Thursday, June 28, 2007

Bad Dreams are Made of This...

Thanks for all the sympathy you've all given me via comments and emails. That really helps a lot!

So for a quick update...

It seems that while the city is pretty low on water at the moment and many areas are being rationed, for our house even when there is water in the area we are not getting it pumped to the tanks on the roof. Therefor our tanks have run dry. Of course, I have been telling the handymen that the pump has not been working for several weeks, but they don't take me seriously, being a woman and all. "The pump works fine" say the men. Ok, and there is water in the area even if it is at 3 AM and Peter was told to get up out of bed and to go press that *&^#@^# red button on the pump. So their solution??? It's twofold. A nice big water TRUCK just came and filled up the tanks with a hose. And secondly, someone will come and install ANOTHER water tank in the garage. Great. Then we'll have 6. Why doesn't anyone figure out exactly why the pump isn't doing its job? I'm tempted to start fibbing and claim to be a civil engineer with a zillion degrees.

And further... when the tank is filled with water, we get a constant drip under the kitchen sink. Now I'm waiting for the handyman to come back to fix it.

We've been planning to leave tonight for a long weekend trip to visit friends in Italy. We'll be taking the ferry like we did last November. This morning I was looking over the tickets which we've already paid for and what do you know-- someone issued our return trip for the wrong date. But naturally no one can fix it. Let's see what happens when we try to deal with it at the docks in Italy next week. *Sigh*

But at least we now have water and the laundry is finally getting done. And showers. And toilet flushing. And washing dishes. And watering the garden.

Can I learn something from the experience? You bet. Water is precious and we must do everything we can to protect its source- dear old Mother Earth.

5 comments:

christina said...

Oh wow, so sorry you have to go through all this. Seems like there must be a simpler, quicker solution but I guess that's the way things work.

Hope you can still enjoy your trip!

Ginnie Hart said...

You are so right about our precious Water and needing to do everything to preserve it!

And remember what I said about Mercury Retrograde, till July 9th. Pay special attention to transportation and communication (computer!) issues! UGH.

Anonymous said...

Kim,

I am a licensed professional engineer, and can consult to your local authority on water systems. I can also assess your system for robustness, and can make recommendations to your builder.

My rates are reasonable, and negotiable.

Sorry you are having such trials in your new home. They will pass, but are no fun in the fixing.

Warmly,

Larry

CanadianSwiss said...

I hope that you're enjoying your trip with all that's been going on lately. You could use some relaxing after all that.

As for the return ticket, I'm sure it will all work out.

Anonymous said...

I trust the water is all sorted by now. It must have been quite puzzling to live in a place with residential water tanks, but things are bone dry. It must be that the city has been rationing for quite some time. Did they keep mum about it or were you (and your neighbors) tuned out from the local news?

Traditionally, I avoid most local news which, on the whole, makes my life better even if I do miss out on the occasional something or other.

I'm reminded of when the mayor of Brasov authorized the water company to cut water throughout the city in the dead heat of summer in order to make some "quick repairs" which could have been scheduled for some other less hot time. I was caught flat-footed when I awoke to a dry sink and non-flushable toilet. And it went on for a full five days in the peak of summer!

Clearly, I (and everyone else) spent a bundle of money on those plastic 5-litre bottles of water. After a couple days, they were becoming scarce, too. Little stores everywhere made a pretty penny that week.

Since that time, it's been my standing policy to keep those 5-litre bottles, fill them with tap water, and store them on my balcony. The next time some unexpected water outage comes, I'll be able to flush during the week.

(Hope you enjoyed Italy. Hope you got back. Heh. Love the new do in the photo!)