Water storage
Extreme wet winters and long dry summers, let's prepare
Originally, we relied on two old 40m3 tanks that leaked badly and five existing wells on the land, one of which had become almost unusable. This limited our ability to irrigate the vegetable garden, secure water reserves, or manage water for fire prevention in dry months.
The goal was to fully restore and seal the two large tanks to stop water loss, bring the overgrown well back into use for garden irrigation, and add distributed storage with IBC tanks to improve fire safety. We also planned to add a third water tank to increase capacity and resilience.
We cleared one overgrown well so it can now supply water directly to the vegetable garden. Both 40m3 tanks were cleaned, repaired, and sealed to stop leaks. We also finished preparing the foundation for an additional water tank to be added soon. A new pumping system now moves water from our wells into the tanks more efficiently, and we placed IBC tanks around the property for fire safety.
In the vegetable garden, we installed drip irrigation to water plants directly and reduce evaporation losses. This lowers water use and ensures a steady supply during the hottest months, even if rainfall is low.
Looking ahead, we plan to complete the third water tank and convert the petrol powered pumps to run on electricity, backed by batteries and solar panels. We also want to extend drip irrigation to cover the food forest area and surrounding landscape near the house. Finally, automating the irrigation system will help us respond faster to changing weather and reduce manual work, all while conserving water.
