From Peter CB: 
Hi all,
I went to Shang on Tuesday to prepare and meet the contractor for the Spring/Water restoration.
Summary of Spring Restoration Project

• I asked the two men to verify that surface run off above the Spring bypassed the Spring effluence and did not contaminate our water source. They crawled through very thick brush and burn rubble to verify that the original waterway is open.
• Following the pipe, the Spring was uncovered to expose the previous system. I took lots of photos and made notes for them. The project was very successful in cleaning, washing and replacing in kind the previous system.
• We did add a small cement berm to dam water to fill above the drainpipe and capture Spring water.
• Additional gravel was added above to “dome” the area.
• A long fibrous root was pulled from the slotted 1 ¼” PVC pipe that was the problem. The ferns must be kept off the top of the Spring to prevent a reoccurrence.  

So, pipe, gravel, two layers Visqueen 6 mil, gravel, Visqueen, gravel and a cover of larger stone, gravel and even the fire clay bricks which I had not counted on.

I worked on the Pump House plumbing replacing the failed check valve and the fittings both sides of the solar pump. By the 2:00 pm all was done, and valves were opened to flush our piping of silt at sediment tank and line to storage. I also insulated the 1 ½” schedule 80 riser with peal and stick aluminum tape for fire protection. Before I left on Thursday, I closed the valves and started the solar pump, all working fine.

I also got the name of a contractor for the beam repair, so that information will follow when the next phase of this contract is started.
Note: A family member should always be present when a contractor is working. It facilitates questions and gives efficiency to our needs.
It was a productive visit, and I did many other things including my usual meals with Allan and clean up around house and woodshed. New figs are budding along with patio rose. I had two visits from Jake who showed me his video from five wildlife cameras set up on his property.
FYI there is more going on at night than in the day. I saw foxes, bobcats, bucks and several mountain lions.
​Jake also cleared our upper roads of seven large trees and gave me some pruning loppers and new mouse traps as I had given him one of ours the prior visit. We have a very good neighbor.
See photos and videos below. 
Peter C.B.
P. S.  Adding more photos and video for complete overview of project.  Clearing around the spring should be added to our annual maintenance to prevent future interference. 

Click on photo for caption description.