Promise Acre: Our Journey

[promiseacres]

Not sure other the health department says no mounds... am under the impression that that's an expensive type. Usually a tank, with perimeter drains I believe. Talked to Mom even if it's 10-15,000 for the septic we are ok. So.... things come together (financial as Mom's will place hasnt sold) & we will have a closing date come next month.

 

[Bruce]

Not sure other the health department says no mounds... am under the impression that that's an expensive type. Usually a tank, with perimeter drains I believe. Talked to Mom even if it's 10-15,000 for the septic we are ok. So.... things come together (financial as Mom's will place hasnt sold) & we will have a closing date come next month.

Curious, mound systems are what is usually used in wet areas. You can't get water to perk down into water so you have to create something that is higher than the water table to create that "sink". At least with a high water table you probably don't have to worry about your well running dry!

 

[greybeard]

high annual rainfall is the usual reason mounds aren't allowed. the mound itself gets saturated and/or erodes.

 

[Bruce]

So what are the engineered alternatives?

 

[greybeard]

At least with a high water table you probably don't have to worry about your well running dry!

The 'high water table' term usually refers to the first water a driller hits and is rarely good for potable water. often they have to pass thru more than 1 water bearing sand to get good water.
1st table here is about 8-12' down and highly mineralized.
2nd one was around 40' down with iron ore particles--red water.
The good stuff started around 135' down and over 50' thick.

 

[Bruce]

Yeah but if you have a high water table, doesn't that mean that the high stuff will perk down into the potable stuff?

 

[greybeard]

No. There are almost always close to if not completely impermeable barriers (clay) between the different tables, otherwise, there wouldn't be different tables. It would take years for surface water here to migrate down 150'.

(In other regions, it would probably be rock formations that separate the tables)

On top of that, the upper tables are prone to dry completely up during drought, whereas the lower ones very rarely do.
Even in wet years, the upper water bearing strata is real easy to deplete water from, as it is formed from local rainfall, where the lower tables' water came from higher elevations. It seems counter intuitive, but the upper tables' water does not recharge as quickly as the lower ones do. The upper one here, (what we call groundwater) is recharged vertically from rain, but the lower ones are recharged horizontally.

 

[Bruce]

Cool and nice to know @greybeard. I had figured that water generally perked down through the ground, getting cleaned as it goes and filled aquifers.

 

[promiseacres]

Finacing is set!!!! I may need to start a new thread just on our move.... So hard to believe this is coming to reality!

 

[CntryBoy777]

That is just wonderful!!.....so, happy that it has all worked out and now the enless task of packing, moving, unpacking, and setting up a new place......