Water Analysis

Water Analysis • For my site there isn’t too much

water movement. Though I live on Flat Hills Rd the property is hardly flat. The back and side yard is heavily sloped with fairly quick run off.

• Water enter the house via town water and exits via town sewer.

• There is a garden hose at the front of the house and several gutter to collect rain.

• The roof is sloped to the front slightly but most of the slope is to the back. Oddly enough there are no gutter on the back of the house.

Water Analysis Some of the challenges of managing water at the site is that there is very little water. There are no ponds, stream, or other water aspect other than the gutter or town water. One of the disadvantages of living on the side of a hill. Though there are several very small creeks around my site but non on the property. Collecting rain water could add large sums if collected. Lastly, the site is fairly, rocky with boulders up to 5 feet. I can attest to this as several large boulders are exposed near my driveway.

Water Analysis Some of the advantages in water management is free water. Collecting would incur a small cost but would be well worth it in the long run. Additionally, I’m fortunate that I live in a wooded area where the trees can reduce airborne pollutants in the roof water as the book advocates. Also, the tree canopy would keep the water cooler, limiting bacteria. Adding a pond is another way of saving water for later and adding trout would add food for the table. Though a trout pound sounds like a good idea, keeping them alive is another matter. Laurence Hutchinson recommends that trout need ½ gallon per minute of flowing water p.177 to keep enough oxygen to keep the trout alive. So some type of water fall will be needed to oxygenate the water.

Water Analysis After looking up my site for water these are some of the facts I learned. According to U.S. Climate Data Amherst, MA receives yearly 45.99 inches of rain without any major deviations Dec, Jan, and Feb are the low months, while October was the high. I learned that the local watershed is Atkins and that this larger watershed is part of the Connecticut, and the drain ,which I knew, is the Connecticut river. Additionally, the soil at my site is fine sandy loam which is good for farming and water retention. Lastly, the area is mainly metamorphic rock which explains the large boulders.

Water Analysis Another aspect to the site is that there is a very low lying area towards the back of the property. I would suspect that this area is very susceptible to freezing and considering it’s in the shade area only adds to the length of time of the frost during the morning/day. As for flooding, I haven’t notice an area that would, except for that low lying area where a trout pond would fit in nicely. An additional advantage of the site is that there is very little run off from the street, as my driveway is elevated and the street slopes away from the property.

Water Analysis

Here is the water map of my site. As you can see there isn’t too much water. I’ve included new water, such as the fish pond, water collection, and a new gutter on the back of the house. Oh and I almost forgot, the water heater in the house. One thing I was thinking about, because of the canopy from the trees water evaporation would be less than if there was complete sun exposure.