Hello,
we have a more than 15m (50 feet) tall, approximately 60-year-old copper beech tree in our small front garden. Unfortunately, our soil is very sandy and dry, and in addition, a lot of ground is sealed due to the adjacent road and the house. Last year’s dry summer caused the beech to receive far too little water, and it shows some drought damage.
To prevent this in the future, I want to water it additionally with rainwater from the roof. I don’t want to build a full rainwater infiltration system, but rather divert some of the water and supply it to the tree via infiltration pipes and possibly an infiltration tank holding a few hundred liters (a few hundred gallons).
I have already looked into calculations for complete infiltration systems. However, I don’t need to design for heavy peak loads since the sewer connection will remain as an overflow. I just want to store enough water during a heavy downpour to cover a few dry days, so the tree can receive water continuously. The roof area is about 50m² (540 square feet). At the downspout of the gutter, there is a 1-inch hose connection. Not much pressure builds up here, so most of the water will likely continue to drain into the sewer.
Has anyone done something like this before? Do landscapers or gardeners have experience with this?
Any advice or ideas are welcome.
Best regards and thanks,
Michael
we have a more than 15m (50 feet) tall, approximately 60-year-old copper beech tree in our small front garden. Unfortunately, our soil is very sandy and dry, and in addition, a lot of ground is sealed due to the adjacent road and the house. Last year’s dry summer caused the beech to receive far too little water, and it shows some drought damage.
To prevent this in the future, I want to water it additionally with rainwater from the roof. I don’t want to build a full rainwater infiltration system, but rather divert some of the water and supply it to the tree via infiltration pipes and possibly an infiltration tank holding a few hundred liters (a few hundred gallons).
I have already looked into calculations for complete infiltration systems. However, I don’t need to design for heavy peak loads since the sewer connection will remain as an overflow. I just want to store enough water during a heavy downpour to cover a few dry days, so the tree can receive water continuously. The roof area is about 50m² (540 square feet). At the downspout of the gutter, there is a 1-inch hose connection. Not much pressure builds up here, so most of the water will likely continue to drain into the sewer.
Has anyone done something like this before? Do landscapers or gardeners have experience with this?
Any advice or ideas are welcome.
Best regards and thanks,
Michael
B
Bieber081514 Jul 2016 21:59With a sufficiently large container (rainwater barrel, IBC tank), you can create a simple system. The container is filled from the downpipe. The container has an overflow pipe DN 150 located just below the lid, which directs the overflow back to the downpipe. Additionally, near the bottom of the container, just above the base, there is a thin outlet, DN 10 (you may need to experiment a bit), connected by a hose to the tree.
Function: Rainwater fills the container up to the overflow level, and the tree is watered drop by drop as long as there is enough water in the container. The system is largely automatic (monitor for contamination).
Function: Rainwater fills the container up to the overflow level, and the tree is watered drop by drop as long as there is enough water in the container. The system is largely automatic (monitor for contamination).
I actually want to direct the water from the downspout straight into an infiltration tank buried within the tree's root zone, so I won’t have to water manually anymore. Unfortunately, I can’t link to the products because of the forum rules. So far, I have seen modular tanks with a capacity of 140 liters (37 gallons) each. I’m wondering whether I should bury one, two, or even more.
What I don’t know yet is how much water actually comes out of my gutter during heavy rain. Does anyone have experience with how quickly a rain barrel fills up when tapped?
With a heavy rain (>20mm (0.8 inches)), about 1000 liters (265 gallons) of water collects from a 50m² (538 sq ft) roof area. I would like to store some of that for dry periods.
Best regards and thanks
Michael
What I don’t know yet is how much water actually comes out of my gutter during heavy rain. Does anyone have experience with how quickly a rain barrel fills up when tapped?
With a heavy rain (>20mm (0.8 inches)), about 1000 liters (265 gallons) of water collects from a 50m² (538 sq ft) roof area. I would like to store some of that for dry periods.
Best regards and thanks
Michael