Dry Ground
When summer comes, the lawns dry, the flower beds die, and your excellent soft soil becomes rock-hard.
It is a challenge to keep things damp during these times, and it does take quite a bit of water.
The first consideration you must ask is if you actually need to water your lawns, and gardens, or if it'd be better for them to be left to dry out till the next rain. There are advantages and disadvantages to each, including the resources you use (or abuse) on keeping a beautiful lawn.
We will work with you to help keep your lawns green if that is your desire, using water or using other techniques to help your lawn thrive if that's what you wish. You may also want to engage with professional lawn care services for advice in this area.
Of course, if you wish to go "low mow" and let the lawn grow as much as it can, we can help size a water supply system to maintain your lawn without using resources.
Of course, the larger the water storage system you have, the greater your options are!
It is a challenge to keep things damp during these times, and it does take quite a bit of water.
The first consideration you must ask is if you actually need to water your lawns, and gardens, or if it'd be better for them to be left to dry out till the next rain. There are advantages and disadvantages to each, including the resources you use (or abuse) on keeping a beautiful lawn.
We will work with you to help keep your lawns green if that is your desire, using water or using other techniques to help your lawn thrive if that's what you wish. You may also want to engage with professional lawn care services for advice in this area.
Of course, if you wish to go "low mow" and let the lawn grow as much as it can, we can help size a water supply system to maintain your lawn without using resources.
Of course, the larger the water storage system you have, the greater your options are!
Ageing Infrastructure
By now most people will be aware that in Wellington city, and other parts of the country, many of the "3 waters" pipes (tap water, storm water and sewerage) were built a long time ago.
While the pipes have generally quite long lifespans, they are expensive to repair and maintain. Councils have a hard time keeping on top of this, especially as we ratepayers tend to think that the pipes are a secondary or even tertiary priorities and we don't want the council spending money on things hidden away under ground when there is so much 'new shiny' that they could be giving us.
With the creaking, aged network of pipes, we also have an increasing population and seasons of dry weather to contend with. More demand on sometimes less water.
The councils have been adding more water sources over time, and more reservoirs are in the pipeline (pun intended), but there is some question as to whether or not it will be enough?
There's also the matter of storm water runoff. As we build more and more suburbs, and add more hard surfaces (roofs, roads, footpaths etc), more water runs into out storm water systems and much less gets into our streams. This is problematic in two areas at the same time and for the same reason.
The reason is we divert more water away from the ground.
The first problem is the one of flooding. As we divert more water from the ground into pipes, the demand on the storm water network is increased each time we have a heavy rain event. We have the same levels of rain but the flooding gets worse simply because more demand is placed on the pipes or streams, and many of them can no longer cope.
Of course, this is even worse when a number of households in an area have their storm water systems illegally connected to the sewer systems, which fail to cope with the load thrown at them and overflow.
The second problem is that with less water soaking into the ground, our aquifers are getting less water to recharge them. With more demand on these sources, but less water reaching them, they too are increasingly coming under strain and will foreseeably fail at some stage in the future.
By adding a rain tank and using at least some of the water on your garden, or lawns, or to wash your car etc, you help somewhat to alleviate these problems. The water used to fill your system during rain is water that would otherwise go into the storm water system. When you do use it, some of it at least soaks into the ground. You may not do a lot to refill the aquifer but you help a little.
Of course, if during the installation phase you opt for a soak pit to handle the overflow, you will provide a large amount of recharge for the aquifer while significantly lessening the amount that enters the storm water system.
While the pipes have generally quite long lifespans, they are expensive to repair and maintain. Councils have a hard time keeping on top of this, especially as we ratepayers tend to think that the pipes are a secondary or even tertiary priorities and we don't want the council spending money on things hidden away under ground when there is so much 'new shiny' that they could be giving us.
With the creaking, aged network of pipes, we also have an increasing population and seasons of dry weather to contend with. More demand on sometimes less water.
The councils have been adding more water sources over time, and more reservoirs are in the pipeline (pun intended), but there is some question as to whether or not it will be enough?
There's also the matter of storm water runoff. As we build more and more suburbs, and add more hard surfaces (roofs, roads, footpaths etc), more water runs into out storm water systems and much less gets into our streams. This is problematic in two areas at the same time and for the same reason.
The reason is we divert more water away from the ground.
The first problem is the one of flooding. As we divert more water from the ground into pipes, the demand on the storm water network is increased each time we have a heavy rain event. We have the same levels of rain but the flooding gets worse simply because more demand is placed on the pipes or streams, and many of them can no longer cope.
Of course, this is even worse when a number of households in an area have their storm water systems illegally connected to the sewer systems, which fail to cope with the load thrown at them and overflow.
The second problem is that with less water soaking into the ground, our aquifers are getting less water to recharge them. With more demand on these sources, but less water reaching them, they too are increasingly coming under strain and will foreseeably fail at some stage in the future.
By adding a rain tank and using at least some of the water on your garden, or lawns, or to wash your car etc, you help somewhat to alleviate these problems. The water used to fill your system during rain is water that would otherwise go into the storm water system. When you do use it, some of it at least soaks into the ground. You may not do a lot to refill the aquifer but you help a little.
Of course, if during the installation phase you opt for a soak pit to handle the overflow, you will provide a large amount of recharge for the aquifer while significantly lessening the amount that enters the storm water system.
Be Prepared
The motto of the Boy Scouts is "Be Prepared". It is one of the wisest mottos you could ever find, and has a deeper meaning than the basic surface meaning would present.
On the surface, it just means to be ready for what comes so you can survive it.
But when you work deeper, you realise that it means keeping yourself able to respond to a number of things, including a natural disaster.
The Wellington water network crosses faultlines in several places. In the event of a significant earthquake, the main pipes will rupture perhaps in many places, and mains water will not be available until repairs are done. Even then, the mains water may not be usable for drinking water for some time if the pipes become contaminated.
Some suburbs will be without mains water for a few days, eg those around Upper Hutt which are closer to the reservoirs. Further south, some suburbs could be without water for several months if there is extensive damage to the pipe network.
Our councils have provided an impressive system for emergency water, and those behind these plans deserve our thanks and gratitude - both the people who designed the emergency system as well as those who will work so hard to put the plans into practice if the time comes.
But for those unfortunate enough to need to rely on these systems, you will not enjoy abundant water. You will need to go to a community water source and collect water in 20L containers or perhaps even smaller bottles.
Showers will become a thing of the past, a luxury few have. Washing machines will sit idle, as will dish washers, as we slowly get used to the incredible variety of smells the unwashed human body can produce.
The 200L tanks the councils provide will provide you with a small amount of water each day, but not a lot. To wash properly each day they recommend 20L per person - that's just 10 days worth for one person, and only a couple of days for a family of 4. If you use the minimum you can for drinking and cleaning, that's still around 3L per person per day - a little over 2 weeks with a full tank. How often do we get periods of more than 2 weeks with little or no rain?
But what if you have a full 1,000L tank? For a little more cost and a bit more space, that 2 weeks could stretch to 10 weeks, and it is likely that you will be able to get at least a partial recharge in that time. If you have 10,000L, you can pretty much last indefinitely for your water supply. Every one of you can shower each day, you can bathe, wash the dishes as much as you want, water the garden. The more you have the more options you have.
If you're a nice enough person, or entrepreneurial enough, with a larger system you would also be in a position not just to supply your family but to also help your neighbours out. You're also better equipped to be able to say disconnect your system from the roof for a few weeks to let ash and other debris wash away before you start to harvest water again.
Be prepared - be ready for any disaster and don't just be a good neighbour but be a community hero. If you are better equipped to help your neighbours, your neighbours will be better equipped to help you. If you can work together and help each other, you can do much more than merely survive - you can thrive!
Contact us today to talk about how together we can help our city and our nation prepare for the rough times we hope will never happen.
On the surface, it just means to be ready for what comes so you can survive it.
But when you work deeper, you realise that it means keeping yourself able to respond to a number of things, including a natural disaster.
The Wellington water network crosses faultlines in several places. In the event of a significant earthquake, the main pipes will rupture perhaps in many places, and mains water will not be available until repairs are done. Even then, the mains water may not be usable for drinking water for some time if the pipes become contaminated.
Some suburbs will be without mains water for a few days, eg those around Upper Hutt which are closer to the reservoirs. Further south, some suburbs could be without water for several months if there is extensive damage to the pipe network.
Our councils have provided an impressive system for emergency water, and those behind these plans deserve our thanks and gratitude - both the people who designed the emergency system as well as those who will work so hard to put the plans into practice if the time comes.
But for those unfortunate enough to need to rely on these systems, you will not enjoy abundant water. You will need to go to a community water source and collect water in 20L containers or perhaps even smaller bottles.
Showers will become a thing of the past, a luxury few have. Washing machines will sit idle, as will dish washers, as we slowly get used to the incredible variety of smells the unwashed human body can produce.
The 200L tanks the councils provide will provide you with a small amount of water each day, but not a lot. To wash properly each day they recommend 20L per person - that's just 10 days worth for one person, and only a couple of days for a family of 4. If you use the minimum you can for drinking and cleaning, that's still around 3L per person per day - a little over 2 weeks with a full tank. How often do we get periods of more than 2 weeks with little or no rain?
But what if you have a full 1,000L tank? For a little more cost and a bit more space, that 2 weeks could stretch to 10 weeks, and it is likely that you will be able to get at least a partial recharge in that time. If you have 10,000L, you can pretty much last indefinitely for your water supply. Every one of you can shower each day, you can bathe, wash the dishes as much as you want, water the garden. The more you have the more options you have.
If you're a nice enough person, or entrepreneurial enough, with a larger system you would also be in a position not just to supply your family but to also help your neighbours out. You're also better equipped to be able to say disconnect your system from the roof for a few weeks to let ash and other debris wash away before you start to harvest water again.
Be prepared - be ready for any disaster and don't just be a good neighbour but be a community hero. If you are better equipped to help your neighbours, your neighbours will be better equipped to help you. If you can work together and help each other, you can do much more than merely survive - you can thrive!
Contact us today to talk about how together we can help our city and our nation prepare for the rough times we hope will never happen.