Water Tales

The day started out full of promise, with the 1000 gallon water tank about three quarters full, and only a few more supports to add to the water tower. The water tower was finished and the tank put in its place by about 11:00 am, and Tom went to work on installing the water pump, Selwyn started sanding doors to be installed in the first cabin on Thursday, and I made lunch and then finished washing the mold off the first cabin.

Around 4:00, Tom showed up at the first cabin looking grim, and wanting to know if we had any use for about 750 gallons of water. After fitting all the plumbing pieces together and hooking the pump in, he found that the pump requires a 1 ¼ inch feeder, and the tube coming out of the tank was only ¾ inch and didn’t provide enough water for the pump to build up enough pressure to pump the water through the hose and up to the tower. The three of us brainstormed, and Tom decided that if he drove Selwyn and Bol home and stopped at the hardware store for a few more 90 degree elbows, he could build a 1 ¼ inch pipe that reached to the bottom of the tank, came up and over the edge, and then fed into the pump.

So, he drove into San Antonio, picked up the plumbing pieces and a case of beer, just in case, and got home around 6:00. He made the pipe, hooked it up, and it didn’t work. He moved the generator closer to see if providing more direct power to the pump would make a difference. Still no go. So, he drained the tank. Fortunately the tank is on a cement slab which disburses the water so it’s not pooling in a small area, and the soil in the jungle is capable of soaking up lots of water, so it didn’t make too much of a mess. The tank drained, Tom installed a 1 ¼ inch feeder pipe, and began refilling the tank…very, very slowly. On Tuesday night, water was gushing out of the pipe from the road, but Tuesday’s gush was Wednesday’s trickle. So, he packed up, left the hose running, and left the great experiment for Thursday.