permaculture

["avalonb" <avalonb@nwol.net>]

jack

tell me more -- do you remember the materials list used for the cisterns 
noted below?  i sure need one here on my place. thanks. av

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> In Texas, we purchased materials for two 6,000+ gallon ferro-cement cistern
> for under $700 per tank (labor was provided with workshop participants).
> The walls were about 2-1/2 inches thick, and both Mollison and Alan Savory
> assured me they were being built thinner in Australia and South Africa.
>
> The cisterns were 7-1/2 feet tall and 10 or 12 feet in diameter. Floors
> were two layers of light-guage remesh, edges marked with a string compass
> and the ends turned up about 6 inches to accept the walls. Walls were 2
> layers of light-guage remesh, 1-1/2 widths tall (each roll is 5 feet wide,
> great for tomato cages at about $2 per 2-1/2 foot diameter cage). Full
> width alternated top and bottom in the two layers for overlap. #3 rebar
> (3/8 inch dia) around the top edge. Then we used stucco mesh to hold the
> cement. Roofs are needed to keep animals from drowning in tanks during dry
> spells.
>
> Larger, 20,000 gallon cisterns (about 20 feet dia) are being built
> commercially around Austin, TX and total costs for these thicker tanks
> (around 4 - 5 inches) complete with pumps, pressure tank, UV systems,
> filtration, etc are comparable to or below well costs. And, as Bobbi
> mentions, water tables are in fact dropping and wells having to be
> re-drilled frequently in the Austin area (big surprise!).
>
> Jack Rowe
>