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- Apr 24, 2017
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Hey folks-
So we have a really dry, rocky hillside on our property in Ecuador, and I have a plan for consecutive water features. As the water comes down the hill I have a little corner with retaining walls where a Spanish style well would fit. I imagine the hose buried in the hillside and connected to a faucet in the middle of a reinforced cement backsplash which I will clad with natural river stone. The water will pour into the well, about 3 feet tall and 4 feet in circumference, with a cleanout of 2 inch PVC leading across to water fruit trees. There needs to be some kind of drain from beneath the edge of the well that leads to the next feature, which is a bunch of big rocks with crevices that look as if some of our native deadly snakes would like living there.
I see the rocks as a lovely pond edge with water trickling and recirculating. I am thinking to start by creating the shape with a rough retaining wall of large rocks below the boulders that I will sneak a hose through to simulate the natural waterfall. The wall will be about 3 feet tall and I think the basic shape will be oval, about 7-8 feet wide and 5-6 feet across. I was thinking it would be fun to be able to sit in it after working hard. I would line it with rebar, chicken wire and some kind of liner, seal all the snakey crevices (serious snakes), and fill it with layers of cement, put in a 2-inch PVC pipe with a shutoff for a cleanout which would release the dirty water into a small stone channel that leads to fruit trees. Do I need a special kind of cement to line the pond?
The water is pumped from a shallow well by the river up to tanks on the mountain and comes from there with gravity. I was planning to dig a trench from feature to feature, laying down double 1/2 inch hoses so that I can put in a pump by the lower feature and recirculate the water.
The difference in altitude is probably between 20 and 25 feet. When I go back in a few months, I can check with the altimeter. I'm thinking there may not be a solar pump, at least not one I can afford, that can deal with that kind of height, and electricity is cheap in Ecuador, but I'm not looking forward to wiring up a pump. The good news is that if there is any technology that can help me create this fun fantasy, it will be a lot cheaper in the US than in Ecuador. And the guys that work with me on this are short young guys with amazingly strong backs and a genius for cement.
Does anybody have any great ideas about what kind of pump I need? Or any of this fun stuff?
Thanks
Susan
So we have a really dry, rocky hillside on our property in Ecuador, and I have a plan for consecutive water features. As the water comes down the hill I have a little corner with retaining walls where a Spanish style well would fit. I imagine the hose buried in the hillside and connected to a faucet in the middle of a reinforced cement backsplash which I will clad with natural river stone. The water will pour into the well, about 3 feet tall and 4 feet in circumference, with a cleanout of 2 inch PVC leading across to water fruit trees. There needs to be some kind of drain from beneath the edge of the well that leads to the next feature, which is a bunch of big rocks with crevices that look as if some of our native deadly snakes would like living there.
I see the rocks as a lovely pond edge with water trickling and recirculating. I am thinking to start by creating the shape with a rough retaining wall of large rocks below the boulders that I will sneak a hose through to simulate the natural waterfall. The wall will be about 3 feet tall and I think the basic shape will be oval, about 7-8 feet wide and 5-6 feet across. I was thinking it would be fun to be able to sit in it after working hard. I would line it with rebar, chicken wire and some kind of liner, seal all the snakey crevices (serious snakes), and fill it with layers of cement, put in a 2-inch PVC pipe with a shutoff for a cleanout which would release the dirty water into a small stone channel that leads to fruit trees. Do I need a special kind of cement to line the pond?
The water is pumped from a shallow well by the river up to tanks on the mountain and comes from there with gravity. I was planning to dig a trench from feature to feature, laying down double 1/2 inch hoses so that I can put in a pump by the lower feature and recirculate the water.
The difference in altitude is probably between 20 and 25 feet. When I go back in a few months, I can check with the altimeter. I'm thinking there may not be a solar pump, at least not one I can afford, that can deal with that kind of height, and electricity is cheap in Ecuador, but I'm not looking forward to wiring up a pump. The good news is that if there is any technology that can help me create this fun fantasy, it will be a lot cheaper in the US than in Ecuador. And the guys that work with me on this are short young guys with amazingly strong backs and a genius for cement.
Does anybody have any great ideas about what kind of pump I need? Or any of this fun stuff?
Thanks
Susan
