# Tapping into a stream?



## NikeFace (Feb 14, 2018)

This may be a crazy and/or expensive idea, but I live in a MA town with astronomically high water bills and I'm working on a tier ~1 lawn... So I'm just throwing this out there...

We have a small-to-medium sized stream right behind our yard (not our stream, but no one else can see it). Is there any reasonable, practical way to tap into that stream to water my lawn? We don't have inground irrigation.

The stream also sits about 10 ft below the lowest point of our backyard yard and obviously no electricity back there... I assume the hill would affect pump size etc.

Does anyone have experience with this type of situation?


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## Delmarva Keith (May 12, 2018)

I've seen it done. You need to make a collection pond or cistern fed by the stream to draw from. The capacity of the pond will need to be the number of gallons you intend to draw less the production from the stream as you draw on it.

If that's not possible, you can bury a tank on your own land and use a low volume pump to fill it from the stream over a longer period of time, then draw from the tank with a high volume pump to run your irrigation.

Keep in mind that drawing water from any stream, and especially someone else's, has, shall we say, issues.

Might make more sense to get a well drilled on your own land?


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## Miggity (Apr 25, 2018)

I do. My creek is also about 10 feet lower than my lawn and ~150 feet beyond power from a 100 foot extension cord. I bury a shoebox sized tote in the creek with the top of the tote underwater, but above the creekbed by an inch or so. I put a foot valve into the tote and cover it with flat rocks to keep it submerged and keep debris out. The foot valve is connected to a 1" poly pipe and it runs 150' to the pump. From there I run another 150' of 1" poly to my front yard and transition to a 4 way garden hose connector there.

A couple pointers - priming the suction hose is the hardest part. The easiest way to do it is have a quick connect cam lock around 10 feet from the foot valve. Use a female to female garden hose adapter to fill the whole thing farthest from your stream (suction tube, pump, and upper tubing) with household water (with backflow preventer)while keeping the suction hose detatched and elevated until air is purged and water is flowing then quickly attach to foot valve. Use RV hose washers with screens in them at your transition to garden hose to further filter debris. Connect only sprinklers with large outlet bores such as impact rather than oscillating. Laws vary, but I was told I am fine as long as it is a temporary setup rather than something permanently installed in the creek.


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