There seems some confusion over the cause of the problem but the bottom line is the taps have been drippless, the toilets flushless, the washing machine still....from 9.00am this morning to 6.30pm this evening. This is the fourth day out of four we have had some sort of water issue, and the third day with a day long enforced drought. This being Saturday is the first we are all home all day with no running water....interesting!
At 7.30am the warning email is sent and the maintenance boys sent running from Villa to Villa to spread the news. An hour and a half to shower, wash-up, clean the bathrooms, run the washing machine........ Sweetie has had a few easy days as she arrives post the water flow!
A catalogue of events seems to have attributed to the drought 'a la Vista'. It's a very localized drought, the rest of Bangalore not currently smelly and unwashed.
February or March, when the temperatures are hotting up and we have been without rains for some months is the time the water tanker mafia hit hard. There seem to be areas quenched by Bangalore Water Authority and others not. Bangalore Water does not currently get enough water from the Cauvery (major river over 90 km away) to supply all the city so it doesn't -and we are one of the don't gets. So we rely on bore wells (holes in the ground which reach the water bed and are pumped), which have a tendency to run dry as the summer progresses. At that point the water tanker guys have us over a barrel, or should I say tanker!! The price then takes a hike, our builders don't want to pay and we have a problem. Also as the nearby bore well has apparently run dry, our water has to come from further a field and therefore gas costs, Bangalore traffic..and you get the picture.
However, 3 bore wells have been dug in Vista and there is water....but first we need the requisite pumps and secondly the water has to be tested, all which takes time....so meanwhile we are rationed. This is the first bore well marked to go into action. Looks strangely primitive -but then I guess the procedure is relatively straight forward, dig and pump!
Some part of the pump and deliver process involves large quantities of pipe and how else to transport about the 'hood than to roll.
The Vista yahoo group has been on overload. There have been emails of reported 'hoardings', dictionary definitions of the term 'hoarding', determination if filling a few buckets is hoarding (not) or bathtubs and barrels (maybe) or huge tanks (guilty). Altho' our time with water is rationed, usage has apparently not significantly dropped as folks just cram in washing machines runs, showers etc.etc. when water is available and also siphon off enough to try and stay the "honorable" side of the hoarding divide!! So we seem to have mass inconvenience without much conservation!!
Altho a real pain in the neck, this whole situation is very humbling - to think to how many people in the world ample flowing water for even 6 hours a day would be a blessing and all we can do is moan and groan. Also, how hard we find it to conserve and sacrifice our daily shower, gleaming clean bathrooms, to having all our bulging closets of clothes clean...... for the common good!
I wrote in one of my last blogs about the 'walls' in India but I guess sometimes the walls we try to hide behind and pretend, for a little while that we are not living in the developing world with its many unsolved issues can be permeated.
What we have here is temporary problem but it reflects a serious issue here in Bangalore - the growing population's demand for water is outstripping the dwindling supply. Next blog looks at RWH (rain water harvesting).
At 7.30am the warning email is sent and the maintenance boys sent running from Villa to Villa to spread the news. An hour and a half to shower, wash-up, clean the bathrooms, run the washing machine........ Sweetie has had a few easy days as she arrives post the water flow!
A catalogue of events seems to have attributed to the drought 'a la Vista'. It's a very localized drought, the rest of Bangalore not currently smelly and unwashed.
February or March, when the temperatures are hotting up and we have been without rains for some months is the time the water tanker mafia hit hard. There seem to be areas quenched by Bangalore Water Authority and others not. Bangalore Water does not currently get enough water from the Cauvery (major river over 90 km away) to supply all the city so it doesn't -and we are one of the don't gets. So we rely on bore wells (holes in the ground which reach the water bed and are pumped), which have a tendency to run dry as the summer progresses. At that point the water tanker guys have us over a barrel, or should I say tanker!! The price then takes a hike, our builders don't want to pay and we have a problem. Also as the nearby bore well has apparently run dry, our water has to come from further a field and therefore gas costs, Bangalore traffic..and you get the picture.
However, 3 bore wells have been dug in Vista and there is water....but first we need the requisite pumps and secondly the water has to be tested, all which takes time....so meanwhile we are rationed. This is the first bore well marked to go into action. Looks strangely primitive -but then I guess the procedure is relatively straight forward, dig and pump!
The Vista yahoo group has been on overload. There have been emails of reported 'hoardings', dictionary definitions of the term 'hoarding', determination if filling a few buckets is hoarding (not) or bathtubs and barrels (maybe) or huge tanks (guilty). Altho' our time with water is rationed, usage has apparently not significantly dropped as folks just cram in washing machines runs, showers etc.etc. when water is available and also siphon off enough to try and stay the "honorable" side of the hoarding divide!! So we seem to have mass inconvenience without much conservation!!
Altho a real pain in the neck, this whole situation is very humbling - to think to how many people in the world ample flowing water for even 6 hours a day would be a blessing and all we can do is moan and groan. Also, how hard we find it to conserve and sacrifice our daily shower, gleaming clean bathrooms, to having all our bulging closets of clothes clean...... for the common good!
I wrote in one of my last blogs about the 'walls' in India but I guess sometimes the walls we try to hide behind and pretend, for a little while that we are not living in the developing world with its many unsolved issues can be permeated.
What we have here is temporary problem but it reflects a serious issue here in Bangalore - the growing population's demand for water is outstripping the dwindling supply. Next blog looks at RWH (rain water harvesting).
Wow what a nightmare but you are so right. We are so fortunate. But i hope it is resolved very quickly!
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