Water Wellness
From Paul Krugman today:
“Or consider the megadrought now afflicting the Western United States. There have always been Western droughts. But this one, which has now gone on for more than two decades and has reduced water levels in key reservoirs to record lows, is the worst in at least 1,200 years.”
Each year more and more local wells run dry in the summer, and water must be purchased at high cost. For cattle operations the survival of the cows is at risk. Our large reservoirs are only half full, or worse. From S.F. Chronicle: “California’s drought has caused entire towns to sink nearly a foot in just one year. This map shows where: https://sfchronicle.com/climate/article/California-drought-groundwater-17202022.php”
Our farm is in a low water area. Our well has never gone dry, but of course it’s a worry. Our water is pumped from underground into a 20 gallon pressure tank; a bladder creates the pressure which propels the water to the house. I hypothesized….what if the pressure tank was 6,000 gallons? We would have a reserve for all fraught situations. I posed this idea to our well company and they said it would be po$$ible. We decided to go ahead.
Three workers with two trucks spent many hours creating a pad for the tank. Why so much prep? I checked, and 5,000 gallons of water weighs 41,650 pounds! No wonder.
The 6,000 gallon tank arrives on a truck. It’s huge!
Once on the pad, the rest of the equipment is added. One pump is inside the tank, another pressure tank is on the pad next to the big tank. Two expert young guys did all the work of plumbing and electrical wiring. It took two days. A tank truck came and filled the tank 2/3 of the way with potable water so as not to stress the well initially.
After all of this…..it worked. I want to stress that it’s still possible to find competent workers at competent companies nowadays. After all, just look at the James Webb telescope. Even more complicated than that, however, is the plumbing/electrical setup for our well. Effective, and beautiful.
I realize there’s nothing about food in this diary (but water is important in growing and cooking). As many of you know I love Jessica Seinfeld’s cookbooks (thank you Chrislove) so here’s a great recipe. I look for thin carrots at our nursery/grocery place. Roasted Carrots