By Wes Friesen and Richard Pasquill, Manitoba Water Services Board, Manitoba
Does the water pressure in your house drop dramatically when cattle are watering? Do the cattle mill around and fight at the waterer waiting for a drink? If you answered yes to these two questions, your problem is not too small a pressure tank, but rather insufficient water production to meet demand.
On many Prairie farms, an abundant supply of good quality water is often difficult to find. If a well cannot produce sufficient water to meet daily peak demands, the whole farm, including the household operation, is affected.
How can a limited supply of water from a low yielding, yet dependable well, be used to maximum capacity? Through storage. By properly using intermediate storage, it is very easy for a well producing only 1 gallon per minute to supply enough water to operate a household of five people, plus supply water to 80 head of cattle.
Water from the well is simply pumped directly into a holding tank or cistern. From here it is repressurized and distributed throughout the farm at much higher flows and operating pressures.
What size of storage is required? Ideally enough storage should be provided to handle one day's water requirements. Minimum storage requirements woul be equal to one day's storage less the amount of water the well is capable of producing over an 8-hour period. (See table)
Based on the amount of water required to supply a household of five people plus 80 head of cattle, the total daily water usage would be approximately 1050 gallons (4700 litres). Assuming the well is producing only 1 gallon per minute over an eight hour period (for a total of 480 gallons), the minimum amount of usable storage required would be 570 gallons.
Using the above figures (and since it is not possible to utilize 100% of any storage system), a 700-800 gallon tank would be required.
If a cistern is not available, a shallow buried (two feet deep) tank can be installed outside the building. Due to the latent heat of the water, it is not necessary to bury the tank deeper than two feet. The system is automated by using a liquid level control in the tank to control the well pump.
For further information on intermediate storage systems, please contact your Provincial Farm Water Technologist or P.F.R.A.
To contact the authors, write to Manitoba Water Services Board, Box 22080, Brandon, MB R7A 6Y9
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