The Avoca Project

The AvocaProject will demonstrate water self-sufficiency by taking a whole of water cycle approach. A key component of this approach is the installation of a modular 90,000 litre underground water storage system with an aural interface. This has been funded by a Federal Government Community Water Grant (see press release).

The modular underground water storage system is called the Atlantis System. The main advantages of the Atlantis system are that land surface remains available, water is filtered before it is stored, and the installation can accommodate the recycling opportunities of infiltration, and recycling in one system.

Aural interface: Both the flow and water levels will be monitored aurally by sensors at 3 points. Access shafts for microphones will be placed at the point of overflow, the centre and at the inlet.

Friday the 9th March 2007 – follow the photos down

As the morning light filtered through the dust, Wayne Shay stripped the top soil away from the site of the tank with his excavator.

Looking east over tank site

Wayne then dug an exploratory hole about 3.5m to find what lay underneath. We found that the old river bed was about 1.2m below the ground level. This river bed consisted mainly of quartz gravels and sand and was damp. A taste test by land artist, Mel Ogden, revealed no evidence of salt. We speculated that the flecks and sparkles in the sand may have been gold and imagined the headline “Arts Project Turns into a Gold Mine.’ We intend to have a metal detector on hand when the hole is dug.

The plan is to take delivery of the system during the week beginning the 19th March.

Possums pose a challenge

The possums that have occupied the house, poo on the roof of the house and fill the gutters. This has the potential to impact on the quality of the stored water as it will run off the roof. This poses an interesting challenge for the Project.

It would appear that there is no magic spray or device that you can use to make possums go away. Some people try to sell predator urine, such as fox urine to get rid of possums, but this is reported not to work. There are also ultrasonic sound emitters. Some old wives tales recommend the use of mothballs or ammonia-soaked rags. It would seem that trapping and removal is the only solution.

View over the site

19th March 2007

Components arrive

9 pallets – flat packed

Lyndal Jones begins to assemble the modules – like leggo

Detail of the structure of the modules

20th March 2007

260 modules in matrix plastic give the tank structure

The hole is marked out for excavation

21st March 2007

Wayne Shay prepares to dig

Excavation begins

We find the river bed and an old brick lined well is revealed

The hole nears completion

The bottom of the hole is raked smooth

The bottom is lined with blue dust

Sheets of the plastic lining and geotextile fabric are rolled out

The first boxes go in

The 260 box modules are placed in a grid 10 across and 26 down

Matt and Roy secure the sheets of geotextile

The package is completely wrapped then taped

The plastic is also folded over, access pipes attached, and the edges filled with blue dust

The whole tank is covered in blue dust

The tank is then covered with soil

All done except for a little raking

The filtration system is installed

Tricia and Roy after the long day

Any Questions?

Simon Pockley