private irr water service

[neili]

Does anyone out there irrigate from a system that is setup to provide irrigation water only. In my area many people can’t get rural water and so an untreated, private irrigation only service has been setup. If there are other systems out there like this, how much do people pay or expect to pay for such a service?

 

[FloridaOrange]

Does anyone out there irrigate from a system that is setup to provide irrigation water only. In my area many people can’t get rural water and so an untreated, private irrigation only service has been setup. If there are other systems out there like this, how much do people pay or expect to pay for such a service?

We have such a system in this city. The cost was part of a set of assesment fees (covered the extension of the water system, the sanitary and a new reclaimed water system) I believe the reclaimed part was about $3-4 thousand per household. The total of all three systems was around $21 thousand.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Finnegan]

Along these same lines, I have a shallow well on my property dug to supply an irrigation system. The well has not been used for a few years. I would like to extend the existing irrigation system significantly, but I am concerned about the well's ability to supply a large system. In order to test the well's capacity, is there a better way to do this rather than just turning on the pump, letting it run and estimating how much water comes out?

 

[Bob NH]

Get a Water Meter

You can get an inexpensive water meter from USA BlueBook 800-548-1234. Ask for a catalog.

Stock No 62276 gives reading in gallons. Stock No 63571 is in cubic feet which is convenient for calculating inches of water on an area of lawn without having to remember 7.48 gallons per cubic foot. Both are less than $31 + shipping. The meters are rated at 10 GPM continuous and 25 GPM maximum. If you need a larger meter they are about $67 for 15 GPM continuous and $87 for 25 GPM continuous.

The meter will come in handy when you are watering your lawn.

You can pipe it directly with the 1" straight pipe threads if you use a lot of Teflon tape and dope. If you want a pro job you can get two unions Stock No 48816 at $4.97 each. Unions for the 25 GPM meter are $7.97 Ea. I have used them with poly pipe adapters for irrigation type work. The smaller meters connect to a 1" female adapter, and the 25 GPM meter connnects to a 1 1/4" female adapter.

To test the well you could set up a control of some kind (I don't know your well configuration, dug or drilled casing that may have access for a float switch) and let it run under control for a day or two and check the water meter.

 

[Finnegan]

Thanks. I appreciate the detail.

 

[Mike Swearingen]

For an excellent tutorial on wells and irrigation systems:
www.jessstryker.com
Mike

 

[Speedbump]

I find a 5 gallon bucket and a watch with a second hand works pretty good. You have to unhook the pump from the system and run it open discharge to do this, but it doesn't cost anything to do the test. A valve in the line with a gauge upstream will let you pressure it up to 30/40 psi. which is what the sprinklers would like to run at. This will give you a very good idea of what you have to work with. Then set your zones up accordingly.

bob...