Rainwater For Drinking Gathered By Tile Line

2018 - Volume #42, Issue #5, Page #25

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Howard Ewen’s drinking water comes from tile lines laid around his farm buildings. Set in rock in a plastic-lined trench beneath eaves, the 6-in. perforated plastic pipes capture rainwater for later use. It is a simple system that works well.
  “Our well water around here is terrible with rust, and we used to have to service our water softeners twice a year,” says Ewen. “About 10 years ago I decided to see if we could use rainwater instead.”
  He first estimated how many square feet of roof area they had with the house and a second building. Ewen and his wife also had to figure out how much water they used.
  A review of rainfall records kept by his wife assured them they had sufficient regular rainfall for their needs, even in the driest years. The problem was catching it.
  “I never had much luck with rain gutters,” he explains. “They always plug up or birds get in them.”
  Instead he went with perforated plastic drain pipe covered with a nylon sock and laid in a V-shaped trench. The gravel laid over the top breaks the energy of the falling water and also keeps debris and critters out. Ewen notes that over time dirt has blown into the gravel, and weeds have started to be a problem. He says he simply hits them with a little herbicide.
  Once he had the drain tile system under the eaves, he still had to store the water. He chose a 10,000-gal. stainless steel tank and buried it beside the house. Getting the water to the tank was the next challenge, as they couldn’t bury the tank deep enough for gravity flow. Instead the water from tile lines drains into a buried 30-ft. length of 36-in. plastic pipe that serves as a sump. It holds about 1,500 gal. and has a pump at one end.
  When the water level drops in the steel tank, the pump kicks on if there is water in the sump. Water entering the house from the stainless steel tank goes through a filter.
  Ewen only has one regret. “We’ve got the best water we ever had,” he says. “The only bad thing is that we didn’t do it sooner.”
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Howard Ewen, Jr., 6997 W State Rd. 8, Lacrosse, Ind. 46348 (ph 219 754-2365).

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Rainwater For Drinking Gathered By Tile Line FARM HOME Miscellaneous Howard Ewen’s drinking water comes from tile lines laid around his farm buildings Set in rock in a plastic-lined trench beneath eaves the 6-in perforated plastic pipes capture rainwater for later use It is a simple system that works well “Our well water around here is terrible with rust and we used to have to service our water softeners twice a year ” says Ewen “About 10 years ago I decided to see if we could use rainwater instead ” He first estimated how many square feet of roof area they had with the house and a second building Ewen and his wife also had to figure out how much water they used A review of rainfall records kept by his wife assured them they had sufficient regular rainfall for their needs even in the driest years The problem was catching it “I never had much luck with rain gutters ” he explains “They always plug up or birds get in them ” Instead he went with perforated plastic drain pipe covered with a nylon sock and laid in a V-shaped trench The gravel laid over the top breaks the energy of the falling water and also keeps debris and critters out Ewen notes that over time dirt has blown into the gravel and weeds have started to be a problem He says he simply hits them with a little herbicide Once he had the drain tile system under the eaves he still had to store the water He chose a 10 000-gal stainless steel tank and buried it beside the house Getting the water to the tank was the next challenge as they couldn’t bury the tank deep enough for gravity flow Instead the water from tile lines drains into a buried 30-ft length of 36-in plastic pipe that serves as a sump It holds about 1 500 gal and has a pump at one end When the water level drops in the steel tank the pump kicks on if there is water in the sump Water entering the house from the stainless steel tank goes through a filter Ewen only has one regret “We’ve got the best water we ever had ” he says “The only bad thing is that we didn’t do it sooner ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Howard Ewen Jr 6997 W State Rd 8 Lacrosse Ind 46348 ph 219 754-2365

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