Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Water, Water everywhere, except here.


A couple of weeks ago I mentioned our wonderful water source. I often show visitors where we get our delicious sweet water for our home.
It comes from a mountain spring at San Gregorio.
I check our water supply often sometimes, I enjoy hearing the rush as it exits the float valve and hits the top of the water level in our 1500 gallon tank.

Sunday during my check I noticed not a sound. Not a drop.
Where did my precious water go?

I had just taken my recent visitors to the site, they saw the falls, they heard the rush, they observed the local women washing their clothes in the communal basin, they saw the magic!
The magic has gone.

Tankfully our tank had been topped off on Saturday, and we have about 5 days of supply, as long as we don't go crazy.

Today is day 3, I let the dishes pile up a tad.
I now go outside and mark my territory up the hill, I enjoy that for some ritual reason.
My wife isn't as pioneering as me.

We called the water company and the said that we were not the only ones, seems that a good majority of Patzcuaro is dry also. That makes me feel better. I won't suffer alone.
They said that they had a major problem and that they were working on it.
Working on it can mean a lot of things.
I've seen what working on it means before.

We have had dry spells before, when that happens we have to hire a big truck to bring over water they get from a ground well next to the lake.

It's not great water, but any water is good water! And it's expensive.

I'm thinking of investing in a large series of cisterns in the next year or so. I look at the run off from my roof and wish that I could save that water. The plants wish that also.

It would be wise, since our next shortage on the planet is going to be water.

Cool, clear Water!........Water.... The sons of the pioneers where right!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is that town water? How far away is San G?
this is good info for those of us who plan to live in patzcuaro. I'll definitely plan for those cisterns when we build. thanx!
-ac-

Tancho said...

Patzcuaro gets it water from multiple sources. San Gregorio is the spring that feeds Los Tanques and the other colonias on the east side of town. Depending on where you are, there are cross feeds. In town water is erratic at times, some times during the year, it is available only 3 days a week. Most households do not use water in the way Americans have become use to, so a 250 liter tank will hold a family for several days. It would be prudent to use conservation and wise to provide your own storage. A household without water is not too comfortable. San Gregorio is on the way to Tacambaro about 10 km east of Opopeo, in the mountains.

Anonymous said...

cool. Do you have to treat the water from this source or is it potable as is? Do you use a whole house filtration system?
keep on posting!
-ac-

Tancho said...

The water is excellent, and we had it tested awhile ago and found it actually perfect. We had an ozone treatment system to appease our guests but it has since quit because of a lightning strike, and I have no plans to repair it. I had a sediment filter into the tank but it kept getting blocked. I have since removed it and all I notice is fine sand on the bottom of the tank. I plan to redue the whole system next year, adding a solar powered pump, to lift the water into my storage tanks, thereby saving the CFI charges. I also think I will add additional storage to collect the rain water for use in my garden. Diverting the rain water will be fairly inexpensive other than the storage. I may put in a holding pond, just depends on how extensive I want to make to this project.

Tancho said...

Oh as an update, I looked yesterday mid day on my first holding tank was full again! They actually finished the repairs as promised in Two + days.

Anonymous said...

Well, that kind of belies the belief that you can't drink the water anywhere in Mexico.
2+ days. Wow. Un milagro!
-ac-