Water supply cuts- had any yet?

[aligato]

Well it is that season already for water cuts. It doesmn't bode well.

Anyone else had any yet? In Cyprus you do at least know in advance which day it is going to be off!

Ali

[wagon ropes]

Wow, isn't Cyprus organized. Here you've got a water cut if nothing comes out of the taps lol.
In our case it usually happens on a Sunday when the water supply tank runs dry if too many weekenders have come to their 2nd houses for a bit of campo fun

[BENIDORM]

In our village it doesn't seem to matter what time of year it is , regular cut offs, sometimes for just a few minutes but up to a couple of hours.........usually around 10am .....
It always seems to go off whilst I'm in the shower with shampoo on my hair....and yes I still have hair !....Always keep a couple of large bottles of water in the bathroom now...just in case...

[Beachcomber]

A reserve water tank of at least 500 litres capacity is a good investment.

[alisonb]

We've had a few cut offs, but every weekend for the last few weeks the pressure has been almost non existent (in campo). We upped our tank from 500 to 2000, as when we have visitors, 500 is a bit close to the edge. Best thing we ever did is to have the tank pumped not gravity fed, as at least it will run the washing machine and hot water if we're using it, whereas before we had the pump, you had to dance under the cold drops in the shower

[peteroldracer]

Best thing we ever did is to have the tank pumped not gravity fed,

So you have lots of water, are lathered up, and.......there is a power cut!

[alisonb]

In which case, I just throw myself in swimming pool!
x

[Miro]

Ah, the joys of living in the "real Spain", eh? At least down here in the concrete jungle, we live safe in the knowledge that the sea level is more likely to rise than fall!

[Beachcomber]

...but how long before the concrete jungle becomes the sea bed.

[Wicksey]

Best thing we ever did is to have the tank pumped not gravity fed,

So you have lots of water, are lathered up, and.......there is a power cut!

Our water has to be pumped and I hate it. As Peter says, when there's a power cut you do not have a single drop. The gravity pressure we had at our last house was sufficient to run the shower (with electric water heater) and we only needed to have the pump put on to run the washing machine or dishwasher.

We have just realised that we haven't had our water action for at least 10 days and wondered if that was something to do with rationing. We have an 80,000 litre holding tank under our house so it will be some time before we need to panic!

[alisonb]

To be honest, we don't worry about power cuts. We've had a few, mainly in the winter during storms, but most of the time, other than a slight flick now and again, we've been pleasantly suprised by how reliable the power is. It was one of the things we worried about before we moved, but it hasn't been an issue. We only need the pump when drawing from the deposit - the mains pressure is fine most of the time. Are we just lucky?

[Wicksey]

Our electricity was once off all day last winter and I hadn't yet got washed, so we ended up bucketing water out of the pool and heating it in a saucepan on our gas BBQ which has a gas ring on the side. I couldn't stay unwashed all day . It's the worst combination here for me with a gas water heater that needs the pump on to power the water and an electric cooker - at least before we had a tank of hot water if the power went off suddenly and, most importantly (for Miss Piggy me), we could cook and eat!

[El Cid]

[quote="Wicksey
Our water has to be pumped and I hate it. As Peter says, when there's a power cut you do not have a single drop. The gravity pressure we had at our last house was sufficient to run the shower (with electric water heater) and we only needed to have the pump put on to run the washing machine or dishwasher.

We have just realised that we haven't had our water action for at least 10 days and wondered if that was something to do with rationing. We have an 80,000 litre holding tank under our house so it will be some time before we need to panic![/quote]

We get a lot of power "interuptions" in the winter as we are on a local (campo) transformer but they rarely last more than a few minutes before it resets itself.

If it is a serious problem for you, you could install a small tank at roof level which would get you over the problem when the pump fails.

I am interested in your choice of words "water action" - what sort of supply do you have and how is it paid for?

Sid

[Wicksey]

Sid, we are in a rented house and the cost of the water is included in the rent.

Apart from the 80,000 litre tank under the house, we have a smaller holding tank down the hill on the track about 1/2 km away where the main campo water pipes run and we are supposed to get our 'action' (if this is the right spelling) each Sunday and Wednesday morning. From what I know of water 'actions', you usually get a max allowance of x thousand litres per week which is far more than a normal house could ever use, but then I understand that this water is supposed to be for agricultural use (to fill the huge depositos that feed irrigation systems in the campo). The water is then pumped up to our house from the lower track. I don't think there is any form of town water supply as we are some distance away from the village, so presumably the other houses around here all use the same source of water unless they have their own bore holes.

Re the back up tank on the roof, this is something that has been discussed with the landlord, but so far, no tank is forthcoming!