water

1. Water Analysis

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.