Eco Trick #2 Water Channelling System

By urban farmer -

Well Planned Plot

#PlantingPlotConsiderations #80%RecycledParts

Note: all the materials used except the gutters and mounting brackets are all from recycled/up-cycled materials. 

For all planting sites, natural elements like sunlight, natural landscape and terrain as well as winds strength and directions should be the most fundamental factors to consider above everything else.

These are usually beyond our control. Even if it is possible to change, it will cost lots of money and effort. Not to mention the possible destructions to environment if we force feed our dreams by extensively altering a natural space. 

After you managed to channel your ground water well, effort still needs to be put in to ensure your roof water does not flow back to your planting plots and floods your plants during heavy downpours.

Hence gutters' primary function is usually for water channeling. It can however also be used to help collect some water for basic washing or for a mini fish pond.


The water from the gutter is channeled into a 120L blue barrel. The water in the barrel will flow into a fibre glass fish tank during heavy downpour. A tap is attached to the base of the barrel for ease of accessing to the collected clean water for washing. The water in the fish pond is used for targeted plants irrigations.


Water from the fish tank will overflow into the drainage system during heavy downpour to prevent fishes from flooding away.

Ease of Maintenance

#BuiltToSustain #EasyToBuildToughToUpkeep
The regular debris clearing of the gutter is very important to avoid stagnant water and possible Aedes mosquitoes breeding. Design considerations are therefore put in place to ensure our biweekly clearing is as easy and effortless as possible. 


A loosely coupled pipe is used for the gutter output. It sits on a pipe reducer that rest on a acrylic sheet with a circular hole. The whole assembly then rest on the blue barrel with a mosquito net cover over it. All these allow easy clearing of debris flowed down from the roof/along the gutter.


The loosely coupled pipe as well as the reducer can be easily lifted, debris cleared, and netting washed and replaced as shown above.

The Backstage Heros/Heroines

#RecyclingTakesEffort #BehindTheScene


The big fiber tank is recycled too. It was found abandoned, we picked it up and gave it a good wash and it is ready to go. The pictures above show the before and after. 

The picture below is the behind-the-scene cleaning. Was told the tank was left in the wild for last 15 to 20 years! No wonder it took us hours to get it all scrubbed and cleaned, years of accumulated dirt and algae.



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Location: Singapore

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