DannyD. wrote, on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 19:59:04 +0000:

This document seems to apply to homes with their own water supply:
http://www.sccgov.org/sites/fmo/docs...-6-21-10-A.pdf

After a few hours of the circuit breakers being off, the old well
pumped for about two minutes before shutting down (which means
it's almost completely dry), but, luckily, the new well pumped
for 100 gallons before it shut down.
https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3878/1...8370d895_b.jpg

On the topic of the two tanks, one of which is for the fire
department hydrant, I have confirmed that mine is set up
to split horizontally across the two tanks (not by individual tank):
https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3874/1...c7ae7c42_b.jpg

The incoming water from both wells merges into a single pipe
which enters the top of just one of the water tanks:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2902/1...4a42f282_c.jpg

There is no other inlet, so, that water goes into both tanks:
https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5526/1...30413bde_b.jpg

Water exits at a single 4" pipe near the bottom of each tank:
https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3864/1...dfc14e72_b.jpg
https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3902/1...d4e01f32_b.jpg

From there, it goes to both the house & the wharf hydrant:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2901/1...81e4c58a_b.jpg

So, the *only* thing determining what water goes to the house
and what goes to the hydrant are the shut-off valve electronics:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2902/1...4a42f282_c.jpg
Which is set to turn off the house at about 1/3 of the total water:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2939/1...73239a06_b.jpg

So, gravity feeds the hydrant; but the house is fed by the
booster pump, which turns off when 1/3 of the 4,500 gallons
is left. Interestingly, about 1 foot is about 500 gallons, so,
at the moment, I'm about 500 gallons from full:
https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3908/1...b00f050c_b.jpg

Seems to me, if I "need" water, I can either pull it out of
the fire hydrant (which is below the house) or I can modify
the electronics (somehow) to just *not* turn off when 1/3
of the 4,550 gallons are left.

Does anyone know *how* that could be accomplished?

On Sat, 28 Jun 2014 16:32:05 +0000 (UTC), "DannyD."
wrote in

For "my" two wells, one can't run more than two or three minutes
(or maybe not even that) before shutting down, even in the late
winter. The other well, the deeper newer well, can run for ten
minutes or longer in the late winter, but right now, it's cycling
every three or so minutes also. So, we all know what that means.

It means you folks are in trouble and it's going to get worse unless
something raises the water table.
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On Sat, 28 Jun 2014 19:59:04 +0000 (UTC), "DannyD."
wrote in

I am positive that almost every house here has BIGGER
and MORE tanks than I do, but, I just looked at mine,
and I seem to have only a puny 5,000 gallons!

Calculate the volume of your tanks here

http://www.aqua-calc.com/calculate/volume-cylinder

use feet (not inches) and multiple the vol by 7.5 to give you gallons.
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On Sat, 28 Jun 2014 17:44:43 +0000 (UTC), "DannyD."
wrote in

I am not the expert, but, I think the well runs dry every day
all day. I only go out there when there is a problem, but, for
example, my main well wasn't pumping anything when I just cycled
it, and my old well ran for just a few seconds (barely enough
to spin the water meter a tenth of a revolution).

I think you are correct. Your pumps are shutting down because they
are running dry.
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newspapers delivered to your door every morning.

On Sat, 28 Jun 2014 18:52:41 +0000 (UTC), "DannyD."
wrote in

I don't know how much water most people use, but I emptied
both my tanks a few times this past month to the point that
the water completely shut off to the house (it just dribbled
out the faucet).

Average *in house* water usage is 50 gal/day/person. That is without
any conservation. That covers washing, cooking, toilets and all other
activities that occur in the house.
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and having to visit 10 different news stands to pickup each one.
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newspapers delivered to your door every morning.

CRNG wrote, on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 19:28:54 -0500:

It means you folks are in trouble and it's going to get worse unless
something raises the water table.

Interestingly, I just found out that a few of the neighbors already dug
deeper wells. It seems, anecdotally, the 200 foot wells have been drying
up over the years, and the 300 to 500 feet wells are predominating.

I don't have enough information to draw solid conclusions, but one
hypothesis would be that the water table dropped 100 feet in the past
decade or so.

Stormin Mormon wrote:

Don't know. I'd dare to guess you will go through
rear axles and transmissions at rapid rate. Rented
truck might be best.

1000 gallons of water on a flatbed gooseneck trailer isn't going to weigh
much more than the dry weight of most 30' fifth wheel trailers. If anyone
has a fifthwheel capable rig, hauling water shouldn't be a problem.

CRNG wrote, on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 19:28:54 -0500:

Average *in house* water usage is 50 gal/day/person. That is without
any conservation. That covers washing, cooking, toilets and all other
activities that occur in the house.

That's interesting, and I thank you for that number of 50 gallons/day.

I just measured my well after letting it sit for 5 hours turned off:
https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3851/1...0a6deb9a_b.jpg

OLD WELL:
- Lasted 1 minute and 30 seconds before running dry!

NEW WELL:
- Lasted from 8:32pm to 8:54pm (22 minutes) before shutting off.
- It was pumping at a little more than 5 gallons a minute at first.
- And then dropped to a little less than 5 gallons a minute after 10 minutes.
- Total was 90 gallons in those 22 minutes before the pump shut down.
- So, it averaged 4 gallons per minute before shutting off.

Of course, the 200 sprinklers & the pool take their toll of water ...

CRNG wrote, on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 19:28:54 -0500:

I think you are correct.
Your pumps are shutting down because they are running dry.

I'm pretty sure they're running dry, because one, for sure, is only
running for less than 2 minutes before shutting down, even after
having been off for five hours!

Here, you see it has "tripped" by the red light:
https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5487/1...08be46fd_b.jpg

The other well, after I allowed it to refill for 5 hours, lasted
22 minute s, but I timed the water meter and it was going at about
10 seconds faster than 5 gallons per minute at first, then about
at the halfway mark it was about 15 seconds less than five gallons
a minute, until it finally shut down at 22 minutes, averaging at
about 4 gallons per minute.

But, that was after a 5 hour quiet period. In practice, the well
*tries* to pump all day so the 'rest' period is only a half hour
or so between shutoffs.

On 6/28/2014 11:26 AM, Harry K wrote:
become more standardized over the years. My advice is make sure you
know what threads are on the hydrant(s) you would use.

Good luck.

That bit the city fire department badly. about 4am one night
the city fire department garage caught fire (later determined to
be caused by a plugged in extension cord hanging over a nail).
All the trucks were inside and could not be gotten out...except
one, the antique "Wimpy", a truck from the 20s or 30s stored in
another shed. Fully operational and full of vintage equipment...
none that was of any use as the connections did not mate up with
the fire hydrants. We lost the garage and all fire department
equipment. By the time other agencies got there all they could
do was keep the fire from spreading.

Harry K


That is seriously tragic. I bet a lot of FF were crying
into their beer that night.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On 6/28/2014 12:18 PM, DannyD. wrote:

I just got an update from the divorced lady. She is
contracting out to get her rather shallow (only 300 feet)
well drilled deeper. The next in line is a lady whose
husband recently died, and her house is under foreclosure.

CY: Since no one in the area has water, maybe that's a
waste of money, to drill deeper into dry earth?

Her well (as is mine) is tripping every few minutes, so,
she's conserving water (as am I) and hoping the water supply
lasts until the next forcasted rain (which will come in
October or November).

CY: That's a long time to wait.


As for me, I filled the pool, so, "my" supply, while intermittent,
was good enough to last, but, there are vineyards here which
must be using a LOT of water ... so it may simply be a matter
of location.

CY: Wonder if the vineyards people would consider some
money to divert the water to local homes?


I don't know, but, for me, and for those without the ready
capital to drill deeper, I'd go for the temporary solution of
trucking the water up the hill.

CY: Might be the answer. Sounds like it would be
rough on the vehicles, drivers, etc.


The sloshing tipping over the truck seems to me to be a very
real concern that I hadn't considered, because, there is no
guardrail, and you're going down a slope that doesn't end
for thousands of vertical feet, so, it would behoove us to
better understand the sloshing effect on a pickup truck filled
with a 1,000 gallons of water in a tank.

CY: Worth knowing. I've heard that full tank is
much less of an issue.

On 6/28/2014 12:32 PM, DannyD. wrote:

However, *most* of the neighbors are not complaining, yet one has
a well which (she claims) is a thousand feet or more deep! (I find
that hard to believe). Another just told me he had a well drilled
which is 500 feet deep. There are vinyards here, so, they *must*
be using a lot of irrigation water (although most have a run-off
collection system for interring the winter rains underground).


Wonder what's with the vineyards? I'd go ask
them what's their source of water.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On 6/28/2014 12:33 PM, DannyD. wrote:
Stormin Mormon wrote, on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 08:05:11 -0400:

Anyone want to make a SWAG as to the time for one shuttle?
More than anyone expects, I'm sure.

This is good information to think about, as the main intent
is to plan ahead about our options, if the drought continues
in force.

We can rest assured there will be no rain until about November,
but, after that, we won't know what will happen.

Another year of no rain would be telling.

Ideally, if there are enough concerned people,
folks can drive up the hill with the five gal
water jugs from the department store. A few of
those in the kitchen for cooking, drinking, etc
might reduce the strain a bit. Also good exercise.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On 6/28/2014 2:52 PM, DannyD. wrote:
It's actually a slightly complicated system, where this little
block of wood determines my fate.

If I can "see" the block of wood, that's bad.
If it goes over a certain line, the water shuts off.
When it goes below another certain line, the water shuts off.

My fate is determined by a little yellow block of wood!
https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3919/1...b48ba502_b.jpg

Looks more like a big grey tank, to me.

Sounds like your aquifier is used up. Which is not good.
And at the top of a hill, not likely to come back any
time soon.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On Sunday, June 29, 2014 1:14:13 AM UTC-4, DannyD. wrote:
CRNG wrote, on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 19:28:54 -0500:



I think you are correct.

Your pumps are shutting down because they are running dry.



I'm pretty sure they're running dry, because one, for sure, is only

running for less than 2 minutes before shutting down, even after

having been off for five hours!



Here, you see it has "tripped" by the red light:

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5487/1...08be46fd_b.jpg



The other well, after I allowed it to refill for 5 hours, lasted

22 minute s, but I timed the water meter and it was going at about

10 seconds faster than 5 gallons per minute at first, then about

at the halfway mark it was about 15 seconds less than five gallons

a minute, until it finally shut down at 22 minutes, averaging at

about 4 gallons per minute.



But, that was after a 5 hour quiet period. In practice, the well

*tries* to pump all day so the 'rest' period is only a half hour

or so between shutoffs.

You might want to consider a timer to better manage the on/off cycle.
You have a protection system on the pump, but still it can't be good
for the pump to keep starting every 30 mins to just run two mins.
I would think there is more wear/tear on the pump that way, and more
electricity used too. With a timer and some experimenting, you could
probably come up with a much more optimal cycling schedule. IDK what
the effect on the life of the pump is with the very short cycling,
but I know a timer is cheap compared to pulling and replacing a pump
on a 400ft well.

On Sun, 29 Jun 2014 05:14:13 +0000 (UTC), "DannyD."
wrote:

CRNG wrote, on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 19:28:54 -0500:

I think you are correct.
Your pumps are shutting down because they are running dry.

I'm pretty sure they're running dry, because one, for sure, is only
running for less than 2 minutes before shutting down, even after
having been off for five hours!

Here, you see it has "tripped" by the red light:
https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5487/1...08be46fd_b.jpg

The other well, after I allowed it to refill for 5 hours, lasted
22 minute s, but I timed the water meter and it was going at about
10 seconds faster than 5 gallons per minute at first, then about
at the halfway mark it was about 15 seconds less than five gallons
a minute, until it finally shut down at 22 minutes, averaging at
about 4 gallons per minute.

But, that was after a 5 hour quiet period. In practice, the well
*tries* to pump all day so the 'rest' period is only a half hour
or so between shutoffs.

Could any of your neighbors' pumps be pumping from the same
underground water? In other words, are your 5 hour rest periods
really rest periods? If you repeat that experiment at 5:00 am, will
the results be different? Now that I think about it, I can't even be
sure 5:00 am would make a difference since everybody's pumps might be
running 24/7 except for the shutdowns due to running dry. Sorry for
the rambling - I guess my only point is the rest periods might not be
rest periods if, for example, multiple 400' wells are using the exact
same aquafer.

Stormin Mormon wrote, on Sun, 29 Jun 2014 06:37:22 -0400:

Wonder what's with the vineyards? I'd go ask
them what's their source of water.

They have deep wells.

On 6/29/2014 7:43 AM, Pat wrote:
Could any of your neighbors' pumps be pumping from the same
underground water? In other words, are your 5 hour rest periods
really rest periods? If you repeat that experiment at 5:00 am, will
the results be different? Now that I think about it, I can't even be
sure 5:00 am would make a difference since everybody's pumps might be
running 24/7 except for the shutdowns due to running dry. Sorry for
the rambling - I guess my only point is the rest periods might not be
rest periods if, for example, multiple 400' wells are using the exact
same aquafer.

From the sounds of it, (40 acre lots), the houses are
spread apart. Still, aquafier, might be spread over
many houses. The 5 AM test run sounds interesting.


--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

I have a friend who lived in a neighborhood where everyones well was going dry/

So the neighbors got together and paid to have one super deep well drilled sharing the costs, and one neighbor used his backhoe to dig and install water lines to the 7 or 8 homes in the group. he didnt have to pay for the drilling.

my buddy lived in this neighborhood for over 10 years. everyone was pleased. except probably the well driller who would of prefered dilling 8 sererate wells.

my buddy finally moved his wife wanted a 2 story home. insisted on it.

shortly afer the move both husband and wife had knee surgery, making their new fancy multi story home a real chore to live in......

On Friday, June 27, 2014 5:16:36 PM UTC-4, DannyD. wrote:
Do you have experience or ideas for trucking potable water to a residence?



We haven't had rain in a year or so, and some of my neighbor's wells are running

dry. They asked me to figure out an efficient way to get water to them because

the bulk water delivery companies are really lousy on service & costs.



The San Jose Water Company sells water out of the fire hydrants at $2.70 per

CCF (i.e., $2.71 per 748 gallons) after we rent a "portable meter", either a

1-inch portable meter (output is a male 3/4-inch garden hose thread) at

$29.48/month, or a 3-inch portable meter (output is a male 2-1/2 inch firehose

thread) at $176.98 a month.



The returnable deposit for the portable meter is $400 for the 1-inch meter,

and $1,550 for the 3-inch meter, which includes the hydrant wrench & hoses

(although they suggest hoses from Royal Brass at http://rbisj.com).



It turns out that most, if not all, of the bulk water delivery companies

use this method to obtain their water, so, what you're paying for is the

trucking.



Hertz Equipment Rental in San Jose rents a flatbed, which requires only a

normal class C drivers license, for $245/day, which will hold about 8,000

pounds (about 1,000 gallons of water in a plastic tank). The first 50 miles

are free, and then it's 25 cents a mile thereafter.



They don't recommend the 2,000 gallon 'water truck' which requires a Class A

(commercial) drivers license, and costs $459/day, plus 30 cents a mile, because

there is no telling what water was in there prior, so you can't drink from it.



A quick estimate for the costs & logistics for a day's rental might be something like:

a) $5 for each 1,000 gallons of water from SJWC

b) $50 for 1 day rental of the 2-1/2 inch output 3" portable meter

c) $250 for 1 day flatbed truck rental from Hertz

d) $500 for 1 brand new 1,000 gallon water tank from Tractor Supply Company (or equivalent)

e) $100 sales tax on the new water tank & other incidentals



Any other helpful suggestions for me to provide to the neighbors for trucking

in potable water during the drought?

Negoiate with someone on city water to be your water source

offer to pay their water bill, and you use their home to pickup water from....

this would completely elminate the water meter rental fee and all of you share the water bill.

although you could try talking to the water company about expanding service to your now drying up area....

On 6/29/2014 8:02 AM, DannyD. wrote:
Stormin Mormon wrote, on Sun, 29 Jun 2014 06:37:22 -0400:

Wonder what's with the vineyards? I'd go ask
them what's their source of water.

They have deep wells.

Moment like this, would be nice if they
shared. I doubt they will.

With five miles distance, and 2,000 feet
elevation, I doubt anyone will trench
and put in public water to these homes.

Wonder if someone can drill down then
over, and put in pumping stations.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

It's called groundwater depletion. It's the result of pumping too much water from the aquifer.
The capacity of the earth to support life is being exceeded.

http://water.usgs.gov/edu/gwdepletion.html

trader_4 wrote, on Sun, 29 Jun 2014 04:41:12 -0700:

You might want to consider a timer to better manage the on/off cycle.
You have a protection system on the pump, but still it can't be good
for the pump to keep starting every 30 mins to just run two mins.

Both pumps have separate protection systems, as I can easily see that
this old pump setup "trips" to "red" when the pump prematurely shuts.
https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3906/1...7712c1c3_b.jpg

I would think there is more wear/tear on the pump that way, and more
electricity used too. With a timer and some experimenting, you could
probably come up with a much more optimal cycling schedule.

I'm going to take that advice, especially for the "old" well.

Here's a pic of the 4 "control" boxes for the old well:
https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5536/1...0a7b833d_b.jpg

The same set of four boxes are there for the new well:
https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3881/1...839b4b98_b.jpg

I forget what the four boxes do though. One is the dedicated circuit
breaker for the pump, the other is the no-load trip control for when
the well is out of water. The third, I think, is a timer, which is
what I should lengthen to allow the well to refill, and I forget
what the fourth box does.

Pat wrote, on Sun, 29 Jun 2014 07:43:28 -0400:

Could any of your neighbors' pumps be pumping from the same
underground water? In other words, are your 5 hour rest periods
really rest periods? If you repeat that experiment at 5:00 am, will
the results be different?

That's interesting, as I have no way of knowing how deep the neighbor's
wells are. So, your point is valid that the "rest period" I gave the
well isn't necessarily a rest period if the neighbors are pumping at
the same time.

I do not know how fast water moves through rock, so a lot would depend
on how localized the "cone of depression" is:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/gw_ruralhom...ages/fig14.gif

Googling, I found that diagram in this document:
Ground Water and the Rural Homeowner, by the USGS
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/gw_ruralhom...owner_new.html

The rest periods might not be rest periods if, for example, multiple
400' wells are using the exact same aquifer.

This is a valid point, which I am looking up to learn more about.
http://water.usgs.gov/edu/earthgwdecline.html

Stormin Mormon wrote, on Sun, 29 Jun 2014 07:13:59 -0400:

My fate is determined by a little yellow block of wood!
https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3919/1...b48ba502_b.jpg

Looks more like a big grey tank, to me.

Ooops. This is the correct picture of my fate being determined by
the level of this yellow block of wood:
https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3908/1...b00f050c_b.jpg

I have to coerce flickr into allowing me a URL of just the picture
(instead of an entire GUI, which flickr wants you to go to), &
I goofed up on that one. I apologize.

Stormin Mormon wrote, on Sun, 29 Jun 2014 07:13:59 -0400:

Sounds like your aquifier is used up. Which is not good.
And at the top of a hill, not likely to come back any
time soon.

I've never understood how *any* water would be found on top of
a hill, but, in reading up on it, apparently it looks like this:
http://water.usgs.gov/edu/gwdepletion.html

The water kind of follows the countour lines, but there may
be a layer of impervious soil preventing it from going
deeper as it 'runs' down the hill to the lakes & rivers below.

"DannyD." wrote:

Of course, the 200 sprinklers & the pool take their toll of water ...

Are those 200 sprinklers to irrigate a cash crop?

Because if it's just for landscaping, I would think you'd get little
sympathy or understanding from most of us reading about your situation.

For the pool, at least there are covers for pools that limit
evaporation. Do you even have one of those?

On 6/27/2014 5:16 PM, DannyD. wrote:
Do you have experience or ideas for trucking potable water to a residence?

We haven't had rain in a year or so, and some of my neighbor's wells are running
dry. They asked me to figure out an efficient way to get water to them because
the bulk water delivery companies are really lousy on service & costs.

The San Jose Water Company sells water out of the fire hydrants at $2.70 per
CCF (i.e., $2.71 per 748 gallons) after we rent a "portable meter", either a
1-inch portable meter (output is a male 3/4-inch garden hose thread) at
$29.48/month, or a 3-inch portable meter (output is a male 2-1/2 inch firehose
thread) at $176.98 a month.

The returnable deposit for the portable meter is $400 for the 1-inch meter,
and $1,550 for the 3-inch meter, which includes the hydrant wrench & hoses
(although they suggest hoses from Royal Brass at http://rbisj.com).

It turns out that most, if not all, of the bulk water delivery companies
use this method to obtain their water, so, what you're paying for is the
trucking.

Hertz Equipment Rental in San Jose rents a flatbed, which requires only a
normal class C drivers license, for $245/day, which will hold about 8,000
pounds (about 1,000 gallons of water in a plastic tank). The first 50 miles
are free, and then it's 25 cents a mile thereafter.

They don't recommend the 2,000 gallon 'water truck' which requires a Class A
(commercial) drivers license, and costs $459/day, plus 30 cents a mile, because
there is no telling what water was in there prior, so you can't drink from it.

A quick estimate for the costs & logistics for a day's rental might be something like:
a) $5 for each 1,000 gallons of water from SJWC
b) $50 for 1 day rental of the 2-1/2 inch output 3" portable meter
c) $250 for 1 day flatbed truck rental from Hertz
d) $500 for 1 brand new 1,000 gallon water tank from Tractor Supply Company (or equivalent)
e) $100 sales tax on the new water tank & other incidentals

Any other helpful suggestions for me to provide to the neighbors for trucking
in potable water during the drought?

Check this out from Australia,too late for this year,but get ready for
next year.
http://stratco.com.au/products/rainw...qua_barrel.asp

On 6/29/2014 8:19 AM, bob haller wrote:

my buddy finally moved his wife wanted a 2 story home. insisted on it.

shortly afer the move both husband and wife had knee surgery, making their new fancy multi story home a real chore to live in......



I've lived in two story homes most of my life. They make a lot of sense
for people under the age of about 60. Our house is a "raised ranch"
with family room, utilities, and spare room on the lower level. With
arthritis in my knees and my wife's heart condition, we are happy to
stay on the one level most of the time.

On Saturday, June 28, 2014 10:57:08 AM UTC-7, Stormin Mormon wrote:
On 6/28/2014 12:20 PM, DannyD. wrote:
Stormin Mormon wrote, on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 07:53:30 -0400:

So, you'd best to budget a LOT for motor fuel on
your project. Driving water uphill is not going to

I always wondered how much of that lost fuel mileage you
get back on the downhill drive, which is done essentially in
neutral for the entire 5 miles.

I realize it won't exactly cancel out, but, essentially you
get 100mpg (or whatever) on the downhill drive; while you
probably get something like half your city mpg on the uphill
climb.

Don't know. I'd dare to guess you will go through
rear axles and transmissions at rapid rate. Rented
truck might be best.

Why would that be? They are built for "work" use in a truck. I'm a farm boy fro wayi back and don't ever recall us losing an axle or tranny even driving the old junkers we used to (first one was a 34 chev 1 1/2 ton. I have been hauling overloads of firewood on my 62 1/2 ton, 68 1/2 ton (both junked due to worn out motors) and currently 89 F150 since 1976 with no tranny/axle problems.

Mountain roads? Spent two years hauling up to 7ton loads up down a 7 mile mountain grade with 8 and 9% grades with a KB5, no problems.

Harry K

Stormin Mormon wrote, on Sun, 29 Jun 2014 08:04:23 -0400:

From the sounds of it, (40 acre lots), the houses are
spread apart. Still, aquafier, might be spread over
many houses. The 5 AM test run sounds interesting.

Actually, I should be clearer that the *current* zoning
is 40 acre lots:
http://bayareaappraisalgroup.net/fil...aClaraZone.pdf

But, I think that huge minimum lot size is there only to
prevent *any* more building from going on in these mountains.
http://www.sccgov.org/sites/planning...onOrd_0114.pdf

In reality, most people have half that size lots although
there are some that are 77 acres, and others that are as
small as 5 or 6 acres (probably nothing smaller than that).
http://sccounty01.co.santa-cruz.ca.u...24/PDF/032.pdf

On 06/29/2014 10:01 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
With arthritis in my knees and my wife's heart condition, we are happy to stay on the one level most of the time.


I cured my arthritis, heart and Type II diabetes.
Check out what this cardiologist has to say:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbBURnqYVzw

Dr Davis literally saved my life!

On 6/29/2014 9:00 AM, DannyD. wrote:
Ooops. This is the correct picture of my fate being determined by
the level of this yellow block of wood:
https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3908/1...b00f050c_b.jpg

I have to coerce flickr into allowing me a URL of just the picture
(instead of an entire GUI, which flickr wants you to go to), &
I goofed up on that one. I apologize.


Is the other end of the rope tied onto a float?

--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

bob haller wrote:

So the neighbors got together and paid to have one super deep well drilled
sharing the costs, and one neighbor used his backhoe to dig and install
water lines to the 7 or 8 homes in the group. he didnt have to pay for the
drilling.

That might work. I learned about altruism early. We had a shallow well, as
did the neighbor. When his well went dry, my father and I helped him dig a
new one. When ours went dry and I was down in the cellar with a sledge
hammer sinking a point, I don't remember Sandy even showing up with a cold
beer.

On 6/29/2014 8:25 AM, bob haller wrote:
On Friday, June 27, 2014 5:16:36 PM UTC-4, DannyD. wrote:

Any other helpful suggestions for me to provide to the neighbors for trucking

in potable water during the drought?

Negoiate with someone on city water to be your water source
offer to pay their water bill, and you use their home to pickup water from....
this would completely elminate the water meter rental fee and all of you share the water bill.
although you could try talking to the water company about expanding service to your now drying up area....

Said he's five miles distant, and 2,000 feet
elevation from the muni water system.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On 6/29/2014 10:29 AM, Harry K wrote:
On Saturday, June 28, 2014 10:57:08 AM UTC-7, Stormin Mormon wrote:
Don't know. I'd dare to guess you will go through
rear axles and transmissions at rapid rate. Rented
truck might be best.

Why would that be? They are built for "work" use in a
truck. I'm a farm boy fro wayi back and don't ever recall
us losing an axle or tranny even driving the old junkers
we used to (first one was a 34 chev 1 1/2 ton. I have been
hauling overloads of firewood on my 62 1/2 ton, 68 1/2 ton
(both junked due to worn out motors) and currently 89 F150
since 1976 with no tranny/axle problems.

Mountain roads? Spent two years hauling up to 7ton loads
up down a 7 mile mountain grade with 8 and 9% grades with a
KB5, no problems.

Harry K


I'm glad you've had a good experience. Mine,
not as good. I seldom do hills, but each of
my vehicles has needed a TX or clutch at
some point.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On Sun, 29 Jun 2014 09:36:05 -0400, Diamond69 wrote:

Check this out from Australia,too late for this year,but get ready for
next year.

See these diagrms of rurl wells

http://www.tricountypumpsblog.com/77...pump-work.html

http://www.carrwell.com/constantpres...stem_large.jpg

--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ---

Stormin Mormon wrote, on Sun, 29 Jun 2014 15:07:43 -0400:

Is the other end of the rope tied onto a float?

Yes. It has, literally, a chlorox bottle on one float, and,
IIRC, a more standard float on the other. I think one is
to shut off the house booster when emptying (for fire) and
the other is to shut off the well pump when filling.

I climbed on top of a neighbor's tank farm, and snapped
a lot of pictures, because mine, with two shared tanks,
seems to be the oddity.

The neighbor's whom I climbed in had six 5,000 gallon tanks,
all hooked up in series, but with the last two reserved
for fire alone (plus a 20,000 gallon cistern for fire).

I snapped a bunch of pictures but can't post them right
now as I have to run (maybe it will be a different thread
as this is getting a bit off topic from the "trucking"
aspect).

"DannyD." wrote in message
...
dpb wrote, on Fri, 27 Jun 2014 16:56:24 -0500:

How many of 'em are there?

There are about 50 neighbors in the neighborhood, but, of course,
not everyone will be willing to pitch in. Just those with the
shallower wells (less than about 500 feet or so deep).

I'd think if they'd just pool together could buy a used trailer
for the tank and surely somebody has a PU to pull it?
WOuldn't take long to make up for the repeated truck rental.

Can a typical trailer hold 1,000 gallons (8,000 pounds)?
Can a pickup pull that up a windy 9% grade for about 5 miles?

If so, that's a good idea, since the truck rental is the
largest cost. The water itself is practically free.

Of course, we'd also need a pump...


Can you cut a deal with the folk with deeaper wells or form a co op for a
better deeper well? Might be money from the State/Federal farm bureaus.

Stormin Mormon wrote, on Sun, 29 Jun 2014 15:07:43 -0400:

Is the other end of the rope tied onto a float?

Yes. This is not "my" tank, it's a neighbor's tank, but we looked
at his tank today and realized he was being shorted by 1,000 gallons,
so, we lifted the float, and his tank started gushing out.

Here's the lifted float:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2927/1...a6655fcc_b.jpg

And, here's the water flow (way better than mine!):
https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5480/1...0794c170_c.jpg

Compare that float and water flow with this neighbor's float:
https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3922/1...d8bfb91b_b.jpg

And, when we lifted his float, this was the water flow:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2917/1...1a6279c6_c.jpg

Of course, lifting the float on this 20K gallon cistern didn't do
anything, so, we found out that one residence water supply had
a problem for firefighting (their water was the dribbling float):
https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3911/1...987f1802_c.jpg