How to Capture Spring Water
Capturing water from a spring is a cost-effective way to provide drinking water to a home or an entire community. Artesian springs occur when there is enough pressure to push water from the water table out onto surface land; by contrast, gravity flow springs occur when land dips below the level of the water table. It is important to keep clean spring water from becoming contaminated once it begins flowing onto surface land. This means keeping the spring water free of agricultural runoff, rainwater, and animal and human waste contamination. The most effective and popular way to capture and contain spring water is to build a spring box. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Concrete cylinder with lid
- PVC pipe
- Caulk
- Concrete cutting boring tool
- PVC pipe cutter
- Gravel
- Mesh screen
Instructions
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Place gravel over the source of the spring. If the spring comes out of the ground vertically, placing the gravel can be accomplished easily. If the spring flows out of a hillside or embankment, a metal mesh screen can be placed over a frame. This gravel or screen provides a good sediment filter that will trap all of the large sediments, sand, and algae that may be flowing with the spring water. Spring water should always be treated, filtered, or boiled before being consumed by humans, but this gravel will extend the life of your filter and keep the larger unwanted debris out of the spring water.
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2
Take a molded concrete cylinder with a lid and drill a hole in the side of the cylinder about halfway up using a concrete cutting boring tool. This hole will be used to connect your PVC or other piping that can be run to a faucet or tied into other existing plumbing.
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Cut another hole near the top of the concrete cylinder to be used as an overflow. When the cylinder fills up to this point, water can flow out of the cylinder.
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Insert the 1' PVC pipe into the upper overflow hole. Caulk around the edge of the pipe, where it comes into contact with the concrete cylinder.
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Insert the pipe into the bottom hole that will be tied into the existing plumbing or water storage tank. Caulk around the edge of the pipe.
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