Banter 75: 24Jun25 Water Harvesting for Allotments, with Henry Clark
Henry demonstrated that mains water was too expensive to install, so he designed and built a 4000 litre water harvester for the parish allotments at Peakirk, Cambs- and what he would improve next time
Video Timeline (min:sec)
00:00 - 08:50 Presentation 08:50 - 24:30 (end) Q & A
Presentation:
Meeting Summary:
Quick recap
The meeting covered various topics, including a discussion on allotments and water harvesting systems for community gardens. Participants shared experiences and challenges related to local government reorganization, remote meetings, and increasing workloads. The session concluded with plans for a future demonstration of a collaboration knowledge base and a discussion on water usage at a community allotment site.
Next steps
Summary
Parish Council Allotment Discussion
Chris, the clerk to the Parish Council in Water Houses, Staffordshire, joins the meeting to gather information about allotments for their local Allotments Association. Graham explains that the session is recorded and notes are published on a wiki for participants to access later. Henry joins the call and mentions he spent the morning discussing local government reorganization, which he describes as a contentious topic.
Remote Meeting Challenges and Updates
The meeting began with a discussion about the regular Wednesday noon banter sessions, which Graham confirmed are always held at that time. The group discussed the challenges of remote meetings compared to in-person ones, with Henry noting the lack of break time between calls. Graham acknowledged his tendency to start meetings late, which Tristram humorously attributed to Pavlovian conditioning. The conversation concluded with a brief check-in with Sally, who reported being fine and mentioned being on mute earlier.
AI and Workload Management Challenges
Sally discussed the challenges of managing increasing workloads and the potential of AI, mentioning a new CRM system and ongoing research into chat functions. Graham introduced the meeting and mentioned plans to record and share the session. Henry was invited to present on a water harvester project in Peakirk, and he prepared a presentation to guide his discussion.
Water Harvester Installation in Village
Henry described the situation of a small village with 28 allotment plots, located 7 miles north of Peterborough, which lacks a water supply. After considering options like installing a new mains water supply or using a water harvester, the village decided to implement a water harvester system, which was funded by a grant from the Peterborough Environment City Trust (PECT). A working party involving parish councillors, representatives from the local council, and volunteers from BGL Insurance, the village's insurance provider, helped with the installation of the water harvester system.
Rainwater Harvesting System Construction
Henry described the construction of a rainwater harvesting system, explaining that he based the design on a magazine example and built it in July 2020 using prefabricated components. The system consists of four 4,000 litre bulk containers supported on plastic pallets, with a galvanized steel roof, and cost approximately £1,200 in materials, covered by a grant from PECT. While the system has worked well, Henry noted some improvements could be made, including better tank foundations, more precise post placement, and a better connection system for the tanks.
Rainwater Harvesting for Allotments
Henry presents a rainwater harvesting system for allotments in Peterborough, which currently holds 7,200 liters but is empty due to insufficient rainfall. He mentions that two other parishes have built similar systems with protective walls. Tristram estimates this amount might be needed weekly for the 3/4 acre allotment area. The group discusses potential improvements, such as expanding the roof area or finding ways to collect water from a wider area, but notes the challenges of flat terrain and infrequent rainfall. Chris shares a similar project in Staffordshire that faces both water scarcity and flooding issues, suggesting the potential for a larger water management solution.
Rainwater Harvesting System Discussion
Henry described his rainwater harvesting system, which consists of four tanks connected to a single pipe leading to a discharge tap. He explained the advantages and disadvantages of this setup, including the potential for all tanks to drain if a leak occurs. Henry also mentioned that he considered adding balance pipes to improve the system's efficiency but decided against it due to the simplicity of the current design. The conversation touched on the durability of the system, with Henry noting that it has withstood winds and rattling issues by adding more screws. Graham inquired about the possibility of expanding the system's volume, to which Henry replied that while more tanks could capture more rain, the current setup has been successful. The discussion concluded with Henry mentioning an upcoming meeting with allotment holders to gauge the impact of the water system on their gardening efforts.
Community Water Access Demonstration
The meeting focused on water access and usage at a community allotment site, where Henry confirmed there were no complaints or regulations about water usage, and the system operated based on common sense.
Chat:
no entries in the Chat this week
Speech-to-text (for AI Search engine)
139 00:12:49.250 --> 00:13:01.229 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: I think we've given them long enough, Henry, but don't be surprised if a few more jump in halfway through, so would you like me? I'll pass the chair over to you, and you can let us know what you're going to talk about.
140 00:13:01.730 --> 00:13:02.810 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: It's all yours.
141 00:13:03.250 --> 00:13:05.074 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Okay, thank you, Graham.
142 00:13:06.290 --> 00:13:08.430 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: If some reason I got invited
143 00:13:08.610 --> 00:13:13.159 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: to give a talk about a water harvester today that we built here in peacock
144 00:13:14.180 --> 00:13:18.689 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: so I've put together a little presentation just to help me remember what to say.
145 00:13:18.930 --> 00:13:23.589 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: But if anybody's got any questions during it, please ask, don't save until the end.
146 00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:29.769 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: I'm I'm happy to discuss stuff that isn't on here, but I've just done this as kind of a
147 00:13:30.860 --> 00:13:34.490 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: guidelines, so I'll share my screen, and we'll see how we get on
148 00:13:41.970 --> 00:13:43.040 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: right.
149 00:13:43.350 --> 00:13:44.000 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: So.
150 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:44.750 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: My.
151 00:13:45.190 --> 00:13:48.670 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Can we see it? So that is
152 00:13:49.060 --> 00:13:53.569 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: a 3D. Model I did to just explain to people what I was trying to achieve.
153 00:13:54.640 --> 00:13:55.240 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: And
154 00:13:56.230 --> 00:13:59.119 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Now, I'll talk about the reality of what we actually did.
155 00:14:01.050 --> 00:14:04.500 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: So I can get Powerpoint working.
156 00:14:09.375 --> 00:14:11.439 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Right? Okay. So a bit of background
157 00:14:12.410 --> 00:14:17.640 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: this is in Peacock, which is Cambridgeshire, almost on the Lincolnshire border.
158 00:14:17.900 --> 00:14:20.340 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: We're a small village, about 500 people.
159 00:14:20.870 --> 00:14:22.960 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: and we're 7 miles north of Peterborough.
160 00:14:23.560 --> 00:14:25.690 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: so we have some allotments on the village.
161 00:14:25.910 --> 00:14:32.160 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: They're managed by the Parish Council, but they're owned by former resident who now lives in Florida.
162 00:14:33.050 --> 00:14:42.150 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: got 28 plots of various sizes so roughly, 28 lot holders, and there's no water supply.
163 00:14:43.120 --> 00:14:51.559 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: So the allotment is on the edge of the village. Some of the allotment hogs don't live in the village so that there's a long way to bring your own water.
164 00:14:52.730 --> 00:14:58.510 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: So once we took it off, we thought, well, let's let's provide a water supply. So we thought about what are the options?
165 00:15:02.620 --> 00:15:06.819 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Provide a new main water supply, you know. Get somebody to
166 00:15:06.940 --> 00:15:13.410 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: dig the track up, lay a pipe bit, perhaps, or whatever.
167 00:15:14.670 --> 00:15:19.450 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Well, we were about 100 meters from the nearest pipe. So that's quite a big job.
168 00:15:19.670 --> 00:15:25.349 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: It it just sounded really expensive thousands of pounds.
169 00:15:26.370 --> 00:15:32.650 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: And then how are we gonna manage it? How are we going to charge the allotment holders for the water? Because it's obviously we're gonna have to pay for it.
170 00:15:33.220 --> 00:15:38.530 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: How do we stop abuse? How do we stop people stealing water, or just mischievously leaving the taps running?
171 00:15:40.020 --> 00:15:43.099 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: So we didn't like that one. What about a water, Harvester?
172 00:15:43.450 --> 00:15:47.520 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Well, that sounded good, you know the water's free when it rains.
173 00:15:48.740 --> 00:15:51.340 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: But so that was that was good
174 00:15:51.950 --> 00:15:55.260 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: or do nothing. We'll just say terribly sorry we can't do it.
175 00:15:56.030 --> 00:15:59.130 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: So we decided to do a water harvester.
176 00:15:59.940 --> 00:16:06.760 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: So I designed one estimated costs.
177 00:16:07.010 --> 00:16:12.910 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: We're we're very lucky we got a grant from the Peterborough Environment City Trust, which is a
178 00:16:13.450 --> 00:16:24.780 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: charity that does quite a lot of good environmental stuff on biodiversity mainly, but also moving into carbon reduction.
179 00:16:26.320 --> 00:16:31.850 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: We had a working party with some parish councillors, somebody from Pect.
180 00:16:32.290 --> 00:16:37.220 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: and volunteers from Bgl. Insurance. So the Bgl.
181 00:16:37.590 --> 00:16:43.319 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Our insurance company. They have offices in Peterborough, and they give their staff.
182 00:16:43.510 --> 00:16:47.900 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Think it's 2 days a year to go and do work in the community.
183 00:16:50.480 --> 00:16:56.550 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: So it's a motley crew. These volunteers were all office based. They were mainly young.
184 00:16:56.930 --> 00:17:01.259 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: strong, and willing, but not particularly skilled at building or
185 00:17:01.450 --> 00:17:06.330 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: bearing brambles or anything like that, but we had a nice day, and we actually did it
186 00:17:07.500 --> 00:17:10.180 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: in what? Oh, sorry! I couldn't see that right.
187 00:17:10.810 --> 00:17:13.420 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Some some reasons.
188 00:17:15.119 --> 00:17:27.220 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: That's right. I just had a question which was, when you designed the Harvester. Did you have something to go on, or was it completely from scratch? Or did you find someone else who'd got one and just borrowed theirs.
189 00:17:27.400 --> 00:17:31.800 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: I saw one in a in a magazine somewhere that looked
190 00:17:31.940 --> 00:17:39.835 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: very much like what we ended up with. Actually so it wasn't designed from scratch, but
191 00:17:40.220 --> 00:17:42.450 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: Good. No point in reinventing the wheel.
192 00:17:42.450 --> 00:17:48.449 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Alright, no. And and I think it. It's quite a sound design, actually, anyway. So
193 00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:56.270 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: one very hot day in July 2020, we actually erected it. I had prefabricated all the components.
194 00:17:56.750 --> 00:17:59.650 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: So it's just a matter of clearing the site
195 00:18:00.930 --> 00:18:06.230 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: marking out the holes for the posts and storing it.
196 00:18:06.710 --> 00:18:08.460 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: which was, which was good fun.
197 00:18:10.040 --> 00:18:11.719 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: and so that was the result.
198 00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:16.319 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Looks a bit like the 3D. Render I showed at the beginning.
199 00:18:16.630 --> 00:18:19.359 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: So we have 4,000 litre
200 00:18:20.140 --> 00:18:23.619 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: bulk containers obtained from a local farmer.
201 00:18:24.060 --> 00:18:26.990 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: We've got them from a food company, so they were.
202 00:18:28.010 --> 00:18:32.690 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: They've been filled with vinegar. So they were. They were clean, they weren't. They didn't contain.
203 00:18:33.090 --> 00:18:35.060 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: you know, any nasty chemicals.
204 00:18:36.070 --> 00:18:38.980 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: We supported them on 8 plastic pallets.
205 00:18:39.150 --> 00:18:45.619 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: That was an experience I've heard from elsewhere. That wooden pallets rot away, and so they're not a good idea
206 00:18:47.010 --> 00:18:53.460 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: we use treated timber and we had a galvanized corrugated steel roof.
207 00:18:57.890 --> 00:19:07.299 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: So we built it, and it didn't rain for weeks afterwards. So the 1st time it rained I rushed out to actually take pictures to make sure the rain fell into the gutter.
208 00:19:08.760 --> 00:19:11.790 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: So it's got a 12 m² roof.
209 00:19:12.490 --> 00:19:17.909 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: And then East Anglia, we get typically 600 a year of rain, which is a lot
210 00:19:18.080 --> 00:19:24.660 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: which would have given us 7,200 a year, and the latest
211 00:19:25.120 --> 00:19:30.640 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: climate estimates are that you get pretty much equal rainfall each month, although that's not the case this year.
212 00:19:35.310 --> 00:19:37.443 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: So what did we learn from doing it?
213 00:19:38.510 --> 00:19:44.850 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: We should. But we should have had better foundations for the tanks. They have sunk a little bit and become slightly
214 00:19:45.400 --> 00:19:49.790 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: skew with, but they haven't fallen over, and they haven't sent to Instagram
215 00:19:51.630 --> 00:19:58.895 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: needed to mark out the locations to the post better, because when we actually came to put it up, they weren't quite in line, and they look a bit sort of
216 00:20:00.310 --> 00:20:07.200 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: leaning tariff pisa in places some of the timbers I'd put outside the
217 00:20:07.360 --> 00:20:11.570 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: structure in hindsight. I've put them inside so they're sheltered from the brain.
218 00:20:13.630 --> 00:20:17.459 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: and we needed a better means of connecting the 4 tanks
219 00:20:18.250 --> 00:20:21.300 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: so that they would fill up equally from the one
220 00:20:21.470 --> 00:20:24.380 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: pipe going into one of the tanks, and that
221 00:20:24.770 --> 00:20:28.270 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: you could connect them up, so they only had. They only feeded one tap
222 00:20:28.650 --> 00:20:31.060 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: for people to fill their watering cans or whatever.
223 00:20:32.860 --> 00:20:39.339 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: So I just had one pipe running along the 4 taps, and that works. But it's a bit
224 00:20:40.450 --> 00:20:44.329 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: the last one is you've got to pray for rain because it doesn't come when you want it.
225 00:20:47.950 --> 00:20:53.120 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: So, in conclusion, it costs about 1,200 pounds for the materials.
226 00:20:54.010 --> 00:20:56.580 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Now, as I say, we were lucky enough to get a grant for that.
227 00:20:58.010 --> 00:21:00.400 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: The alarm holders have really appreciated it.
228 00:21:02.520 --> 00:21:10.370 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: They make they make use of it. But unfortunately it's completely empty today, because there's there's nowhere near enough rain in East anchor to keep it full.
229 00:21:12.340 --> 00:21:16.320 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: The good news is that 2 other parishes in Peterborough have built copies.
230 00:21:18.440 --> 00:21:21.720 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: The the difference there is. They have put
231 00:21:22.610 --> 00:21:26.080 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: a wall around it to stop people vandalizing it.
232 00:21:26.780 --> 00:21:28.870 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: That hasn't been an issue for us. But
233 00:21:29.300 --> 00:21:34.199 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: I can understand, maybe, that it's an issue in the could be an issue in a bigger village.
234 00:21:35.870 --> 00:21:40.029 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: So thanks for listening. And has anybody got any questions.
235 00:21:40.540 --> 00:21:48.820 tristram cary Winchfield Hants: Henry, what do you estimate? The requirement is per for the allotments. You've got 7,200 litres. How much do you need.
236 00:21:49.750 --> 00:21:53.590 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: I don't know, actually, but I I could imagine
237 00:21:54.080 --> 00:21:59.760 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: this time of year when a lot of water is needed. You might easily need that per week.
238 00:22:00.360 --> 00:22:01.230 tristram cary Winchfield Hants: Per week.
239 00:22:01.570 --> 00:22:02.599 tristram cary Winchfield Hants: Are they wrong.
240 00:22:02.600 --> 00:22:03.650 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Possibly. Yeah, I mean.
241 00:22:03.650 --> 00:22:04.380 tristram cary Winchfield Hants: Okay.
242 00:22:06.100 --> 00:22:25.645 tristram cary Winchfield Hants: yeah, you're collecting water just from your 12 m² roof, is there? Is there any way you could find a hill and and collect water across a wider area. And so you said you get much more without having to put up a structure.
243 00:22:27.010 --> 00:22:28.569 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: If if you had
244 00:22:29.640 --> 00:22:34.820 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: something like that, it would be something you could do. But we we're on flat land here. We're in the fair.
245 00:22:34.820 --> 00:22:35.849 tristram cary Winchfield Hants: Right, yeah, yeah.
246 00:22:36.080 --> 00:22:37.239 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Hills anywhere.
247 00:22:37.820 --> 00:22:38.280 tristram cary Winchfield Hants: The.
248 00:22:39.120 --> 00:22:43.549 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: I could extend it. I could. I could extend, or I could have made the roof bigger.
249 00:22:44.450 --> 00:22:47.819 tristram cary Winchfield Hants: Yeah, we should have to make it massive to to provide enough water.
250 00:22:48.240 --> 00:22:48.939 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Well, I mean, yeah.
251 00:22:48.940 --> 00:22:52.619 tristram cary Winchfield Hants: By 50 times, if it if they, if you need that per week.
252 00:22:53.240 --> 00:22:54.979 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: We've had hardly any rain.
253 00:22:54.980 --> 00:22:56.980 tristram cary Winchfield Hants: Yeah, last month. So.
254 00:22:57.340 --> 00:22:58.080 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Yeah.
255 00:22:58.910 --> 00:23:00.130 tristram cary Winchfield Hants: Brilliant. Thank you.
256 00:23:02.030 --> 00:23:08.062 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: So would your advice, then, Henry, be that people need to have at least double the
257 00:23:08.970 --> 00:23:10.959 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: roof area that you've got?
258 00:23:11.990 --> 00:23:17.930 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: I mean, it obviously depends on which part of the country you're in, how much water you do get from the rain. But.
259 00:23:18.630 --> 00:23:23.280 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: Sorry. Can I just check as well with that Graham for Henry?
260 00:23:23.380 --> 00:23:32.859 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: How big are the allotment areas that you're they're talking about here because we get a size of the scale of the allotment areas, we can get a feeling of like what the requirements are.
261 00:23:33.270 --> 00:23:39.380 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Yeah. Good point. The allotments are 3 quarters of an acre phone tool.
262 00:23:40.350 --> 00:23:41.240 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: So
263 00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:53.369 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: that's they're not. They're not big. The plots are relatively small. They're not the traditional allotment plot, which is so many poles by so many poles which I can't remember. They're sure
264 00:23:53.730 --> 00:23:54.910 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: square area.
265 00:23:56.750 --> 00:23:59.970 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: But yeah, Chris.
266 00:24:00.270 --> 00:24:09.539 Chris Hinton - Waterhouses PC Staffs: Hi, I'm a parish council in Staffordshire, and the the allotments that we have sound very similar in scale to yours.
267 00:24:10.151 --> 00:24:13.730 Chris Hinton - Waterhouses PC Staffs: And they? We have a very proactive
268 00:24:14.150 --> 00:24:23.230 Chris Hinton - Waterhouses PC Staffs: along association, have done a lot of very good work, including, replicating something along the lines of what you've done there in Peterborough.
269 00:24:23.710 --> 00:24:26.752 Chris Hinton - Waterhouses PC Staffs: We've got a strange situation, because
270 00:24:27.930 --> 00:24:45.520 Chris Hinton - Waterhouses PC Staffs: whilst water is often scarce, and they're attempting to address that with the water tanks, the allotment sit in an area which suffers frequent flooding when it rains, the whole area flows. The water from the surrounding fields.
271 00:24:46.415 --> 00:24:53.879 Chris Hinton - Waterhouses PC Staffs: None of which does account alone flow through that area down towards. And then the the flooding is a real problem.
272 00:24:54.130 --> 00:25:00.420 Chris Hinton - Waterhouses PC Staffs: and we are receiving advice and support from a flood risk team from Staffordshire County council.
273 00:25:00.710 --> 00:25:04.690 Chris Hinton - Waterhouses PC Staffs: and they are suggesting they have got an idea that they can put in
274 00:25:07.103 --> 00:25:11.590 Chris Hinton - Waterhouses PC Staffs: facilities that can slow down the rate of water when it comes.
275 00:25:11.780 --> 00:25:16.400 Chris Hinton - Waterhouses PC Staffs: and even possibly link it into the use for the allotments.
276 00:25:16.840 --> 00:25:25.270 Chris Hinton - Waterhouses PC Staffs: You know, it's sort of it's really bizarre, because sometimes you got no water. And yet, within a matter of days or weeks. You can have water flooding down
277 00:25:25.610 --> 00:25:27.679 Chris Hinton - Waterhouses PC Staffs: passed and around the allotments
278 00:25:28.132 --> 00:25:34.339 Chris Hinton - Waterhouses PC Staffs: and we can't use it at the moment. Utilize it to store it for the allotments. So it's a sort of bigger.
279 00:25:34.770 --> 00:25:45.839 Chris Hinton - Waterhouses PC Staffs: bigger project than perhaps yours was. But if you said your rate of consumption of those taxes. As it is, this water could be a godsend if only we can trap it.
280 00:25:47.800 --> 00:25:51.913 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Yes, you'd be. You'd need to find a way of creating a small
281 00:25:52.450 --> 00:25:57.040 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: reservoir dam or something, and then pump to pump it into a tank.
282 00:25:57.570 --> 00:26:03.870 Chris Hinton - Waterhouses PC Staffs: Yeah, just the safety issues of any children. Because next door there is a playground.
283 00:26:04.050 --> 00:26:08.669 Chris Hinton - Waterhouses PC Staffs: So we don't need kids going in there and falling in and doing harm to themselves.
284 00:26:09.090 --> 00:26:16.280 Chris Hinton - Waterhouses PC Staffs: But it's it's a conundrum which, if we can, if we can tap literally tap into that water, it'll be a godsend.
285 00:26:18.230 --> 00:26:22.509 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: And I suspect somewhere in the country somebody's already
286 00:26:23.100 --> 00:26:25.379 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: had that problem and come up with a solution.
287 00:26:25.955 --> 00:26:31.060 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: How you maybe the National Allotment society or somebody could could help.
288 00:26:34.030 --> 00:26:39.658 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: But yeah, it's it's a good, interesting point. We we don't. We've never had any flooding
289 00:26:40.180 --> 00:26:44.200 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: since 1947, something. So the
290 00:26:48.340 --> 00:26:50.020 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: Stuart, you're next. Please.
291 00:26:50.020 --> 00:26:53.610 Cllr Stuart Withington, Great Dunmow, Essex: Alright! Thanks for that. And I I think it's a great effort.
292 00:26:54.301 --> 00:26:57.840 Cllr Stuart Withington, Great Dunmow, Essex: I was just wondering what type of soil you've got there
293 00:26:58.230 --> 00:27:01.554 Cllr Stuart Withington, Great Dunmow, Essex: and do the allotment users.
294 00:27:03.400 --> 00:27:08.340 Cllr Stuart Withington, Great Dunmow, Essex: employ any methods to try and reduce the need for watering.
295 00:27:10.580 --> 00:27:11.370 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Hmm.
296 00:27:11.370 --> 00:27:20.620 Cllr Stuart Withington, Great Dunmow, Essex: I I'm thinking about sort of increasing the organic content in the soil mulching cover crops.
297 00:27:24.090 --> 00:27:30.250 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Yeah the soil. Well, it it's typically good soil here.
298 00:27:30.640 --> 00:27:34.831 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Think it's grade 2 agricultural land mainly. It's
299 00:27:36.440 --> 00:27:41.699 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: we're 5 meters above sea level. So we're probably under the water
300 00:27:42.110 --> 00:27:45.050 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: hundreds of years ago, thousands of years ago.
301 00:27:47.030 --> 00:27:51.019 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: So the soil's quite good. It's quite, quite friable. There's no clay.
302 00:27:52.300 --> 00:27:55.639 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: and I think some of the allotment holders do use mulching.
303 00:27:56.750 --> 00:27:57.280 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: But
304 00:27:58.760 --> 00:28:04.730 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: I've not not an allotment specialist myself, so I can't. A real gardener.
305 00:28:04.730 --> 00:28:06.330 Cllr Stuart Withington, Great Dunmow, Essex: Unfair question. Then, sorry?
306 00:28:07.126 --> 00:28:08.719 Cllr Stuart Withington, Great Dunmow, Essex: Well, yeah.
307 00:28:08.920 --> 00:28:13.520 Cllr Stuart Withington, Great Dunmow, Essex: But I really do. Empathize with your problem of lack of rain.
308 00:28:13.940 --> 00:28:17.149 Cllr Stuart Withington, Great Dunmow, Essex: I don't think we get any more than that in Essex.
309 00:28:18.110 --> 00:28:23.449 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: No, probably not. No, whereas in the West country you probably get 3 times as much.
310 00:28:24.450 --> 00:28:25.190 Cllr Stuart Withington, Great Dunmow, Essex: Yes.
311 00:28:26.640 --> 00:28:40.549 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: And you could ask about the manifold issue you mentioned how to get the water evenly distributed amongst your 4 tanks. So what was the system you started with, and how would you suggest people do it in the future?
312 00:28:41.370 --> 00:28:46.680 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: What we have now is a single pipe connecting, or there's a tap on each
313 00:28:46.890 --> 00:28:48.750 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: container. So it's 4 taps.
314 00:28:48.910 --> 00:28:56.220 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: They're all connected into a single pipe that goes to a discharge tap, so any water flows into
315 00:28:56.980 --> 00:29:02.110 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: the master will flow along the manifold and fill up the other ones.
316 00:29:03.650 --> 00:29:07.559 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: The disadvantage of that is, if you have a leak, it will drain all 4.
317 00:29:08.600 --> 00:29:09.330 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: Right.
318 00:29:09.610 --> 00:29:14.759 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: What I contemplated doing was putting a balance pipe at the top of each container near the top.
319 00:29:14.890 --> 00:29:18.960 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: so that when the master one filled, it would then spill into the adjacent ones.
320 00:29:19.800 --> 00:29:22.319 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: That has the advantage that if you have a leak
321 00:29:23.950 --> 00:29:26.280 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: you have 4 individual taps to fit
322 00:29:27.300 --> 00:29:31.029 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: washing counts. If you have a leak in any one, it only drinks that one.
323 00:29:31.480 --> 00:29:32.200 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: Yep.
324 00:29:32.670 --> 00:29:38.569 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: So far we haven't had that problem, but it's it's a possibility. But the other hand, mine is nice and simple.
325 00:29:38.690 --> 00:29:46.090 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: and it's flexible hoses between the tanks. So as they settle differently into the ground, it doesn't create any strain on the balance pipes.
326 00:29:46.480 --> 00:29:49.725 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: but if there had been that but
327 00:29:51.420 --> 00:29:56.240 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: yeah. So there's 2 solutions. Really, one is sort of high level
328 00:29:57.010 --> 00:30:02.230 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: balance pipes so that they will fit up to a certain level, 4 taps
329 00:30:02.500 --> 00:30:06.690 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: solution that I did, because it's easiest, I suppose, was just
330 00:30:07.520 --> 00:30:10.940 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: 4 taps going into one pipe, 1 1 tap.
331 00:30:14.300 --> 00:30:16.320 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: Interesting. I I just
332 00:30:16.500 --> 00:30:26.579 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: wondering if the the very flat land around you leads you to have to build against high winds, because there's nothing to stop the winds blasting you.
333 00:30:27.666 --> 00:30:33.890 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: Is proof likely to disappear in some gale, or you so far have been proof against that.
334 00:30:35.960 --> 00:30:45.120 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: We haven't had a problem. It certainly was a consideration when we put it up. And it's the
335 00:30:46.120 --> 00:30:54.680 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: the slope faces east, which is probably not a good thing as a prevailing wind southeast. So.
336 00:30:56.910 --> 00:30:58.872 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: but it hasn't been an issue.
337 00:30:59.440 --> 00:31:09.830 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: The the only thing was that they, because I only put a limited number of screws holding the galvanized sheets down it. It rattled a lot in the wind.
338 00:31:10.080 --> 00:31:10.860 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: Right.
339 00:31:11.000 --> 00:31:18.249 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Although it's not actually near anybody's house. Somebody mentioned that. It's disturbing to hear this rattling, so I went and put some more screws in.
340 00:31:21.750 --> 00:31:28.170 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: but it's it's it's been up 3 years now, and it's still standing. So that's that's something.
341 00:31:28.923 --> 00:31:34.769 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: Well, I just think, if it's not large enough, are there plans to increase its its volume?
342 00:31:35.280 --> 00:31:40.340 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: I suppose if you're not receiving the rain. There's no point you're trying to capture. More. If you can't get any more.
343 00:31:41.080 --> 00:31:43.739 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Well, I suppose if we put, you know.
344 00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:52.800 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: bigger area and more tanks, we would capture more rain, and it would take longer to consume it. But you're right when it's not raining. It doesn't matter how big it is.
345 00:31:52.800 --> 00:31:53.430 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: Yeah.
346 00:31:54.480 --> 00:32:02.130 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Yeah, but I would say it's been a success and blood about that.
347 00:32:02.130 --> 00:32:08.930 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: Yeah, no, I'm fascinated to know if the allotment holders are finding that they're producing more because you've got better water.
348 00:32:10.590 --> 00:32:17.400 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Well, funnily enough, we're gonna have a an allotment holders meeting in the future. I think that's a good question to ask them.
349 00:32:18.430 --> 00:32:19.170 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Yeah.
350 00:32:19.630 --> 00:32:21.735 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: Okay, you have a carry a question from Gary.
351 00:32:23.570 --> 00:32:25.520 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: Yeah, Henry, I was just wondering.
352 00:32:25.740 --> 00:32:37.930 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: casting my mind back to the start of the year, which seems like an age ago. Now it actually had horrendous rainfall, especially in this area. And I just wondered, did you actually ever have them all filled up at all at any time?
353 00:32:38.150 --> 00:32:42.579 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Oh, yes, yeah, we they certainly have have been full and overflow.
354 00:32:45.280 --> 00:32:51.550 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: And, as as I said, in going back a few years, it used to be lots of rain in the winter, and not so much in the summer
355 00:32:52.350 --> 00:32:58.969 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: recently averaged out over years. It typically is more evenly distributed throughout the year.
356 00:32:59.360 --> 00:33:01.890 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: But that certainly isn't the case this year. So
357 00:33:04.040 --> 00:33:11.430 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: yeah. And if you have too much rain, you have too much rain. I suppose you. We could have put another couple of tanks in and have more in store. But
358 00:33:14.880 --> 00:33:18.120 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: yeah, in hindsight. Maybe we'd have done that.
359 00:33:19.940 --> 00:33:24.570 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: Well, hopefully, yes, people will learn from your experiences.
360 00:33:25.160 --> 00:33:34.450 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: and and no is this, does the National Association or National Allotment Society give you indications of how much water you're going to need for your lot.
361 00:33:34.600 --> 00:33:37.781 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: It doesn't sound as if you've got any guidance. There.
362 00:33:40.060 --> 00:33:50.509 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: No, they probably do. I would imagine they've got some publication that talks about water supplies and water consumption. I've not actually looked for it.
363 00:33:51.660 --> 00:33:58.130 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: I was, to be honest, I'm an engineer by fashion. So I was more interested in the technical solution to the problem.
364 00:33:58.535 --> 00:33:58.940 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: Well.
365 00:33:58.940 --> 00:34:05.389 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Here he was. There's no water. Let's get some water, and I must admit I didn't think too hard about
366 00:34:05.790 --> 00:34:07.290 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: the requirements.
367 00:34:07.410 --> 00:34:08.170 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Water?
368 00:34:11.250 --> 00:34:12.710 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: So, yes.
369 00:34:12.850 --> 00:34:18.949 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: that's a there's a lesson there. Find out what it is your customer actually wants or needs before you actually.
370 00:34:19.489 --> 00:34:20.239 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: yeah.
371 00:34:22.050 --> 00:34:32.299 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: Right. Well, thank you very much. Let's see if anybody else has any questions. Andrew. Good afternoon. As the late arrival you got to throw in questions about something you've not seen yet.
372 00:34:32.690 --> 00:34:36.028 Andrew Clegg. Martock, Somerset: Yes, sorry to join you so late. I was
373 00:34:37.340 --> 00:34:47.359 Andrew Clegg. Martock, Somerset: busy with an application from to turn my village into a motorway service station.
374 00:34:49.215 --> 00:34:50.390 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: Right.
375 00:34:51.480 --> 00:34:54.829 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: Well, let me move to Gary. Then who's got his hand up? Please.
376 00:34:55.980 --> 00:35:00.119 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: Yeah, I saw that Andrew at the car gate, roundabout on the on the new thing.
377 00:35:02.040 --> 00:35:05.100 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: Yeah, Henry, I just also wanted to just check.
378 00:35:05.590 --> 00:35:08.389 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: I take it there's no kind of like
379 00:35:09.250 --> 00:35:17.830 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: rules or regulations about accessing the water. I just wonder is as it created any tensions at all with potentially people
380 00:35:18.280 --> 00:35:21.852 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: like getting more than their fair share, as it were, or something.
381 00:35:24.160 --> 00:35:33.319 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: I'm not aware of that. I've not had any complaints, I mean the clock in sort of manages. The office hasn't had any complaints
382 00:35:36.470 --> 00:35:46.270 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: there are probably anybody is anybody else who come and steal water. So I think oh.
383 00:35:46.900 --> 00:35:51.889 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: we do. We haven't got any rules. We haven't said you can only have 10 meters a day or anything like that.
384 00:35:53.090 --> 00:35:56.910 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: That's just up to common sense, I think. And and the allotment holders seem to
385 00:35:57.150 --> 00:36:02.130 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: seem to be okay about it and to.
386 00:36:03.570 --> 00:36:05.090 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: School is so popular.
387 00:36:06.670 --> 00:36:10.640 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Yeah, and we've got. We've got a waiting list as well we could. We could do with more. But
388 00:36:12.920 --> 00:36:16.809 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: that's that could be another project by a bit of land. Expand the allotment.
389 00:36:18.240 --> 00:36:20.288 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: There's another water harvester or 2.
390 00:36:20.630 --> 00:36:21.400 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: Yes.
391 00:36:22.120 --> 00:36:40.100 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: Well, thank you. Thank you very much for your time, Henry, and the the knowledge very useful. I've just been looking at the program to let people know what's coming up next week, and I found, rather to my horror, that I'm telling people how the great collaboration Knowledge base works.
392 00:36:40.420 --> 00:36:53.719 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: So I better get start seeing on it and see. Make sure it does work. So next week we're trying to get a demonstration of of what's in the knowledge base, how we get data into it and what
393 00:36:53.820 --> 00:36:56.810 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: I'd like everybody to do to improve
394 00:36:56.950 --> 00:36:59.750 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: the way we're supplying information to everyone.
395 00:37:00.100 --> 00:37:09.050 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: So that's what's coming up next week, and if we don't have any more questions for anyone today, I would thank Henry very much for your time.
396 00:37:09.505 --> 00:37:13.089 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration - Bembridge: And look forward to seeing you all in a week's time.
397 00:37:14.060 --> 00:37:16.249 tristram cary Winchfield Hants: Take care, everybody, and thank you. Thank you.
398 00:37:16.250 --> 00:37:18.810 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Very interesting. Thanks.
399 00:37:18.810 --> 00:37:20.220 Henry Clark - Peakirk PC: Good bye.
Last updated