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That wouldn't normally be a problem, except that the catchment tank is flush with the back patio. That is, it is beneath the patio....which is on grade with the back entrance to the house. The rains almost caused the lid to lift up, and the tank to overflow onto the patio and then into the house. Very, very close.
Punawebbers, is there some sort of valve that you can put on the pipes that go to the catchment to tell it to stop sending water to the catchment --to, just let it run off the roof? Or would that just create more problems? Do I need an overflow valve for the catchment? Are there people that come and TAKE WATER OUT of a catchment for you?
Ah, Paradise. It gets complicated, doesn't it?
Can you Syphon some water out with a standard hose?
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Coming home soon!
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syphon it, use like a 3" pipe or something. It should have an overflow, if not I guess you should install one. If its totally below ground you may have to pump it. Just turn your water on, or go rent a bigger pump.
Daniel R Diamond
Daniel R Diamond
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You guys are the best. I am going to make such a terrible Punatic, because when it comes to the mechanics of things, well, I am not your man.
Turn on the garden hose!!!! Why didn't I think of that?
Yes, the catchment is below grade, in a big puka, but the property slopes below the lowest part of the catchment, so I could probably just stick a hose in the catchment, use my mouth and lungs as a pump primer (in other words, suck), and then just let it run out down the grade.
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Glen, that catchment of yours is a special case, but I would think that with all that complex design, it would have some sort of overflow protection. Or maybe not. Eccentricity does seem to be a central theme with that sytem. I was told by Mike at Paradise Pools that all catchments should have an overflow siphon, even if they are not near the house. Are you on the island right now? If not, you must have somebody checking on it, or you wouldn't know it was doing this. Perhaps they could turn on an outside spigot like Daniel suggested. If you need someone to go down there an look it over, let me know. I don't know a lot about these things, but I can turn on a spigot.
Cheers,
Jerry
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Just run the bath tub water full bore for a couple hours.
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Glen, I recall that the place you bought has an underhouse ferrocement tank. I can't recommend anything for that, sorry. We have an above ground tank (corrugated steel with liner) and have two 3" PVC pipes off the top sides that empty out overflow. Our overflow pipes are together larger than our 4" input so that the outflow won't lag behind the input. The overflow pipes are simple constructs that sit in the water with a u-shaped end with opening pointing upward and a few inches below the top edge of the tank. When the tank fills, water pours out of the overflow pipes instead of running down the side of the tank. I've placed rocks where the water hits the ground to act as energy dissipators to reduce erosion. Also, our tank is positioned far enough from our house to not flood any are near our house.
It sounds like opening an outside spigot with a garden hose attached and with the end extended far from your house is a good solution, as long as someone can monitor your tank level during the process. It will require your pressure pump running to push the water out.
I suppose, for your situatiion, you could have the following installed: a float attached to a limit switch that would turn on a pump that would push water out through an overflow pipe when the water in your tank reached a level just short of overflow. That overflow pipe would empty far from your house, ideally into a lava tube. This overflow pump would probably be a separate smaller pump than your pressure pump.
Thinking on this further, this same pump system could have an override switch and you could use it to suck debris off the bottom of the tank with the aid of an extension pole, hose and vacuum head to periodically clean the bottom. But the placement of your underhouse tank and access opening might make this not an option. Your answer might be one of those robot pool vacs. [  ]
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Wow, as usual I am blown away by this little community and their ability to come up with solutions and offer assistance. I hope that I can be as helpful to you someday.....
Jerry, a thousand thanks.....I am off island, but in communication with my friends and tenants. I will tell them about turning on the hose. That was so kind of you to offer, though. Let me know if I can bring you something from the mainland in June!
Les C: You remember it well. It's a below-patio-grade cement catchment. Now that I think of it, it is completely sealed. I don't ever know where you would put an overflow. The pipes go right throught the concrete. I guess I would need another hole ---yikes-- in the concrete. But yeah, gotta have some kind of overflow.
But it also seems like there should be some way of telling the water NOT to go into the tank in the first place. A diverter that sends it safely down the side of the house. I guess those are called gutters!
And the simple idea of turning on the bathtub, doh! I don't know why I didn't think of that. Probably because where I live we get ten inches of rain a year.....not in a day! (And the lilikoi margaritas may have dulled my senses).
Party for everyone when I am on island. Thanks again.
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Find a junction in near the ground where the gutters start to head to the catchment (preferably there's only one or two pipes that go to the catchment). Cut out a piece and install a lever-type valve and a diversion tube (that diversion tube can be as long as you want to get the water away from the house). The valve lets you direct water either to the catchment or to the diversion tube. When the catchment starts to get full, flip the valve over to send the water to the diversion tube.
By the way, the lava berm on the side of your property (nearest The Tragedy) should have some lava tubes that could work for the diversion tube. Be sure to check there.
John Dirgo, R, ABR, e-PRO
Aloha Coast Realty, LLC
808-987-9243 cell
http://www.alohacoastrealty.com
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Thanks, John. Yes, there are two pipes that converge and go to the catchment. I will check to see if there is diversion tube on there. It's all underneath the house and it's a maze of pipes.
It is a tragedy you didn't move next door! A little birdie told me that house was going back on the market, but I haven't heard that lately.
Lava tubes??? I have lava tubes on the property? Whuh!! A neighbor told me that I had a "rabbit warren" in the front lawn (a warren consisting apparently of only two bunnies). She said there was a "hole" that goes from right in front of the lanai all the way to the front of the yard. I didn't ask her how she knew that. But having a lava tube would explain why a bunny can disppear in one part of the yard and then magically reappear in a completely different part of the yard.
I think the lava tube is only bunny sized though....or the entrance to it is......anyway. Wish you'd bought that house.
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