Rain, beautiful rain…
Occasionally, the weather will be nice to you, at least here above Sulfur Creek. It has been dry this winter. The months when we usually get our most rain were sunny and overly warm. We were concerned about the water supply.
Several years ago, our well went dry and the estimates to drop it down to Glen Rose almost gave John a heart attack. So, we started pumping out of the part of Barton Creek we own, but that was not dependable. We’re a ways up the creek and the flow is low unless it is raining. So, John investigated going with rainwater collection. We were in need of a new roof and putting gutters on came within the insurance check. As usual, the estimates from water system installers were not helpful. John did it himself. We ended up with eight, 2,500-gallon tanks and a lot of pipes.
The water is wonderful. I went from using four different chemicals to keep the dishes from being coated with calcium scum to one. The glasses shine they are so clean. The water tastes wonderful. However, it is not just catch and use.
At the beginning of each month, John changes the filters. We have three, a fiber filer, activated charcoal, and a final fine filter for pollen. To cut down on what ends up in the tanks, we have two drop lines. The are long 2-inch pipes attached with a T open to the flow of water. They catch any debris as the water starts flowing and keep most of the gunk out of the tanks. To deal with what doesn’t get caught, we have the three filters. After the water is filtered, it travels through a UV purification light. In order to have the water flow in the house you also have to have a pressure system of some kind.
In other words, a rainwater collection system needs maintenance.
Many of our neighbors have wells but the water is full of minerals and scant. When our well was new, over 50 years ago, the water rose almost to the top of the newly drilled well. The well driller, an elderly man, said he would have recommended we cap it off because of the mineral levels, but there was just so much of it. Over the years, more neighbors drilled down to the aquifer and the more straws, the less to drink. Most of these neighbors have large tanks to collect the water from their well, run it through a salt softening system, and drink bottled water from town. Water from a salt system is not healthy.
Anyway, my prayers and sympathies go out to the many people impacted by this mass of tropical moisture from the recent hurricane in the Bay of Campeche, especially along the Guadlupe River. Twelve inches of rain in two hours in the middle of the night is not something you can plan for. It just happens. What the remnant of that storm is dropping around here on Sulfur Creek, well, it is very welcome.
We’ve got water for about six months now.
July 5–The tragedy unfolds along the Guadalupe, the San Gabriel, the Llano, the Colorado, walls of water hit in the early morning before dawn. They knew it was going to rain, but they did not expect this. Holiday campers along the rivers, small girls entrusted to a long-established camp, small towns and cities getting ready for the holiday, all crushed. But we cannot mention the excess of CO2 from burning coal, there is no such thing as climate change. This kind of storm becomes the new normal.
