Water Water Everywhere!

'Water Water everywhere 
And all the boards did shrink
Water, water everywhere
Except the bath and sink.'

(Apologies to Samuel Taylor Coleridge and 'The Rime of The Ancient Mariner')

We have had RAIN!! Last week we had a humdinger of a storm with lightning and thunder, our roads ran like rivers, ducks were swimming in the puddles, and the wind blew the rain sideways, so much so, it was knocking on the front door! It also managed to find a gap in the chimney and splashed onto the top of our little stove! It didn't do much to clean the windows though, but it did wash a lot of bird poopies off the walls and the roof..................and it filled our two rain tanks!

The smaller of the two tanks.

I have mentioned our tanks before I think, we have one of 2500 litres and one of 5000 litres and these catch the rain off the roof. A week ago they were almost empty, so you can work out the volume of water that fell in one go! We had 15 mm in about 10 minutes and the tanks were actually overflowing.
Just as well as it turned out.

There is the reservoir on the skyline! And our rain gauge!

Because on Wednesday morning we woke to empty taps and loos that didn't flush! No water!
Our reservoir is on the top of the hill behind the village, we can see it from our house. It is cleverly disguised to look like a little cottage with stone cladding and a tin roof. Next to it is a 'windmill' that is in reality a mobile phone tower, but looks much more in keeping with the Weskus!

A close-up of our reservoir and mobile phone tower.

Our reservoir is filled from the main one in Vredenburg, and every now and then we do have a glitch when a pipe bursts or someone cuts through a cable or something, so it's not the first time we have had this problem. So, onto the council to find out what exactly happened and how long we would be waterless! By now we had neighbours popping in with a variety of water-holding items, from watering cans to saucepans! Because.....we had water!

Depending on who you spoke to and what time you phoned, the reasons for our problem were several and entertaining!

1. Someone forgot to turn the tap off when they sent the water to a neighbouring farm and the reservoir ran dry.
2. The pump has burnt out because there is no water.
3. There is a burst pipe and they are working on it.
4. It is 3% full so it won't be long now.
And my personal favourite:
5. The water has left the main Vredenburg reservoir but they don't know where it has gone.

In the meantime, a tanker was trolling the streets hooting like a demented owl so that people could fill cans and bottles and whatever else they had. Wednesday night was a strip wash with a kettle or two for company! Every time we woke during the night we hoped to hear the gurgle of returning water.

Thursday..........still no water! Another kettle wash and a cold water hair wash as I was off to work at the Hospice shop. Emma next door finally tracked down the Mayor who was busy and the Deputy Mayor, ditto, but their secretaries were horrified that we were still without water and promised to pass on the urgency of the situation. Thursday night, eureka, the water returned and we happily switched the geyser on again!

But, as I went to shower, guess what? It had gone again!

So, my hot water bottled doubled as a bath and I went to bed clean but a tad chilly!

Friday we had water again...............fingers crossed for the future!