Clean, running water is a blessing. Today we are without that blessing. The foul odor of a stagnant puddle came trickling out of the shower this morning. I hoped it would clear, like the muddy, rusty water often does after I first turn on the shower, but that was not the case today
The culprit is a hand-dug well that is too close to the hand-dug septic tank- a mere 20 feet separates the two. We rely mostly on the well for water. I spotted the problem when we first moved in, but until now, the water has only looked dirty. It had never smelled bad.
We have gotten water from the
hospital three times. The hospital has a “bore hole” --the term for a deep machin -drilled well. The water itself is cleaner than our well water, even before today’s event. It is delivered to the two ground tanks pictured next to the tower very infrequently. We suspect it comes only when everyone else along the 1 inch pipe line has finished getting all they need. We have not yet found an inexpensive way to get a more reliable supply of the hospital water.
This is only for running water to wash and flush with. We have to filter the water for drinking and cooking. We use a double filter system (pictured). The first sediment filter pictured here had been in place for four weeks. The red African earth tinges many things, especially water filters. A second filter gets out all the small particles and microbes. When it works, it works well. It worked better when we filtered rainwater runoff from our roof. Now that we are using well water, it seems to be clogging up faster. More woes.
We are showering next door, and also gathering water in
buckets to wash dishes. We will fill our ground tanks with the neighbor’s water tomorrow and then look for a more permanent solution… new well, new septic tank, or re-plumb hospital water. Stay tuned.
This is only stressful for us, the pampered Americans. We don’t have to look far to appreciate what we have. None of the physician residents on the compound have running water in their homes. They gather water in buckets from rainwater runoff during rainy season or from outdoor spigots when they are running. Occasionally they have to retrieve water from hand-dug wells with a rope and bucket. My residency was difficult, but at least I had running water in my home. We will get over this momentary inconvenience and count our blessings.
Michael Mitchell, MD
The culprit is a hand-dug well that is too close to the hand-dug septic tank- a mere 20 feet separates the two. We rely mostly on the well for water. I spotted the problem when we first moved in, but until now, the water has only looked dirty. It had never smelled bad.
We have gotten water from the
hospital three times. The hospital has a “bore hole” --the term for a deep machin -drilled well. The water itself is cleaner than our well water, even before today’s event. It is delivered to the two ground tanks pictured next to the tower very infrequently. We suspect it comes only when everyone else along the 1 inch pipe line has finished getting all they need. We have not yet found an inexpensive way to get a more reliable supply of the hospital water.This is only for running water to wash and flush with. We have to filter the water for drinking and cooking. We use a double filter system (pictured). The first sediment filter pictured here had been in place for four weeks. The red African earth tinges many things, especially water filters. A second filter gets out all the small particles and microbes. When it works, it works well. It worked better when we filtered rainwater runoff from our roof. Now that we are using well water, it seems to be clogging up faster. More woes.
We are showering next door, and also gathering water in
buckets to wash dishes. We will fill our ground tanks with the neighbor’s water tomorrow and then look for a more permanent solution… new well, new septic tank, or re-plumb hospital water. Stay tuned.This is only stressful for us, the pampered Americans. We don’t have to look far to appreciate what we have. None of the physician residents on the compound have running water in their homes. They gather water in buckets from rainwater runoff during rainy season or from outdoor spigots when they are running. Occasionally they have to retrieve water from hand-dug wells with a rope and bucket. My residency was difficult, but at least I had running water in my home. We will get over this momentary inconvenience and count our blessings.
Michael Mitchell, MD
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