JoceAndChris
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- Messages
- 6,606
- Location
- Lincolnshire
I'm quite scared about this summer, as it promises to be hot and dry, and the rainwater has just run out. This means we are now on maximum water saving red alert, washing must stop and we might even have to resort to paper plates and takewaways until it rains heavily. Anyone know where I can get my hands on a few hundred gallons of water?
The cottage has 2 systems: wellwater and rainwater, both untreated, both insufficient in their quantity for modern living. (I have come to the conclusion previous inhabitants did not prioritise washing or cleaning and did not run appliances). The water is pumped into tanks in the attic and you can flick a switch between the two systems if one runs out. The well water is suitable for drinking and cooking: I hammer this supply as I've plumbed the washing machine and dishwasher into it as well. We bathe and wash in rainwater. In the bathroom sink are 3 taps, a well tap for cleaning your teeth and 2 rain ones, hot and cold, for washing- woe betide if you get these muddled. The well water is delicious but bubbles up unpredictably and intermittently from a natural aquifer.
One condition of sale was that the previous owner would enable us to get connected to mains by digging a trench and laying a pipe downhill to our nearest supply (about 1/2 a mile away). We held back 2 grand until he did this, he dragged his heels, but eventually it was finished, bar connection. He presented us with the trench, the pipe, and said all we'd need to do would be get Anglian Water to make the connection. We handed over the 2 grand, and he went to France. Our neighbour thinks it was deliberate trickery on the part of the previous owner, but as I've mentioned elsewhere I don't want to fall out with him, and really, it was our own stupid fault for handing over the money without any paperwork from Anglian Water stating that this supply would be OK.
Anglian Water turned up eventually to check it out and said there was no way we'd have sufficient pressure to get the water up the hill without building a pumping station in that cul de sac where the trench emerges from out of the bushes. But it's not our land. They had no further suggestions, other than we dig another trench, this time a mile long, in the opposite direction to another mains point in an outlying village.
These are our options as we see them:
1) Dig another trench, lay another pipe.
2) Dig a bore hole down to another natural aquifer and create another well.
3) Try to buy a small section of land down the hill to build a pumping station.
4) Give up all hopes of cleanliness, drink wine, and eat windfalls.
If you have any consoling words of advice I'd be so happy to hear them, I'd wanted to have a huge scrub through today: insects are more prolific then ever and I'm finding fleas.
The cottage has 2 systems: wellwater and rainwater, both untreated, both insufficient in their quantity for modern living. (I have come to the conclusion previous inhabitants did not prioritise washing or cleaning and did not run appliances). The water is pumped into tanks in the attic and you can flick a switch between the two systems if one runs out. The well water is suitable for drinking and cooking: I hammer this supply as I've plumbed the washing machine and dishwasher into it as well. We bathe and wash in rainwater. In the bathroom sink are 3 taps, a well tap for cleaning your teeth and 2 rain ones, hot and cold, for washing- woe betide if you get these muddled. The well water is delicious but bubbles up unpredictably and intermittently from a natural aquifer.
One condition of sale was that the previous owner would enable us to get connected to mains by digging a trench and laying a pipe downhill to our nearest supply (about 1/2 a mile away). We held back 2 grand until he did this, he dragged his heels, but eventually it was finished, bar connection. He presented us with the trench, the pipe, and said all we'd need to do would be get Anglian Water to make the connection. We handed over the 2 grand, and he went to France. Our neighbour thinks it was deliberate trickery on the part of the previous owner, but as I've mentioned elsewhere I don't want to fall out with him, and really, it was our own stupid fault for handing over the money without any paperwork from Anglian Water stating that this supply would be OK.
Anglian Water turned up eventually to check it out and said there was no way we'd have sufficient pressure to get the water up the hill without building a pumping station in that cul de sac where the trench emerges from out of the bushes. But it's not our land. They had no further suggestions, other than we dig another trench, this time a mile long, in the opposite direction to another mains point in an outlying village.
These are our options as we see them:
1) Dig another trench, lay another pipe.
2) Dig a bore hole down to another natural aquifer and create another well.
3) Try to buy a small section of land down the hill to build a pumping station.
4) Give up all hopes of cleanliness, drink wine, and eat windfalls.
If you have any consoling words of advice I'd be so happy to hear them, I'd wanted to have a huge scrub through today: insects are more prolific then ever and I'm finding fleas.
