The half footpath/half stream behind the house is 100% stream at the moment.

@suearcher @JeniParsons @Maker_of_Things when we get around to adding the IBCs it will be a bit easier. I can direct the overflow to the veg patch with pipe as Jeni suggests. It’s this ‘tidy’ corner that is giving me a headache. It needs to be functional and aesthetically pleasing. There’s a vague Japanese theme to it (or was at one point) so a rain chain would be good if I could carry the water overhead to it.

@suearcher @JeniParsons @Maker_of_Things auto correct did initially change it to rain storm. Taking the piss I thought.

@suearcher @helenclayton @Maker_of_Things isn’t it just! Some drier weather in the forecast for this week I believe

@JeniParsons @suearcher @Maker_of_Things the ground here is the most saturated it’s been since we’ve been here. I can’t imagine our soakaway system is working too well.

@helenclayton @suearcher @JeniParsons

This is the pipe bridge I designed and installed at the allotment.

Due to the large roof area of the building, and the lack of fall from the end of the gutter the first long length of bridge pipe, along the green fence, I ran in 110mm soil pipe as a buffer. It can fill and hold a lot more water during a heavy storm.
You can see the smaller 40mm pipe tee'd off from it, and running along the wooden bridge support.

There was minimal fall to get the bridge to move water 12 metres while staying above head height. It could then have a greater fall to an IBC by the polytunnel.

To speed up access to the water I added a blue barrel, connected at the bottom, to the IBC and so it would always be at the same level. Watering cans could then be dip filled instead of using a tap.

@Maker_of_Things @suearcher @JeniParsons great, thank you.

@Maker_of_Things @helenclayton @suearcher wow! Impressive

@JeniParsons @Maker_of_Things @helenclayton

At the new community garden, they got some workers in to design and build a pipe bridge as part of a corporate scheme from a building company.

And then Alfred fixed all the things that were wrong with it.....

@JeniParsons @helenclayton @suearcher
Thank you.

At the Community Forest Garden there is another pipe bridge.
I wanted to design and install that as a volunteer, but a contractor for the water utilities said their engineer would do it.

They ran it in unsupported 3 metre lengths of gutter, and had to add more supports as it sagged. Then last winter the gutter sagged more and flipped over out of the brackets.

I have done a partial repair and will need to replace the whole thing another time, but done properly!

@JeniParsons @suearcher @helenclayton
French drain, since you already have gravel on the surface?

@HighlandLawyer @JeniParsons @suearcher there’s weed membrane underneath and tree roots but I was considering it.

@suearcher @JeniParsons @helenclayton
Where the feed pipe meets the top of the IBC I added a kitchen sieve to catch any leaves that and debris that gets past the leaf grids in the gutters.
The IBC was painted and then wrapped in black pallet wrap to keep it dark and reduce algae growth

When we cladded it, I made a lift up hatch for cleaning the sieve.

@Maker_of_Things @suearcher @helenclayton ingenious

@JeniParsons @suearcher @helenclayton
I do love doing these kinds of little jobs.

@helenclayton This is how I'd imagine having a stream at the end of my property, albeit not flooding the path . We nearly bought something like that, when we were first looking, without the path to worry about, but were a little concerned about the potential for flooding. Just as well we were, and didn't buy, because the place got flooded several times in the years since with the heavier rainfall

@suearcher @helenclayton

my head is now thinking mill ponds, leat system from the nearby stream ... the greenhouse becomes a fortified manor or monastery and sorry i'll get me coat

@helenclayton oh wow