Sorry I'm late with this blog everyone but it's been a hellish week. As I lay in bed last night with my head doing loop the loop over things that are going on I suddenly heard the rain - as in really heard it pounding down on the roof.
We've only had about four or five days rain since early November so this is gold from the heavens. This has been an absolutely superb summer in New Zealand, and even now in April I'm still wearing shorts and sleeveless tops, though snow is forecast for the coming week down south.
But the downside of no rain for lots of people in our area is no water in the tanks. There are many permanent homes and bachs (holiday homes) that don't have good water supplies so the water tankers have been a regular feature on our road for weeks now.
Luckily for our house, our supply comes from an underground spring way up in the hills and while it has got down to a trickle sometimes, it hasn't yet run dry. It can take a while to top up the tanks after lots of washing but I haven't had to ration water at all, unlike a lot of our neighbours. We have offered to do washing for others and anything else they might need water-wise.
The spring is in this far hill and there's nearly a kilometre of pipe from there to our property. We have to keep an eye on the pipe and the intake tank at the top as pigs like rooting in the area and can muddy the water. or sometimes the forestry workers will drop trees over the area and create problems. All part of the rural lifestyle.
Does a dry summer affect you in ways like this? I'm sure some of the Aussie Lovecats have stories to tell about water supplies.
Sue
ReplyDeleteWe don't have problems with water although for many years we were in drought and there were water restrictions like no washing of cars or hosing driveways or gardens but that has passed since then :) but there are many people living in rural areas that have this problem they are still in drought sadly. When we visited New Zealand last November it rained a lot but what a beautiful place :) I hope there is enough rain to keep everyone going for a while
Have Fun
Helen
Hi Helen, I think we got enough last night and there's more coming. Like you, many areas are still having water restrictions for their gardens, etc. Our daughter is trying to lay a new lawn but can't until they're allowed to put the sprinklers on.
DeleteHi Sue, I can't believe how little rain you've had this season. That doesn't sound like leafy green NZ! Hope the rain keeps up. There's nothing like the sound of it on the roof after a dry spell, is there?
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your hellish week. I'm hoping the weekend and the new week bring you good things.
HI Annie, thanks for that. And yes, especially odd in the Sounds where the hills usually attract their fair share. But it is strange around here everything is very green, though drive into Marlborough and it is brown.
DeleteWow, Sue, that's not much rain!!!
ReplyDeleteIn Byron we have lots and lots of rain. A few years ago about 98% of NSW was in drought, but not us. We seem to be in a pocket of the world that is almost always lush and green.
I've never been on tank water before, but we've just bought a new house which is not connected to main water, so this will be our introduction to tank water.
Sending hugs on your hellish week!!!
Thanks, Jennifer. All hugs gratefully received. No problems with tank water as long as you've got water! That won't be a problem in your part of the world.
DeleteI hope you get some rain soon! I remember going through very severe water restrictions back in Melbourne about 7-8 years ago. We didn't rely on a water tank, but we had to be very careful about what we used. Doesn't appear to be much a problem in Canada what with all the lakes and the melted snow!
ReplyDeleteYou're surrounded in it, Stefanie. To the point you'll get sick of it I bet.
ReplyDeleteHugs on the hellish week, Sue.
ReplyDeleteI remember a serious drought in the 80s when I was growing up...the water restrictions were in force for a long time. It makes me grateful that I'm not on tank water. My sister has recently made the move to the rural lifestyle and now has to rely on tank water. They have a creek...plus, they're in the Snowy Mountains so we're thinking water shouldn't be too much of an issue. But, like you, she's always pleased when it rains and the tanks get filled. We'll keep praying for rain for your parts too. :-)
Yep, Michelle, it's not the same as turning on the tap I town, that's for sure. But then I enjoy the climbs up to the source and clearing the waterway which I wouldn't get back in town.
DeleteI'd believe that about the rain, being the other side of the Cook Strait. I swear that the summer just gone and the previous one have been drier than normal as Wellington doesn't face water restrictions, but these two summers we have been told to save water to avoid facing water restrictions. I do know that last summer was not helped by the regional Council doing maintenance work of the two storage ponds at the water treatment plan in Upper Hutt meaning we only had have the reserve water to normal.
ReplyDeleteI'm not the biggest fan of rain. Mainly due to the fact that I suffer chronic pain. I tend to feel it when rain is coming - most of the time though the pain drops back to bearable levels once the rain starts, but it's the feeling that I get when the rain is coming in but hasn't started that stinks.
Willing to bet that your water tastes great.
A darned sight tastier than town supply, for sure, Lyn. I remember those problems in wellington, never made a lot of sense.
DeleteWe're on tank water, too, Sue. It certainly makes us appreciate this precious resource because we start to see when we're making a dent in our supply. It was a big mind shift from living in the city on the town water supply. The only time it catches me out now-a-days is when there's a power outage and the water is hard to access directly from the tank!
ReplyDeleteHugs on your tough week.
Thanks, Sharon. It certainly makes you appreciate things more when you have to find your own water, doesn't it? I don't take it for granted any more.
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