The summer is a time when many home owners start thinking about their yard and garden, and keeping them looking fresh. A couple of Yorkton neighbors say they have a solution to get the water needed in a "green way".
Mark Skowronski and Brett Franklin have installed systems to connect their sump pumps to outdoor tanks, and they use that water for their lawns, plants and gardens.
Skowronski has had his in place for two years, and he says it began when he was realizing how much water was going down the drain. He said that some high water bills also demonstrated just how much water was being used for yard maintenance, and since so much water was being pumped out of the house, it made sense to figure out how to take advantage of it.
"It's never a good thing to waste water, and if we weren't doing this we would be using the city's water to water our plants," he points out.
The system will collect about 300 gallons of water daily, Franklin estimates. The tank holds 150 gallons and he drains it twice a day. The amount of water would vary in different areas of the city.
"You really find out how much you use for the trees and shrubs when you see it going down in the tank," Skowronski adds.
Franklin and Skowronski estimate that the system would cost around $400-500, depending on how complicated the owner wanted to get. They note that all of the parts are easily available locally, whether it's the pumps or the tanks.
Another advantage of the system is that it takes a large amount of water out of the sewer system, putting it to use elsewhere. Franklin suggests that the more people who use a similar system in their own homes, the better off it is for the city, especially in the situation of a storm, where a lot of water is accumulating at once.
"In the case of the flood, where everyone is putting water down the drain and there's already a strain on the system, we now have a way to discharge it right out of the house. You're helping," Franklin says.
Skowronski notes that adding a half cup of bleach to a 150 gallon tank can keep mold and algae in check, something which he had a problem with when he first installed his unit.
The neighbors believe this is something more homeowners in Yorkton should look into, as the impact of getting so much water out of the system could be substantial.
