Shared property / Cabin Water
How spring water reaches the seven cabins: through the manifold, into four storage tanks, and back out to the cabins.
If the old tank ran dry first, air in the cabin line can stop flow recovering straight away.
Close the front valve of the tank filling now (A2–D2) and open the new tank’s front valve.
Overflow only runs forward, 1 → 2 → 3 → 4, so tanks before the fill tank get no new water.
Open F1 and close G1 and G2, either side of the filter. Spring water then goes around the filter into the fill header, for example while the filter is serviced.
Unconfirmed How to service the filter itself.
Pick which tank fills and which supplies the cabins to see every valve’s position, or switch to the photo to find the valves on site.
Swipe the diagram sideways to see all seven sections.
A1A2B1B2C1C2D1D2E1F1G1G2
A–G are our labels, not marked on site. Tanks run 4 → 1 from left to right, the opposite of the filling order.
Tanks 1–4 fill in an overflow chain. Select a tank to find it on the manifold.
| Tank | Capacity | Height |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Big green | 1,500 gallons | Not recorded |
| 2 · Black | ~1,000 gallons | Not recorded |
| 3 · Pale green | 1,000 gallons | ~86 inches |
| 4 · Pale green | 1,000 gallons | ~86 inches |
Tank 2’s capacity and the 86-inch heights are approximate. Gallon type (US or Imperial) still needs confirming. Jeff · Sep 2026
The labels follow the manifold settings: tank 1 fills and tank 4 supplies the cabins, the usual setup. Each overflow only runs once its tank is full. Tank 4’s final overflow is piped to the ditch by the pumphouse. Diagram sizes are approximate. IMG_6740 · 00:53–01:58 Jeff · Sep 2026
Water turns over through the whole chain, and drawing from one tank at a time limits how much a leak on the cabin side can drain. That isn’t a guarantee: inflow, valve settings and where the leak is all matter.
Tank 1 is the largest: the dark green, 1,500-gallon tank. Tank 2 is black, wider and shorter, at about 1,000 gallons. Tanks 3 and 4 are pale green, each 1,000 gallons and about 86 inches high.
A monitor on the manifold turns water pressure into a height for the tank supplying the cabins. Change the supply tank and the reading follows it.
Pressure sensing replaced the earlier laser sensor and worked almost flawlessly over summer 2026, according to Jeff. Tucker is up to date on the Arduino programs. Extending monitoring to all tanks and the well is under discussion.
Unconfirmed Where to see the reading. The monitor itself has no screen.
On this stretch the white-striped pipe is cabin water. The unstriped pipe beside it is fire water.
Swipe sideways to follow the cabin inlet.
A local sketch, not a map of all seven cabins. IMG_6752 · 00:01–01:15
The tee takes a branch off the cabin line toward the cabin. A shutoff nearby serves two cabins.
The line to the cabin dips and rises. When a supply tank empties, air gets in, and changing tanks hasn’t always restored flow right away; past recoveries took hours of trial and error. Bleed valves at the capped tees have been suggested.
Unconfirmed A working vent and a repeatable way to clear the air.
The branch reduces to a smaller pipe just before the cabin. Replacing that short section with larger pipe, or adding a local tank and pump, have been suggested.
A cartridge filter sits under the cabin, separate from filter G at the manifold. The pipe continues from here into the cabin.
Unconfirmed How to service it.
Work down the list. It’s pulled together from the walkthroughs, not a tested procedure.
Seasonal draining, and the routine checks that keep leaks visible.
Tanks and pipes are drained before freezing weather. The newer ground-level drains carry the water down to a ditch, avoiding the flooding the old method caused. There is also a route for draining the well.
Unconfirmed Valve order, low points, and spring restart checks.
Twice a year, clear grass around the pipes, joints and valves so leaks can be seen. The lower connections under the manifold are compression fittings that loosen if the pipe is moved or twisted, so check those especially. Landscape fabric around the valve areas helps keep growth down.
The manifold uses a Twist II Clean Inline Filter, 1.5 inches. Jeff is arranging a replacement O-ring from CannonWater.
Unconfirmed The installed screen rating, service steps, and whether the posted flush note applies to G. The filter under the cabin is separate.
The two light-coloured tanks, 3 and 4, show more growth than the darker ones. Sunlight is the suspected cause; shading or painting them has been suggested.
Chlorine tablets are added to each tank weekly to limit algae growth. The product, tablet strength and dose still need recording; algae control does not establish drinking-water safety.
Where the water starts, before it reaches the manifold.
A natural spring slowly fills the well. The upper outlet is the overflow. A lower, submerged outlet (about 6–8 inches below the water at the time) feeds the tanks by gravity through the manifold.
The shared system does not provide potable water at the wellhead. Cabins have been advised to bring drinking water or use treatment at the cabin.
Doug and Bruce have cabin treatment systems, described as “biofilters”. Their reported water use is about 2 gallons for each gallon produced; Jeff notes that some systems can use up to 7. The equipment models and water-quality results still need recording.
Further along the supply pipe is an older drain, said to be left open in winter. The newer ground-level drains are under drains and upkeep.