Original tank (left) ~ new tank (right)
In total, it cost us around $4,400, and we've recently hit, just under the halfway point, on both tanks. If we hadn't installed our tank, last year, we'd be out of water right now. And like the neighbours, ordering water deliveries.
I thought we must have been really frugal, until I heard the neighbours running their air conditioning, yesterday. The early heatwave season, is settling in for about a week. Or so the weather forecast predicts. Six days of high 30's (high 80's Fahrenheit) and Spring has just arrived.
Being installed, November 2016
We're hoping our remaining water supply, will get our family through, but also allow us to continue offering water to the native animals. If we don't get rain in the next fortnight, however, we'll be ordering a delievery of water, too.
It just goes to show, even when you plan to increase your stores, nature can turn it up a notch, and render you in the same position - only a little further down the track. We've had a few vegetation fires, very close to home, which reminds us how important the rain is needed, right now.
In other parts of the world, however, rain is causing enormous destruction.
December 2007
I've had my fair share of natural disasters, and will probably see more in my lifetime. But that doesn't mean the prospect of another, should steer us away from continuing to build necessary infrastructure. The kind of infrastructure, that will help hold onto natural resources, such as water tanks, earthworks, soil improvements, plant propagation, waste disposal and food storage.
Our family is woefully under prepared, on many of these counts. But I can't waste time feeling bad about that, nor do I intend to splurge on hoarding supplies either - simply because we cannot afford to. We're still on a budget. What we can do though, is take necessary steps which are both practical, and economical. Like learning how to stretch out the natural resources, which come into our homes.
A nice drop
Which is why we're embarking on water budget strategies, such as:
- Doubling the time between flushing toilets - so long as it's not solids.
- Catching water from the shower, before it heats up, to help water plants, or put out for the native animals.
- Reducing showers, until they're necessary.
- Not laundering sheets, towels and other Manchester, until dirty
- Using a small tub in the sink for washing hands and rinsing dishes - that would otherwise see the tap go on, numerous times a day.
- Vegetable garden has not been watered, even though it's one of the reasons we wanted to install a second tank.
And we have plans to change things even further, where financial resources allow. I don't want to make any announcements, until those projects are under way. If I can take any good out of this long stretch between drinks though, it's how to be more responsible for our use of natural resources. I'm not driven from a sense of survival, rather, a sense of responsibility.
If it only comes from a sense of survival, people tend to make changes when it's only bad enough to. But if you make changes from responsibility (or a sense of ownership) they're likely to be adopted, indefinitely.
Are you making changes in how you deal with natural resources, in your life?
I well remember the drought in the 1980s and we were on tanks. Mum disconnected the pipe under the sink and collected this water and it went onto the fruit trees. The washing machine water was also collected and used to flush the loo and mop floors. We washed daily using a bowl with a couple of litres of hat water and a flannel (standing on an old towel) and then showered once a week. It really brought out the resourcefulness of the human spirit.
ReplyDeleteThose droughts, do tend to make us more thrifty with what we have. I remember the drought of the 80's too. I was going to school in a farming community, and farmers were losing crops. The community seemed more stressed out too, because they couldn't do their regular stuff (farming) without that wet stuff from the sky. It's good your mum was on the ball!
DeleteWe were hoping for rain on Friday and, while we watched the storm clouds gather over the ridge, very little resulted from the thunder and lightning. The rain went north. While we have water tanks, our little tank is empty and our big tank is half full. Without decent rain, that too will empty soon enough. I can't remember a drier September. With 35C forecast for Monday, I can't remember a hotter one either! I think these challenges, like the lack of rain, reinforce just how much our climate is changing and how we have to find ways to adapt to that. I like your ideas for saving water, particularly the bowl in the sink for rinsing dishes. I will definitely start doing that too! Meg:)
ReplyDeleteMeg, here's hoping this weekend, sees the rains return! They're predicting it, but let's see. Wouldn't it be lovely. :)
DeleteIt's definitely the time, to reevaluate how we do things in our homes.
Yes it is too hot for my liking, Chris. We missed the rain the other night too :-( We use our grey water and do all the things you mentioned as we got used to that routine during the last big drought. Our watersaver garden has been fixed up and it is full of lettuce and it is great not having to water it. I hope it rains soon though.
ReplyDeleteDid you feel the cool change, that swept though, in the past few days? Thank goodness for cloud cover, and the fact temps still drop at night. You'll have to blog about your water saving garden. I remember you saying it was broken. But I've always wondered how it worked? Fingers crossed for rain this weekend!
DeleteIs it windy there too as well as hot? The winds are driving us a bit batty here. Not as hot as you have been experiencing though.
ReplyDeleteWe are still watering the veggies and fruit from the dam. The veggies are basically my perennial allium garden, some lettuces, a pineapple tomato (I bought two plants from the local nursery but one failed to thrive so was removed), some cherry tomatoes grown from seed, and some snowpeas grown from seed. I had intended to grow some cucurbits from seed but with the temperature warming up so much so soon I am considering reducing my veggie gardening season this year. I still have so much work I can do just building the soil in the veggie growing areas that not planting anything more might be the most sensible way forward at the moment anyhow. My keyhole garden though has some space for some extra plantings so I may put some veg in that garden as it can be covered with shadecloth when it gets very hot and it is a very productive little growing space.
2009 was a really dry Spring I can't remember if it was as hot as this Spring though.
My garden has suffered a lot too Sherri. If it's not the lack of rain, it's the winds drying things out further, and knocking them around too. Good to hear you have a special area you can shade in, for summer. So necessary in the Qld climate. Delicate food plants, just cannot survive that intense sunlight. You should be able to get something growing in that smaller, protected area.
DeleteGood strategies, Chris. I didn't realise you don't have town water. That extra tank was a necessity. There are lots of ways to save water, simply because most of us don't really try. The convenience of turning on a tap has become something we don't think about. When we were on a suburban block with sewerage and a flush toilet, we used to not flush when one of us had to get up through the night. It was mainly so the noise wouldn't wake the other person, but it served to save a bit of water, too.
ReplyDeleteI worry when I see the neighbours around me not preparing for future eventualities....as you say most people change only when they have to, but the magnitude of the changes that will be necessary mean it will never be on time.
It surprises me that, with the size of your land, you haven't built a suitable (private) nook to build a composting toilet, even if only for daytime use.
I like that we're not on town water, so not charged for it. Prices go up, whenever the dept running it, decides they need more revenue or want to curtail usage. We spend on our own water infrastructure, and that's all we have to pay - besides a bit of maintenance. In our ten years, our water pump only needed fixing once, and it was covered under warranty.
DeleteI was a little stressed hearing our neighbours air-conditioner go on, in the same vein as you feel with your neighbours. I don't want to begrudge them comfort, but what if the water trucks stop coming? Drinking water is so precious. Which is why I hate flushing it down the toilet, myself.
You have guessed what our next infrastructure project is. ;)
"You have guessed what our next infrastructure project is. ;) "
DeleteOh, good on you! This will be interesting! ;-)
You can never have too many tanks... hope you got some rain this week.
ReplyDeleteAgreed! Although the budget doth protest much. ;)
DeleteGood post thanks and kudos. Made me think though how is it that most are so disconnected from the water cycle that it isn't normal to conserve something as precious as water
ReplyDeleteMy mum grew up on tank water, as there was no such thing as mains on a farm. So was appalled to see all her city friends, when she moved in with them, wasting water. But I guess they've never had to live with limitations. It's a real eye-opener when you do.
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