the snow melt and watersheds to capture there would be no large scale agriculture but ultimately that water ends up back in the ground or in the atmosphere to be released and used again. Sometimes nature just gets stingy in letting it go. Also it takes a long time to fill the aquifers (usually) so ground water is disappearing but the water itself actually hasn't disappeared, it just went elsewhere "to live".

On another note, I will taking two tests this Friday and having the inspector do a preliminary inspection. I still have some things to do, like pave the corral and build metal ramps but I am hoping she will let me slide on those two things for the rest of this year...2 months. And there is other stuff, I need labels approved, and printed, I need to buy bottles, I need to figure out how to culture 30 gallons of milk, need to decide how I want to package cheese without buying a vacuum sealer, and a bunch of other details. I am looking for liability insurance and not getting far on that front.

I have a ton of stuff to do before Friday so wish me luck and I am on my way.