Hello everyone,
Today I don’t have a problem or question, but rather a tip to share:
We don’t have a rainwater tank, so we have been using a lot of water from our outdoor faucet for watering our "garden" (currently just growing lawn) and for work on our outdoor area (mixing concrete, etc.). This, of course, incurs both fresh water and wastewater charges. However, since this water does not go into the sewer system, I looked into it:
In our municipality (this can be regulated differently by each municipality in their wastewater regulations), it is possible to install a so-called garden water meter / outdoor water meter.
Regulations in our municipality (may vary elsewhere):
If I had known and implemented this at the beginning of the outdoor work, I would have saved the cost by now.
Maybe this tip will help someone else as well.
Today I don’t have a problem or question, but rather a tip to share:
We don’t have a rainwater tank, so we have been using a lot of water from our outdoor faucet for watering our "garden" (currently just growing lawn) and for work on our outdoor area (mixing concrete, etc.). This, of course, incurs both fresh water and wastewater charges. However, since this water does not go into the sewer system, I looked into it:
In our municipality (this can be regulated differently by each municipality in their wastewater regulations), it is possible to install a so-called garden water meter / outdoor water meter.
Regulations in our municipality (may vary elsewhere):
- A calibrated meter can be installed by yourself (available online with mounting materials for under 30 euros; these meters are certified for 6 years)
- The meter must be accessible to the municipality if required (for reading)
- The meter reading must be submitted to the municipality by January 15
- No wastewater fees are charged for the water used once the consumption exceeds 10 cubic meters (why it starts at 10, neither I nor the municipal official know, but that is what the regulation states :rolleyes)
- I found this information in the wastewater fee statute and the wastewater fee increase statute
If I had known and implemented this at the beginning of the outdoor work, I would have saved the cost by now.
Maybe this tip will help someone else as well.
B
Bieber081530 Aug 2016 22:10In the utility room, there is a branch behind the water meter, with a valve and then continuing to the outdoor faucet. It’s quite simple if planned from the start.
andimann schrieb:
In new construction, the garden faucets (there will be 2) are therefore not connected to the regular ring main but to a separate line. This has the advantage that we can shut off the garden water in the basement and also install a permanently frost-protected meter. However, this line must not be too long, otherwise there will be too much stagnant water.
For this reason, our plumbing company advised against it.
Hello,
It always depends on the current floor plan. In our case, a looped pipe system would have been even longer since the garden water connection is on the west side of the house, while all other sanitary installations (utility room, kitchen, and bathrooms) are on the east side. The looped pipe would have been twice as long as the branch line.
But yes, with such a branch line, you should let the water run briefly before drinking it. For garden watering, however, that doesn’t matter.
Another advantage of the branch line is that I can easily install it as a 3/4-inch pipe. That delivers about twice as much water for garden irrigation compared to the standard 1/2-inch pipe.
Best regards,
Andreas
nms_hs schrieb:
But it must not be too long, otherwise you get too much standing water.
That's why our plumbing company advised against it.
It always depends on the current floor plan. In our case, a looped pipe system would have been even longer since the garden water connection is on the west side of the house, while all other sanitary installations (utility room, kitchen, and bathrooms) are on the east side. The looped pipe would have been twice as long as the branch line.
But yes, with such a branch line, you should let the water run briefly before drinking it. For garden watering, however, that doesn’t matter.
Another advantage of the branch line is that I can easily install it as a 3/4-inch pipe. That delivers about twice as much water for garden irrigation compared to the standard 1/2-inch pipe.
Best regards,
Andreas
Thanks for the tip @Jochen104. I called our local municipality yesterday and found out that garden water meters are allowed. We just need to report the meter after installation and provide the reading at the end of the year. This is very convenient for us because we want to start seeding the lawn next week.
For now, we are ruling out a garden well since we are located in the catchment area of a surface mine, which results in a groundwater setback of about 22m (72 feet) due to artificial lowering. We still need to calculate whether it would be worthwhile for a 350m² (3,770 ft²) lawn area.
You can request data on the condition of “your” groundwater from the district environmental offices. The ELWAS-WEB platform (NRW) is also useful in this context.
Maybe a brief note on garden wells from professional experience: In most municipalities in NRW, they are permitted. Wells are technically required to be registered (usually the well driller takes care of this), but often this does not happen. It only becomes problematic if the environmental authority detects groundwater contamination in the area. If the wells are known, it can be investigated more quickly whether the water is polluted (in addition to other monitoring points), and watering can at least be temporarily stopped. Field crops absorb contaminants to varying degrees. There is also the possibility that watering causes contaminants to accumulate further in the soil.
Regards,
Rina
For now, we are ruling out a garden well since we are located in the catchment area of a surface mine, which results in a groundwater setback of about 22m (72 feet) due to artificial lowering. We still need to calculate whether it would be worthwhile for a 350m² (3,770 ft²) lawn area.
You can request data on the condition of “your” groundwater from the district environmental offices. The ELWAS-WEB platform (NRW) is also useful in this context.
Maybe a brief note on garden wells from professional experience: In most municipalities in NRW, they are permitted. Wells are technically required to be registered (usually the well driller takes care of this), but often this does not happen. It only becomes problematic if the environmental authority detects groundwater contamination in the area. If the wells are known, it can be investigated more quickly whether the water is polluted (in addition to other monitoring points), and watering can at least be temporarily stopped. Field crops absorb contaminants to varying degrees. There is also the possibility that watering causes contaminants to accumulate further in the soil.
Regards,
Rina
H
HilfeHilfe2 Sep 2016 08:57It’s not worth it for us. The friendly person on the phone said it only makes sense if you have a small jungle or garden business...
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