piped water to hamlets?

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gavilan
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piped water to hamlets?

Postby gavilan » Mon Sep 03, 2018 1:15 pm

was wondering if anyone knew when domestic water was piped to outlying hamlets ... must have been a major undertaking given the hilly terrain around here ...

El Cid
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Re: piped water to hamlets?

Postby El Cid » Mon Sep 03, 2018 1:36 pm

Not really, they have been piping agricultural water far into the campo for 2000 years!

sid

olive
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Re: piped water to hamlets?

Postby olive » Mon Sep 03, 2018 2:00 pm

1982 in our area. Needed electric installing in the area. that waited until 1981

It isn't a universal right either.

gavilan
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Re: piped water to hamlets?

Postby gavilan » Mon Sep 03, 2018 3:04 pm

know what you mean El Cid ... lots of ancient acequias around here ... shame they have directed the water into horrible black or orange plastic pipes now! but that water was used for agriculture ... I was told people stream water for washing clothes etc but spring water for drinking and cooking ...

response from olive closer to my original question ... this place is deep down in the valley NW of Alcaucin ... then there is another steep sendero up to the hamlet of Los Cortijillos ... with the stream between ... across that stream can be seen a line of concrete, housing the water pipe ... then there is what I would call a water pipe junction in a black metal box ... then the pipe goes steeply up to the hamlet ... I was wondering when that concrete concrete housing and water pipe was installed ... and connected with LC ...

This place/mill was abandoned in the late 50s but I know they had had electricity cos I found old cables and a couple of old bakelight light switches when I was digging amongst the rubble/ruins of the place when I forst came here ...

olive
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Re: piped water to hamlets?

Postby olive » Mon Sep 03, 2018 6:34 pm

Back in England (North Yorkshire), my dad helped labour on the installation of a ram water system in the early 1950's. It still feeds a remote hamlet today. When I was young I looked for the electricity to it but there isn't any. the stream fills a chamber and then that rams a quantity of water up a substantial hill day and night to a water tower. The same hamlet has its original sewage plant (about a mile away) that was installed at the same time. My dad found a copy of the plans for both last year and donated them to the local "memories" department run by the parish council.


Back to here, I talk with the locals (when it is agreeable) about the "old days". Regarding the water, I still find it incredible that the village women did the washing at the local Fuente (often in very cold water) and then carried the wet washing home to dry , along with drinking water. In our hamlets case that was well into the 80's and for some that didn't or couldn't embrace modern technology, much later. I remember seeing an old lady, only fifteen years ago, doing her washing in the village Fuente ( a large series of stone troughs) in water that was so cold it had thin ice on the undisturbed troughs. That was in Teruel. We only found out relatively recently that our house had a traditional well up until around 1965 when it was "covered over" and formed part of our patio. The previous owners were totally unaware of this. It fits in with our efforts at the art of water divining but that is a separate story.

gavilan
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Re: piped water to hamlets?

Postby gavilan » Wed Sep 05, 2018 6:25 pm

olive: to me, fascinating the history of these places we live in ... and thank you for your comments re domestic water/electricity in your area ... and would love to hear of your water diving efforts!

El Cid
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Re: piped water to hamlets?

Postby El Cid » Wed Sep 05, 2018 7:31 pm

When you know that a town like Nerja has still not got a sewage treatment plant and in the summer that means that 80000 people are effectively cra**ing the sea, you can understand that the provision of water to everyone is low down the list.

Anyone who goes swimming off Nerja must be barking mad!

Sid

gavilan
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Re: piped water to hamlets?

Postby gavilan » Wed Sep 05, 2018 7:52 pm

people might not be swimming in the sea around Nerja as there have been many medusa jellyfish along that coast east of Malaga ... maybe they like the sewage?!

olive
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Re: piped water to hamlets?

Postby olive » Wed Sep 05, 2018 10:07 pm

gavilan wrote:olive: to me, fascinating the history of these places we live in ... and thank you for your comments re domestic water/electricity in your area ... and would love to hear of your water diving efforts!
Well at the risk of boring others. When we were considering having a swimming pool the contractor said it is best to have a well. He broke a branch off a nearby olive tree and carefully selected a twig. Then wandered around before settling on a spot and declaring here is water. Then he stamped his foot 33 times and declared “ at 32” metres depth. Afterwards we thought it most amusing. We went ahead with the pool and contracted to have a borehole drilled. On the day , a large number of locals turned up - some even with food and drink. The well driller was a water diviner but it turned out Everyone of the assembled onlookers was too. Their tools ranged from one or two pieces of metal, twigs and one person a fob watch on a chain. It was quite a big decision to make where to drill but we went with the spot indicated by the water diviner from the next village who had taken the trouble to turn up. I actually paid him 50 euros as drilling started. He then vanished.

I quite like science to explain things. I couldnt see any science in water divining.

We hit water. After they had all left , I picked up the two bent welding rods discarded by one of the so called divinersand to my amazement they “ worked”. I already knew the location of a mains water pipe that crosses our land. I could locate two aquifers. No one more surprised than me. What is interesting is that a party trick for visiting friends is to walk a route with them divining. So far about 40% have the gift. Those that don't without exception declare it to be mumbo jumbo. I still have no idea why it works. Oh and to cap it all our well hit water at 32 metres and was drilled about five metres away from the place the swimming pool contracter divined. I would love to know how the foot stamping works.

gavilan
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Re: piped water to hamlets?

Postby gavilan » Fri Sep 07, 2018 1:24 pm

fascinating and delightful story olive ... ?foot stamping ... maybe someone attuned to water diving can hear/feel the earth reverberating as they stamp and when the sound/feel changes there is the water level ... ?


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