water needed

[hills have eyes]

with all dams north and south dams wont help the state the middle dams are most importaned
for the farm s in valley they are were most food is grown in this state the top link is were our drinking water comes from

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/01/...in-pictures-what-a-difference-one-year-makes/

 

[Maverick]

Cali over estimated the 20th century never paying attention to historical records unfortunately (Cali historically is dry), they were warned in the 1950s that the water supply was unsustainable, options are available but the environmentalist have and continue to interfere with putting in place desalination plants.

 

[hills have eyes]

so true now the fish won lol

 

[Brent S]

Three quarters of the planet covered in water, and no one has come up with a effective/economical way to desalinate it. With all the crap our and everyone else's govts waste money, you think they would wake up and do something to benefit people.

 

[Maverick]

Three quarters of the planet covered in water, and no one has come up with a effective/economical way to desalinate it. With all the crap our and everyone else's govts waste money, you think they would wake up and do something to benefit people.

Florida has an affective desalination plant in Tampa though not overly cheap to operate but as Tampa likes to call it 'drought proof water supply'

 

[Gazrok]

Florida has an affective desalination plant in Tampa though not overly cheap to operate but as Tampa likes to call it 'drought proof water supply'

Yep, it was YEARS ago, when our area had drought issues, but this solution pretty much solved it.

The middle eastern nations have been using these plants since the 70's, so a lot has changed since then to make it more feasible.

 

[Brent S]

Yep, it was YEARS ago, when our area had drought issues, but this solution pretty much solved it.

The middle eastern nations have been using these plants since the 70's, so a lot has changed since then to make it more feasible.

I can't believe no one has set up a solar powered distilation unit. Even with the limited knowledge/engineering that I have I could make a unit. I guess that up to now it's just been too easy and cheaper to pump it out of the ground.

 

[Maverick]

I can't believe no one has set up a solar powered distilation unit. Even with the limited knowledge/engineering that I have I could make a unit. I guess that up to now it's just been too easy and cheaper to pump it out of the ground.

"Today the economic advantage of solar desalination has not yet been proven. The main problem of solar energy is its high investment cost and uneven sunlight distribution. The lowest cost for water from the sea is still achieved by fossil fuel power plant combined with thermal desalination plants"

 

[Gazrok]

I would think California would have plenty of sunshine for it though.

 

[Maverick]

you have two boiling chambers plus the high pressure pumps, the amount of land mass to accommodate a solar array would be humongous, the investment and maintenance would be to great for the average home owner to bear cost, what do we do at night? revert back to the old method? one of the reports I read was that solar would more then triple the cost and have far greater impact on the environment. The electrical solar array currently in California have been killing birds by the thousands, the array is so intense that it is considered a no fly zone, another one was completed last year (I believe) the farm has 170,000 mirrors on 3,500 acres in the mojave desert, ivanpah plant generates heat of 1000deg F costing almost 3 billion dollars to build.

 

[Brent S]

Look at solar panels using micro inverters, it's more efficent than a direct large system. Mayby many small desalinators could work, collecting small amounts of water and piping them into larger pipes, connecting together 'downstream' into larger and larger piping systems. Just thinking out loud. I don't think solar is the answer to all our issues, but it needs to be a part of it. I know for a fact that fossil fuels are polluting our planet, so we need to improve other options. Look at the improvements in cars over 100 yrs. Think about the crap efficiency of a model T as compared to modern nissan sports car. The first versions may not be so good, but give a good group of engineers a little time and they can keep tweaking things until it's viable.

 

[Maverick]

I agree we need to find an alternative to fossil fuels but so called 'green' is not all that green, plastics are petroleum based, glass requires heat to make, the chemicals that make batteries etc.. (are electric cars really environmentally friendly) fossil fuel replacements is just as damaging if not worse. The solar array in california is being reported as killing 28,000 birds a year possibly higher, the birds catch fire in mid air when flying over the array; https://www.google.com/search?biw=1440&bih=740&q=solar array is killing birds&oq=solar array is killing birds&gs_l=serp.3..0i22i30l3.258371.270204.0.270872.28.26.0.2.2.0.182.2065.25j1.26.0.msedr...0...1c.1.61.serp..0.28.2070.X5YLhWnqXNw

So called 'green' alternatives is nothing more than a selling ploy unfortunately people look at the end results not at the process that gone into making the product. Natural gas is use in a good number of these desalination plants and right now nothing can replace it, I would say natural gas is about as clean as we can get at the moment.

 

[Brent S]

I agree we need to find an alternative to fossil fuels but so called 'green' is not all that green, plastics are petroleum based, glass requires heat to make, the chemicals that make batteries etc.. (are electric cars really environmentally friendly) fossil fuel replacements is just as damaging if not worse. The solar array in california is being reported as killing 28,000 birds a year possibly higher, the birds catch fire in mid air when flying over the array; https://www.google.com/search?biw=1440&bih=740&q=solar array is killing birds&oq=solar array is killing birds&gs_l=serp.3..0i22i30l3.258371.270204.0.270872.28.26.0.2.2.0.182.2065.25j1.26.0.msedr...0...1c.1.61.serp..0.28.2070.X5YLhWnqXNw

So called 'green' alternatives is nothing more than a selling ploy unfortunately people look at the end results not at the process that gone into making the product. Natural gas is use in a good number of these desalination plants and right now nothing can replace it, I would say natural gas is about as clean as we can get at the moment.

I agree that there is no magic bullet here, but I am all for trying out alternatives. When you consider how important water is, I can't believe it wasn't a priority to improve desalination thirty years ago.
I am about to get a 500 gal propane tank and convert my gasoline generator over to it. After looking at all options, I agree, right now propane/natural gas is the best thing we have available.

 

[Maverick]

on the property I have one diesel and 1 propane generator, the generators are only for two reasons and that's to keep the water pumps going in a power outage and to keep the animals from freezing in the stables if we lose power, I don't even use em for the house. I done away with gas generators a while ago

 

[Gazrok]

on the property I have one diesel and 1 propane generator, the generators are only for two reasons and that's to keep the water pumps going in a power outage and to keep the animals from freezing in the stables if we lose power, I don't even use em for the house. I done away with gas generators a while ago

That's pretty much my thinking (well, except for heating the stables, as we're just never that cold here).
But, I'm thinking a solar solution to the water pump may be better for us. (with two different manual backup options....1) A hand pump, and 2) a submersible bullet-shaped bucket). The manual options would keep us alive, but man they would be a pain in the ass to do each day.

 

[Maverick]

That's pretty much my thinking (well, except for heating the stables, as we're just never that cold here).
But, I'm thinking a solar solution to the water pump may be better for us. (with two different manual backup options....1) A hand pump, and 2) a submersible bullet-shaped bucket). The manual options would keep us alive, but man they would be a pain in the ass to do each day.

When I had the pumps put in several years ago I had them also install a bision deep well manual pump as an emergency manual backup on one of the wells though not cheap. Getting a hand pump should be a priority for anyone with a well.

*bison not bision

 

[Gazrok]

This is about the most affordable hand pump I've found....
https://handywellpump.com/hwp-e-tee-handle-pump/

 

[Maverick]

This is about the most affordable hand pump I've found....
https://handywellpump.com/hwp-e-tee-handle-pump/

Never seen them in these parts though limited to 150 feet well, wouldn't work on my wells, I'm 318' on one and 202' feet on the other, I'm a little concern it being pvc for long term use

 

[Brent S]

This is about the most affordable hand pump I've found....
https://handywellpump.com/hwp-e-tee-handle-pump/

It may not be for deep wells, but for Florida that thing is perfect. My well there was about 70', which was deep for the area. Did you ever find a cost on the thing?

 

[Gazrok]

It may not be for deep wells, but for Florida that thing is perfect. My well there was about 70', which was deep for the area. Did you ever find a cost on the thing?

Exactly. (Florida)

Yes, $109.

 

[Brent S]

Exactly. (Florida)

Yes, $109.

Great price for some peace of mind. I have two creeks, but would like to set up a solar pump to get it up to the house. I saw an episode of doomsday castle where they set up a nice system, but they never quoted the cost. Our creeks are in the fifties most of the year, so an old radiator and a fan might make an operable AC unit. I'm not sure how much moisture that would put in the air though.

 

[hills have eyes]