L’Étoile HomesteadL’Étoile HomesteadBackyard Homesteading, Week 3

Overall summary of waterMain slope is going toward Southwest, with the other main slope facing South.

Currently, the soil is always covered: I guess runoffs are limited to the ditches surrounding the site. The water is exiting the site by them, and

High water table: variable as the ledge is very close at some places, and deep elsewhere)

South.No watercourse is passing on the land (creek, etc.) The whole ecovillage is located almost at the top of the local watershed (Nicolet river): not a lot of f lowing water, but it is of good quality.

the site by them, and the septic system.

Clay loam soil: water drains slowly

PrecipitationsThus, we depend on precipitations to get our water: In our area, we receive an average of 1189 inches of precipitations per year (rain or snow) (The Weather Network, online)

The majority is coming in snow during the winter months (mostly in Dec, Jan and Feb).

During the summer period, we receive an average of 4 inches per month… meaning around an inch per week, what most garden plants need!

Challenges of managing waterWell water is the primary (not to say only) source for water at the homestead… Peter Bane, (on page 155) qualified this source as the less resilient one: This is something we must address in our situation. Gravity to move water is winner (Silva, Gravity to move water is winner (Silva, Lecture Water Management Techniques, time: 2:20), yet on our terrain, I hardly can see how we could harvest water up in our landscape to distribute it from there… Our winters would not permit on relying only from rainwater to supply the house because of major and prolonged freezes.

Techniques that could be applied on siteRainwater catchment from the roof: I knew the technique, but I learned that we needed to filter it and that not all roofs are good to harvest quality water (Bane, page 156). quality water (Bane, page 156). Since rainwater is our primary source of entering water, it would make sense to collect (and store) it! Using solar or wind energy to pump the well water (Bane, page 155)

Techniques that could be applied on site (continued)Berm and swale system, flowing in a little pond: this is not new for me, but I never have done it before. It would be useful because soil is the least expensive

Grey water systems using the laundry for watering the plants sounds like a great, yet small and easy step to take. useful because soil is the least expensive way to store water (Silva, Lecture Water Management Techniques, time: 2:26) and passive irrigation is the one that will demand the less work!I like that it is easy to divert the water either to conventional system or grey water system (I am thinking of our winters!) (Bane, page 168)

Conclusion of analysis:Water is a precious resource that is in need of care on our site!

We need to apply at least those three techniques (roof rainwater harvesting, using grey water and installing a berm and swale system) and do the shift of using renewable energy to pump our well water. Otherwise, it will compromise the site’s resilience.