In today’s post, we will look at one of my earliest adventures in maintaining my spring and making it acceptable to the county.
The Spring History
Every homestead needs a water system that begins with a source of water from a creek/river, a well, or a spring. My former husband found a spring up the mountain that he and his friend developed. There were two springs, but the first proved unreliable in the summer. A black irrigation pipe brings the water down the mountain to the tank. Another one takes the water down to join up with a white PVC pipe which takes the water to the house.
The County Rules For Springs
When I started to try to get things permitted on my property, I was told that my spring needed to be covered. This would protect it from getting contaminated by animal feces and other debris. I bought a large section of screen and ground staples to hold it in place. Then, I took a large board up the mountain to cover it. To get it up there, I grasped the rope with one hand, and with the other hand, I used the board as a cane and walked it up that way. It was no easy task, but it had to be done.
Pictures and Video of the Spring
Following will be pictures and a video of the spring and my water system with comments that I shared on Facebook back in 2016. I will add more comments as needed.
This is the bottom of the mountain where my climb started. I am standing on the road and facing the mountain. Sadly, I forgot my gloves at home. Gloves protect my hands when climbing the rope. Walking home and back took me seven minutes.
I love being in my oak forest. This photo shows how steep the mountain is. It no longer looks like this. I will share in future posts why there are now many fallen trees and branches giving the forest floor a chaotic look.
On the way up my mountain to work on my water system, I checked my water tank. It was full and overflowing. Praise God! Then I heard a strange sound like a herd of deer running across leaves. It turned out to be water spraying from holes in the pipe where an animal had bit the line. It wasn’t easy to figure out how to fix the leaks with these black plugs, but I did it!
I brought some little pliers and some needle-nosed pliers with me. There were three holes that I needed to plug between the spring and the tank.. The needle-nosed pliers were needed to make the bite hole big enough for the plug to fit. Then I used the other pliers like a clamp around the hose to push the plug in. The pliers were too small and I was wishing for my channel locks. I slipped once and got a blood blister on my hand. For the last two, I used the pliers to grasp the plug and twist/push it in. If it wouldn’t go in, I made the hole bigger.
The water came in cycles from the spring. It would start to trickle through, and then fill the pipe and spray out the holes getting me wet. After they were plugged, I continued up the mountain to work on the spring.
When I reached the spring and removed the board, I was surprised to find these fungi growing. The funny-looking black object in the water is just a screen that is around the inlet PVC elbow.
This was the biggest mushroom. By the time I finished my work, this mushroom was ruined. Sorry, I don’t know the name of these mushrooms. If you know, please let me know in the comments below.
These are all of the mushrooms growing around my spring.
At the top are rocks and the gray below is all the mud or silt that builds up that I had to remove. Next is a screen and then the elbow where the water enters the pipe. The elbow is turned to the left and is difficult to see.
I added another screen and rocks at the bottom to try to block the space at the bottom.
On the way down, I was hungry and tired. I brought four pipe insulators up with me and left them by the tank. It wouldn’t take too long. I had better do it.
Just looking at it makes me tired. By the time I got down the mountain, I had been working for 4.5 hours. I had to work at my regular job the next day and it would be like having a vacation.
Watch the Video
Now you can watch the video and see the water dripping in the spring. If you are new to my blog post, I invite you to subscribe for free. Just click the Subscribe button below. You will get an email whenever I make a new blog post.
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