Once the spring water dam is completed, the water that is routed to the farm will have to be stored. I have just installed 6 units of each 600 gallon water tanks at my farm. Each tank costs about RM 530, causing a huge but necessary dent to my pocket!
The water tanks are installed in pairs connected together by 1/2″ PVC pipes so that the water level would rise in tandem as the tanks fill up. At the moment, the water from the dam is routed in such a way that it unloads to 2 locations (a 3rd location is in the works) over a 500m run.
The first location would be right after the fence line at the middle elevation on the first acre of land. Once this pair of tanks fills up, an automatic float valve would shut off, causing the water to be routed to the second acre of land, thus filling that pair of tanks up as well. Once that second pair is filled up at the middle elevation, I have the option to let it overflow to a pond OR send it on to a 3rd pair of tanks at a higher point (the 3rd location).
Before the tanks are installed, the ground have to be levelled and compacted as best as we could. The slope surface on one side have to be chipped off a fair bit to snugly fit the tanks into the terrace. We picked a middle elevation to site these tanks to ensure continuous flow of water into the tanks even during drought season.
The 3rd location of the 3rd pair of tanks mentioned above has the option to receive incoming water from a second dam at a higher elevation (currently work in progress). The decision to site these tanks have been carefully calculated to conform to a well-designed permaculture system by Soilogy to sustain various agriculture and social activities.
I was once asked how much water do I actually need for farming. I remarked that it wasn’t about how much water I need, instead, it was about how much water I can save and keep in the land before they exit the property.
The key goal here is to have measures in place to store and keep water in the land for as long as possible before being channeled away. There is never ever too much water as it’s all about managing their storage and usage accordingly. Perhaps the only exception to this is when the farm is flooded. Even then, the plan is to institute measures to redirect and store water in the ground to replenish aquifers.
These tanks for water storage are used primarily for irrigation and shower. I’m still bringing my own drinking water from home separately. Perhaps in due time, when I get a clay water filter, I would try using this stored water for drinking. But before I do that, I would prefer to have it tested in the lab first.
