Showing posts with label Cistern. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cistern. Show all posts
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Marina Cay & a Water Shortage
As we arrived in London and headed for Oxford, my parents woke up to a beautiful day in the BVI. Even though they hit the town the night before, with dinner at BarFly and the sounds of Da Tree Men (minus Michael) at The Elm in Cane Garden Bay, they were no worse for the wear and headed for a day on Marina Cay. And a beautiful one it was!
Little did my parents know what awaited them back at the house...an empty cistern. Thus began their true BVI adventure! Our neighbors Jonathan and Danielle had lived through their own water scare a few months prior and were able to assist.
The next day, a water truck found its way up Kingston Hill and its hose found its way through our house and into the cistern. Ten thousand gallons of water and $650 later, the cistern was full...but that doesn't necessarily mean the water was flowing! At least not yet.
Because the pump had continued to run until the discovery of the empty cistern, there had been some damage to the pipes. What to do now? My oh-so-resourceful parents remembered that our friend Tony who lives in our old house just down the hill is not only handy, but has experience with the mechanics of pumps and such. Within a few hours, Tony had the water running at Gecko Manor II!
He was most definitely the hero of this BVI adventure!
Little did my parents know what awaited them back at the house...an empty cistern. Thus began their true BVI adventure! Our neighbors Jonathan and Danielle had lived through their own water scare a few months prior and were able to assist.
The next day, a water truck found its way up Kingston Hill and its hose found its way through our house and into the cistern. Ten thousand gallons of water and $650 later, the cistern was full...but that doesn't necessarily mean the water was flowing! At least not yet.
Because the pump had continued to run until the discovery of the empty cistern, there had been some damage to the pipes. What to do now? My oh-so-resourceful parents remembered that our friend Tony who lives in our old house just down the hill is not only handy, but has experience with the mechanics of pumps and such. Within a few hours, Tony had the water running at Gecko Manor II!
He was most definitely the hero of this BVI adventure!
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Thursday, March 10, 2011
A Satirical Look at Water in the BVI
Living on an island like Tortola means that water is an issue... And by water, I mean the crystal clear stuff that likely flows freely from your nickel finish Kohler faucet, or that the warm soothing stream that sprays from your showerhead.
As I've blogged about before, there are essentially two sources of water: 1) town water provided by the Communications and Works Ministry via the Baugher's Bay desalination plant (pictured below) and 2) cistern water.
At our new house, we have the latter which means we are at the mercy of mother nature. If she rains, our cistern fills up and we have water. If it doesn't rain, we are at risk of using every last drop of our 10,000 gallon tank, which is stored underneath the house.
But not all residents have cisterns; most Road Town residents are completely reliant on the town water, which can be even more frustrating than a couple of weeks with no rain. Town water service is often disrupted for one reason or another.
One local columnist for the BVI Beacon took a closer look at the critical issue and what's being dubbed a "modern-day miracle." This is a must-read, especially if you like satire...
As I've blogged about before, there are essentially two sources of water: 1) town water provided by the Communications and Works Ministry via the Baugher's Bay desalination plant (pictured below) and 2) cistern water.
At our new house, we have the latter which means we are at the mercy of mother nature. If she rains, our cistern fills up and we have water. If it doesn't rain, we are at risk of using every last drop of our 10,000 gallon tank, which is stored underneath the house.
But not all residents have cisterns; most Road Town residents are completely reliant on the town water, which can be even more frustrating than a couple of weeks with no rain. Town water service is often disrupted for one reason or another.
One local columnist for the BVI Beacon took a closer look at the critical issue and what's being dubbed a "modern-day miracle." This is a must-read, especially if you like satire...
Friday, February 18, 2011
Morning Rainbow
We had hard rain on Tortola overnight.
And with our metal roof, the loud sound of the downpour was enough to wake us from our slumber. Combined with the bright light from the nearly full moon, it was hard to go back to sleep!
But getting out of bed this morning was easy, because this is what we saw right outside our window:
Here's another shot:
The water in the channel is extremely still, which is very different from the last several weeks.
Another benefit from the rain? Our cistern is likely about to overflow! Stored beneath our house, it holds 10,000 gallons of water which we use for everything around here (well, except drinking water!)
For a home this size, the cistern is pretty large, holding more water than the two of us would ever need in a month. The estimated use for one person is 2,000 gallons per month. Oh, that reminds me...I should go start the dishwasher!
And with our metal roof, the loud sound of the downpour was enough to wake us from our slumber. Combined with the bright light from the nearly full moon, it was hard to go back to sleep!
But getting out of bed this morning was easy, because this is what we saw right outside our window:
Here's another shot:
Another benefit from the rain? Our cistern is likely about to overflow! Stored beneath our house, it holds 10,000 gallons of water which we use for everything around here (well, except drinking water!)
For a home this size, the cistern is pretty large, holding more water than the two of us would ever need in a month. The estimated use for one person is 2,000 gallons per month. Oh, that reminds me...I should go start the dishwasher!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Day 278: Never Good...
It's never a good thing when you see this truck in your driveway...
This truck (and three workers) came to fill up our cistern on Day 278. This is the first time this has ever happened. A water shortage with no end in sight!
Our water set-up is a bit complicated...
We have both town water and cistern water. We primarily use town water, but if there is a disruption in service we switch over to the cistern that holds thousands and thousands of gallons of rain water. We have no idea when the switch occurs, it just does.
Apparently we had been on the cistern for a week or so before Hurricane Earl reached us. And Hurricane Earl was more of a wind event, with winds blowing as many as 115 miles per hour! Not necessarily prime conditions for collecting water.
And the adventure continues...
Our water set-up is a bit complicated...
We have both town water and cistern water. We primarily use town water, but if there is a disruption in service we switch over to the cistern that holds thousands and thousands of gallons of rain water. We have no idea when the switch occurs, it just does.
Apparently we had been on the cistern for a week or so before Hurricane Earl reached us. And Hurricane Earl was more of a wind event, with winds blowing as many as 115 miles per hour! Not necessarily prime conditions for collecting water.
And the adventure continues...
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