Cistern Systems

With California being plagued by drought and local pollution, water management and thinking “Green” is a very important responsibility in the landscape industry.  With the uses of current technology, it is possible to take a very big step forward in helping the water saving movement. 

Although the use of cistern systems date all the way back to 4000 BC, they are still widely used in this current day and age.  Here is an example of one of our residences that has implemented a successful cistern irrigation system.  This system is a very technical, yet simple to follow, method of recycling water and using it to water the landscaping. 

The system starts with run-off water from sources like rain or landscape irrigation that is drained into an underground cistern tank. 

The tank is then connected to an electronic water leveler.  This home uses a Levolor Model K-1100 to measure the amount of water in the tank.  When the water level is below the certain height that is pre-set by the homeowner, the controller will then activate a domestic water source to fill the tank and reach the required level. 

 

When the water level is at the required height, a pump activates itself and takes water from the cistern tank and canals it through the irrigation system.  

 

This action is executed by an outdoor irrigation controller, in this case an Irritrol 6 Station Outdoor Controller (RD600-Ext-R).  The recycled water is now used to water the outdoor landscaping.

Systems like this can seem complex, but the benefits of being water savvy are infinite.  The hope is that through developing technology in perfecting these systems, recycling water can become the standard for the future.