Bank Holiday Monday 8 May 2023
At some point this afternoon the water in our main outdoor tank from the spring was just below the outlet pipe, meaning no water going into the house to fill up the water tanks. For a while, the water that was going in was muddy. It has rained pretty much all day, which is good for water levels, but I haven’t been back to the tank to see if enough water is now trickling in to have at least covered the outlet pipe. I imagine the tanks in the house are pretty much full so we sort of have a few days’ leeway.
However, Mitch has been round. I showed him the spring up in the forest and stayed while he opened and cleared the spring of sediment and roots. I had absolutely no idea what to expect when he lifted the manhole cover of the spring. I don’t think seeing a pool of muddy water was what I had in mind though. It seems that the spring slowly rises up through rocks and a bit of colander-like filter across the mouth of the pipe and then is drawn down through a pipe, which goes down the hill to fill up our tank. The top of the water level was covered with a layer of what looked like sediment-laden woven roots, kind of like a plug of hair in a bath. He then scooped out handfuls of sediment and cleared a few other bits and pieces. I’m sure there was nothing I could have done to help but I did feel a bit useless, sitting in the rain above the spring ‘supervising’. Using a pump we’d borrowed from our neighbour, we (he) got rid of some of the muddy water and gave it a bit of a clean before pumping water down the pipe to try to clear it.
Mitch then pumped out some sediment from our tank, cleared a blockage, got even more wet from airlocked bursts of water overactivity and seems to have enabled a steady trickle into the tank. That was the last I saw, about four hours ago, a steady, clean trickle of water, emphasis on the ‘trickle’. I haven’t used any water in the house since as I’m worried about air locks. Chris has been in Edinburgh today. I’m not sure which of us will feel more inclined to go out in the misty rain to check the water level in the tank and fill up three twelve-litre buckets of water from the hot tub, which is now our reserve water tank, for toilet-flushing.
Yesterday, Chris, Sam and I visited St Mary’s Loch and St Mary’s Kirkyard, then to Ettrick Kirkyard. All those areas have become favourite places to visit and places which never fail to encourage quiet reflection and a feeling of peace.
I am driving down to Lewisham tomorrow and have already packed the car with the laundry that we haven’t been able to wash due to concerns about water consumption. Long way to travel to wash laundry.
I feel bad thinking this, but I doubt it’s any surprise that I’m looking forward to being in the flat in London and it being warm and water being on tap. I do wonder if it will make me less wasteful of water, though I have got my heart set on a long, hot bath tomorrow night.