Efficient way of getting the silt out of my water line.

[Warnerguy]

So, I'm very new to this community, but after my initial search, nobody has covered this topic.  None that I can tell anyway.

I have a water easement about 1/4 mile from my home where I have a pond that is about 8' in diameter and about 8 inches deep when free flowing.  This pond isn't lined or anything.  It has a 3 inch pvc pipe that goes through the dam.  On the pond side, the pipe tees and then has two elbows that give it some height and some natural silt filtering.  From there it feeds into a Coleman cooler with a perforated lid that has a 3/4 inch PVC pipe that runs down the hill to two canister filters at my home that need to be replaced every week or two because of silt.

I am thinking of placing a 500-gallon cistern in line to filter more of the silt out of the line before it hits the canister filters.  I have also read up about Hydrocyclone filters that I have considered putting in line before the cistern.  So here are my questions.

1) Does anyone in the US know where I might get a hydrocyclone filter?

2) Is a 500 gallon cistern too big for a simple sediment filter?

3) Is there something better I could be doing at the source (pond) to prevent sediment from entering the line?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[bob g]

if it were me, i would build up a sand filter out of a "clean" food grade plastic
55 gallon drum with a removable lid.

a sand filter could easily take care of the silt and greatly increase the life span of
the final filters.

if you build up two such filters you can switch between them when one is out for service,  back flushing and removal and replacement of the top inch or two of the sand in the barrel.

sand filters are very old school, however they are also very effective. while they require a bit of labor to service them, its not a big deal in my opinion,,, the price of the filter media certainly is right.

bob g

[thirteen]

I had a father in-law that had a similar problem with his water. I helped him build a trough about 16 ft long and 12 inches deep and 20 in wide just below his water source. We filled it with small washed rock 1/4 to 5/8 in. We put the rock in around 8-9 in deep and then let the water run from one end to the other with the trough about 1-2 % slope. This was mounted on the ground with stack  to hold it in place . As the silt filled the rock it would just go over the silted rock and get to the cleaner rock. He had a filter just inside the house and you could see if the rocks were gett filled with silt by the sediment in the filter. He would take his little gas pump and then stir and wash the rocks. He did this about three times a year. We also built a cover over top that one person could lift off and check things or work on the system. He also used his small pump to back flush the system and this would help clean anything in the pipes. He also put a small filter just for his washing machine.  Just an idea to play with or toss. Thirteen

[nick1234]

i think its time to re dig the pond back to its original depth  maybe 3or 4 ft the silt has no more room to settle and is going down the pipe 

[dnix71]

Drinking surface water isn't the best choice. Even a shallow hand dug / pointed well would give cleaner water. Lots of nasties can hide from disinfectants in sediment.

[Warnerguy]

This water is for everything but drinking.  We use bottled water for that.

[thirteen]

My son gave me a Berkey water filter for my birthday. It works really good with very little up keep. It is good for up to 3000 gallons or more then you can either change the filters or clean them. My spring water is clean with no silt floating in it, but this might help with the bottled water price tag. I will be totally off grid and do carry a backup supply of bottled water. Just an idea.

[thirteen]

Just wondering what you decided to do. As a side point the silt might work for a garden. Here you could get your water tested for $5 but that was 5 years ago. It might be worth the cost just for peace of mind. My former father in-laws system was total gravity system. 120ft est fall and a small spring that would disappear back into the ground in about 50 ft.   My spring water source will need to be fenced for we have free range cattle that come through about twice a year. 75 ft by 125 ft.

[Warnerguy]

I haven't implemented my solution yet, but I plan to post pics when I do.  I think I need to dig it down a couple of feet and probably install a 8 in pipe with a cap to easily remove silt as a drain/sluice-gate.

[spinningmagnets]

I agree with Bob G, a sand filter in a 55-gallon drum.

I recently got a job at a water plant in a small town (avg 4-million gallons a day), and thats what we use. Pea gravel and sand, during the backflush out to the de-silting pond, the heavier gravel naturally stays in the bottom half. We bubble air from the bottom up to ensure that the impacted sand is completely broken up before introducing water flow. We start water flow from the bottom up, shut off air, and increase water flow to the point that the sand is tumbling as high as possible, but not so high that it leaves the container with the silt. When the water appears clear, we stop.

Normal flow is (of course) from the top down.