So we found out we have a ntural spring about 30 ft from the house...

[noobiechickenlady]

My google-fu is strong today

I'm glad it helped!! I thought they were great explanations too!

 

[MorelCabin]

I'll take real pictures as we do it so it will be a step by step how to on you tube....hey, I haven't checked you tube....brb!

 

[MorelCabin]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-Zd4EfAgN4

A very breif explanation but in different elements than mine

 

[dragonlaurel]

Wow! I am really happy about that...If I do things right, I could be the only person in the city with free water to garden with! But does anyone know how to pipe and cap a spring for use? Do I just start digging until I find a good flow and stick a pipe in? Do I put gravel around this pipe for drainage? If it turns out to be a bubbling spring how to I "turn it off" when not required so it doesn't keep my yard all swampy? Can I put a hand pump on it? It is in the perfect place too...right by where I want to put in a vegie garden! Whoo-hooo!

Anybody know what I should do with it?

Congratulations! You will have a much easier time gardening and it's close enough to the house to be make carrying trips easier if you ever need to. You could run a hose to limit that also.

"Do I just start digging until I find a good flow and stick a pipe in? "
-Yes, you can but this is better done in warm season so you don't freeze. You can't stay dry doing this job.
Then get a sample of the water tested for safety and for ph. If it's very alkaline or acid that would affect your garden.

"Do I put gravel around this pipe for drainage?"
-You don't want to add much drainage there. Get your pipe in place and check how everything's functioning first. It may need some fine tuning. I would put a layer of gravel below the pipe but you'll want sand packed around it. Helps as a natural filter. The water will probably be muddy for a few days after the digging. That's normal.
We cut birch roots while digging and the water tasted like wintergreen for a week. I loved our flavored water.

"If it turns out to be a bubbling spring how to I "turn it off" when not required so it doesn't keep my yard all swampy? Can I put a hand pump on it?"
-Put a faucet on the pipe or use a hand pump. The hand pump will be a better choice if the flow is weaker at some times of year. You might want to build a little spring house to make it easier to avoid freezing pipes.

Use a swale or something similar between the spring and your home to make sure it doesn't get soggy. Are you planning a basement or root cellar? You don't want them too close to underground water. You might have a dowser check where the flow is to know your options more.

 

[inchworm]

This is so cool! We are dealing with same thing with our "drainage ditch" we are currently reworking. DH thought it was mainly runoff, but as the excavator has worked, we have discovered it to be a "seepage spring". We are installing the collector pipes and gravel beds this spring. We'll have to save up monay for a collector box later. I understand everything a lot better now that I have viewed all the links. Thanks!

Inchworm

 

[MorelCabin]

Thanks Dragonlaurel! You sound like you know what you're doing! The thing I am worried most about is flooding mine and my neighbors basement...right now it is a fulltime puddle (frozen right now because it's winter...) And it is pretty close to our homes. My neighbor is pretty thrilled about it too, because we have to pay for water useage in this town, and it is measured and billed according to how much we use. Ya, that sucks. Until now I have never paid for water before.
I do know that when they were building our home this summer and fall they did put in a trench that goes down between our houses because of a 'water issue' of some kind. I should have picked up on it then:>) At least the drainage is already in place..

 

[prairiegirl]

Good for you! This is so neat. I'll be watching for updates on how you handle it. It's a very interesting topic and something that might come in handy one day.

 

[Beekissed]

Morel, that sounds so wonderful! Around here there are literally thousands of springs....I have a couple in my yard that feed my wells and only surface during really wet weather....and then I have a river running through my garage and my cellar, respectively.

It would be really easy to form a catch basin and even a water feature with waterfalls and a spreader dam that would keep this water stored and provide an overflow that was spread out into an irrigation system for your yard/garden if it were nearby.

I hope it is very good water for you. Most folks around here use their springs for all their household needs, especially drinking. They have spring houses to protect the surface water from debris.

I love this spring water in my well.....icey cold and sweet to taste!

 

[MorelCabin]

I had a spring fed well in my home before the log house...it was wonderful water! It would be illegal, however to use it for household use in town...but I was thinking about maybe making a pond/water feature out of it, and of course using it to fill a water jug in my refridgerator and for gardens and lawns. It could be a real bonus. I do have to figure a way to make sure it doesn't turn into a problem with water in anyones basement, if I am going to dig it up and find the actual spring.
I'm kind of having nightmares about a fountain of water rushing up and soaking everythng from our house to the golf course...and not being prepared to cap it fast enough...not that I would get *that* lucky to have that much water...but that I would be *unlucky* enough to have a lawsuit on my hands from my neighbors

 

[Beekissed]

You could always turn it into a bottled spring water enterprise! Just think of the money you could make selling all natural spring water to the yuppies......