210 replies to this topic

[ducky]

I'm not sure, but we are planning on making the hose long enough to reach them all and to put lids on the containers when it's not raining. Will check out those dunks for when they are uncovered.

That will work.  The lids will help reduce evaporation, too.  You'll be surprised how fast they fill.

[cw68]

That will work.  The lids will help reduce evaporation, too.  You'll be surprised how fast they fill.

I didn't even think about evaporation, duh. Surprised I didn't because I'm always amazed that people out here don't cover their pools, esp. in this dry climate. My Dad always covered his pool in Florida for that reason, that it kept it cleaner, and he had to use less chemicals.

[cw68]

Ducky, no kidding on the how fast the fill comment. My friend collected 500+ gallons of water in one storm.

[ducky]

Ducky, no kidding on the how fast the fill comment. My friend collected 500+ gallons of water in one storm.

 

It really is amazing.  One time I needed to move the barrels and used a shed roof.  The barrels filled very quickly even from a small roof area in a very light storm.

[Darth Lefty]

Let us know how your own system works out if you try it.  It will be raining, off and on, through the week.

[cw68]

Let us know how your own system works out if you try it.  It will be raining, off and on, through the week.

To cut a long story short, we were unable to do this yesterday. We plan on setting it up for next year.

In the meantime, we set one 35-gallon in our side yard and started filling it with extra water we have caught from our faucets. We already put buckets in our showers and we use that to flush but often the five gallon bucket is too full (heavy) to add to it. We will empty that into the can in the morning when there is water in it. Also, it takes at least three gallons to get hot water at our kitchen sink. We have been catching some of that to water plants, but will now fill a bucket and put it in there. It's amazing how much we put in there in one day.

So, we will continue to fill it and just sink a bucket on there to water our veggie garden and roses this summer. Then this fall we will set up a system. Just wasn't in the cards yesterday.

[ducky]

The lake level is up to 407.49 according to the hourly.  It could be up more, but it looks like they really bump up the outflow in the early morning hours. I'm not sure what that's due to.  We're due for more rain so that's good news.

[SacKen]

The lake level is up to 407.49 according to the hourly.  It could be up more, but it looks like they really bump up the outflow in the early morning hours. I'm not sure what that's due to.  We're due for more rain so that's good news.

Don't look at the hourly reports since they will often release in surges throughout the day for various reasons, rather than a steady stream. You'll see that soon after you posted, the flows dropped to almost nothing compared to the amount you saw. The daily reports are a more normalized look at the flow, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow to know if you should be outraged.

 

http://cdec.water.ca.../queryDaily?FOL

[tessieca]

Does anyone collect water from a second story shower?  If so, how do you get it down to ground level without problems?

[cw68]

Does anyone collect water from a second story shower?  If so, how do you get it down to ground level without problems?

How about a bucket with a lid? I picked up a five-galloon bucket with a lid at Winco.

[ducky]

Don't look at the hourly reports since they will often release in surges throughout the day for various reasons, rather than a steady stream. You'll see that soon after you posted, the flows dropped to almost nothing compared to the amount you saw. The daily reports are a more normalized look at the flow, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow to know if you should be outraged.

 

http://cdec.water.ca.../queryDaily?FOL

 

Thanks, SacKen.  I was wondering if it was water going to Folsom's intake, for example, and they just do it in the early a.m. hours, but it seems like Folsom wouldn't need more right now with all the rain.  I did notice that it always drops after about 7:00 a.m. every day on the hourly report.  Even so, it is still bumped up more than it was, say, in January and February so it looks like more outflow overall.

[cw68]

 
Thanks, SacKen.  I was wondering if it was water going to Folsom's intake, for example, and they just do it in the early a.m. hours, but it seems like Folsom wouldn't need more right now with all the rain.  I did notice that it always drops after about 7:00 a.m. every day on the hourly report.  Even so, it is still bumped up more than it was, say, in January and February so it looks like more outflow overall.

Could be salmon spawning

[ducky]

Does anyone collect water from a second story shower?  If so, how do you get it down to ground level without problems?

 

There was an article in The Folsom Telegraph on March 5 about a family that re-uses bath water from a second-floor bathtub.  They rigged up a siphon system.  It doesn't really elaborate on how they did the shower part, but I have to assume they have a shower/tub combo.  He rigged a siphon system from the bathtub and it looked like they just used tubing over a second story balcony to get the water down to the yard.  I suppose you could still do the bucket thing in the shower to capture water before it gets warm, and then take the bucket and fill the tub and do the same thing if your tub and shower are separate.   There are photos in the printed portion of the paper.  It was on page B6 in the Home&Garden section.

 

They warned that you would want to consider what soaps you use (as 4thgen has said here before) if you are re-using bath water on your plants.

 

Add:  While I would have no problem using grey water on ornamental landscaping, I still can't get past the ick factor when it relates to using bath or laundry water on plants grown for food.

[ducky]

Could be salmon spawning

They decided to run the salmon to the Delta in tanker trucks because of the drought conditions.  I think today is the first day for that.  Even with the rain, they didn't think there was enough water for them to survive in trip.

[WolfMom]

What's the news on the snow from this cold storm. Help our totals much?