Water Delivery

[terracore]

Glad to see you found the source of the leak.

I checked our tank today and it's down to about 1/3, which is the lowest I've ever seen it.

[Durian Fiend]

Next week will drop us a bit of rain..

Puna weatherman on Facebook says Nein!   Dry through Friday.

[alaskyn66]

Yeah, I've been following that, Im hoping for a shower or two... Anyway.
Doesnt look promising though..

[terracore]

NWS says for OLE today:  Isolated showers after noon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 81. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light west. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Just in case, I cleaned all my downspout screens.

I also asked Bard's AI how much water I have.  Is it right? I don't know:

A perfectly round tank 18 feet across and 64 inches high with a flat bottom has 20 inches of water in it.  How many gallons of water is in the tank and how many gallons would be in there if the tank was full?

For the water-filled portion:

Radius = 18 ft / 2 = 9 ft
Area of base = pi * (9 ft)^2 = 254.47 ft^2 (not inches!)
Height of water = 20 in / 12 in/ft = 5/3 ft
Volume of water = area * height = 254.47 ft^2 * 5/3 ft = 424.12 ft^3
Gallons of water = volume / cubic inches per gallon = 424.12 ft^3 * 7.48 gal/ft^3 = 3163.2 gal (rounded to two decimal places)

For the full tank:

Height of full tank = 64 in / 12 in/ft = 16/3 ft
Volume of full tank = area * height = 254.47 ft^2 * 16/3 ft = 1346.08 ft^3
Gallons of full tank = volume / cubic inches per gallon = 1346.08 ft^3 * 7.48 gal/ft^3 = 10040.2 gal (rounded to two decimal places)

Therefore, there are 3163.2 gallons of water in the tank right now and there would be 10040.2 gallons if the tank were full.

[Durian Fiend]

NWS says for OLE today:  Isolated showers after noon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 81. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light west. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Just in case, I cleaned all my downspout screens.

I also asked Bard's AI how much water I have.  Is it right? I don't know:

A perfectly round tank 18 feet across and 64 inches high with a flat bottom has 20 inches of water in it.  How many gallons of water is in the tank and how many gallons would be in there if the tank was full?

For the water-filled portion:

Radius = 18 ft / 2 = 9 ft
Area of base = pi * (9 ft)^2 = 254.47 ft^2 (not inches!)
Height of water = 20 in / 12 in/ft = 5/3 ft
Volume of water = area * height = 254.47 ft^2 * 5/3 ft = 424.12 ft^3
Gallons of water = volume / cubic inches per gallon = 424.12 ft^3 * 7.48 gal/ft^3 = 3163.2 gal (rounded to two decimal places)

For the full tank:

Height of full tank = 64 in / 12 in/ft = 16/3 ft
Volume of full tank = area * height = 254.47 ft^2 * 16/3 ft = 1346.08 ft^3
Gallons of full tank = volume / cubic inches per gallon = 1346.08 ft^3 * 7.48 gal/ft^3 = 10040.2 gal (rounded to two decimal places)

Therefore, there are 3163.2 gallons of water in the tank right now and there would be 10040.2 gallons if the tank were full.

It's correct.  An easier way to do it would be to multiply the fractional amount of water left in the tank by 10,000.  20/64 X 10,000 equals 3,125.

Bob Farrell on FB weather adds this interesting info regarding recent conditions.  

"In a rather unusual synoptic weather pattern across the Pacific, the Subtropical Surface Ridge has remained over and even just south of the Hawaiian Islands. This Subtropical Ridge is normally situated and makes up what is known as the Horse Latitude belt. at a Latitude much farther north, as per this definition from the American Heritage Dictionary: 'either of two belts of latitudes located over the oceans at about 30° to 35° north and south, having high barometric pressure, calms, and light, changeable winds.' This is a rather precise description for Hawaiian Island weather for most of January, as this ridge has resided much farther south, close to 20N, which has pushed the normal trade wind belt well south of the islands through most of January. This has left the Hawaiian Islands in the northern belt of the Horse Latitudes, where it remains today."

---

More weather trivia from the National Weather Service:

"Stable conditions are expected to develop late next week as high
pressure builds in behind the front. This will result in the long
awaited return of breezy trade wind weather. An interesting side
note, the last time we saw trade wind conditions was January 1st.
Given the current forecast we will end the month of January with
only one trade wind day (we typically see trade winds around 50%
of the time in the month of January)."

[macuu222]

I just wanted to add that water hauling 4500 gallons to property is $250.00.

[terracore]

I just wanted to add that water hauling 4500 gallons to property is $250.00.

Thanks for the info.  Seems reasonable.  

Unfortunately, now that everybody is out of water and the drivers have been working past midnight for so long nobody who needs it can get water delivered unless they know somebody. Apparently there is "a guy" who will do it for an hourly rate.

I bought 1000' of 1/2" irrigation tubing so I can get water from our doomsday tank at the back of the property without having to haul it.  Fortunately, it's uphill. I'll tell my grandkids it was uphill both ways.

Edited to add: In past "mega droughts", has the county ever done anything to assuage the water distribution problem? I noticed the lines at the spigots are getting long, with many people hogging them with IBC totes, etc. Functional governments normally do things like parking water trucks at various locations, etc

[terracore]

So... apparently the drought isn't our only problem. After noticing that the only grass that isn't dying is right around our catchment tank we felt around and the ground around it is damp. I suspected we had a small leak but this is something more substantial.

Sigh.

[Durian Fiend]

So... apparently the drought isn't our only problem.  After noticing that the only grass that isn't dying is right around our catchment tank we felt around and the ground around it is damp.  I suspected we had a small leak but this is something more substantial. 

Sigh.

So, what to do?  

I've had a very small leak for several years.  It's evident from the wet concrete in one spot along the ring.  Not enough to make a dent in the water level, fortunately.  I suspect that my ill conceived, home made overflow damaged the liner.  

This leak has been easy to live with, except now the metal is beginning to get rusty in that spot. 

Drain and repair is the only answer...

[terracore]

So... apparently the drought isn't our only problem.  After noticing that the only grass that isn't dying is right around our catchment tank we felt around and the ground around it is damp.  I suspected we had a small leak but this is something more substantial. 

Sigh.

So, what to do?  

When I checked the tank this morning it had drained substantially since I previously checked it.  I called up Island Catchment to inquire about getting it fixed and was advised it would be 3-4 weeks, so I asked about just buying the liner and either try to find someone to help me or attempt a DIY.  He said, "I know a guy..." and gave me his number.

I got the liner price and asked him if there were any other types, grades, qualities, etc.  Why yes, they sell a thicker liner which is black and lasts longer.  It was about $300 more.  

So I called the guy.  Well, a dude actually.  He's called John the Catchment Dude.  And believe it or not, a few hours later he was at our house working on it.  About 5 hours after that, the job was done, including getting 4500 gallons of water delivered.  Because even when there is a drought and water delivery places aren't answering the phone, the dude knows a guy.  And now I know the dude and the guy.

I'm glad I opted to pay the extra $300 for the thicker liner, the dude told me that it doesn't get brittle like the white ones and is less likely to have issues, and they last a lot longer.  Also that it makes the inside of the tank darker and algae doesn't grow on it.  It does make the water warmer if one has a crappy cover.

The hole/leak was caused by the outlet pipe hitting the liner when the pump turned on because it wasn't installed correctly and he fixed that too.  He recommended a floating outlet or flux out capacitor or whatever its called but didn't have the stuff to do the job in his truck, but said he could do it when we call him back to clean the tank.

I think he did a good job and was very thorough.  He did things I might not have thought of like re-raking the sand and pulling out rocks that could cause problems later, and scrubbing down the inside of the steel tank to make sure the oxidation didn't create any sharp spots.  He also painted the spider with rust resistant paint.  He didn't seem to be in any hurry and wasn't going to leave until our water was running again.