Tanked!

Here it is, 02.49 am AESDT, and I'm sitting at my computer listening to the sound of water running from the big cottage tank (25,000 litres) running via doubtful garden hose, to one of the two big tanks (each 25,000 litres) at the north end of the house, in the hope that I can refill it enough for the water to come back on in the house by early morning.

Preferably before this problem is discovered by the other resident when she goes to have her shower.

I have also turned the permanent (? equalizer) pipe on between the two house tanks (East and West) so that some water can run from the half full East tank to what seems like the fairly empty, at least below the line of the pump intake, West tank.

We have five tanks:

Cottage North 25,000 litres – currently full to overflowing and being used to feed the West House tank;
Cottage South ? 12,500 litres – currently ? one third full and isolated;
House West 25,000 litres – currently below pump inlet and being pumped into from Cottage North;
House East 25,000 litres – currently about 12,000 litres and (hopefully) running into/equalizing with House West;
Garage North ? 12,500 litres – currently below outlet level.

Total available water = 35,000 litres out of possible 95,000 litres.

Rainy weather is predicted up until and including Christmas, so water situation is liveable.

Problem is that even with intervention of Andrew on 30 September into gutters and Cory the Tank Expert on Sunday 24 October (I checked my cheque book for date) House West tank has not refilled from roof in spite of rain (nor has Garage North) in this time. Can't currently calculate rainfall from 24 October until today but should be :: last week October (assume one quarter of month)

Tank names are based on James' house plan directions and may not reflect geographic reality :: the theory is that the north side of the house rectangle is north – and the sunrise yesterday morning in a direct line to my bedroom window was about as far south east as the summer sun goes at this latitude (my estimate from co ordinates to Hampton State Forest which is in a crescent to our west and south is that we are at 33.5 degrees S and 149.99 degrees E.)

[Success at 3.02 am :: the toilet in my bathroom has just refilled and the cold tap in the basin is lightly running. Will turn off tap, so this means that water is flowing into house from House West. Probably no hot water because of off peak setting, which seems to heat between midnight and 3 am, so problem will be discovered at shower time later this morning. I am able to climb into quite steep sided cast iron bath in cottage for shower, but my mother can't do this.]

Having wondered off into doing weather stats for Hampton (based on Oberon observations), and done them in Numbers now have problem of getting into Blogger. Numbers exports as pdf but exports whole sheet including grid, which I don't want, but may have to live with, and hopefully can edit out blank grid cells in Photoshop. Now 04.05 am so back to bed.

But coughing fit and no sleep.

5.50am: Numbers to Photoshop to Blogger chart now sitting unreadably at top ... triumph of blogger over blogee.

Hot water seems ok, more a triumph of will than anything else.

Water system a mystery. Water flows off roof into House East and Cottage North. Doesn't seem to flow into any other tanks although inlets seem clear. Filter bags in all tanks removed by Grant, Cory's friend, on 24 October as they seemed to be impeding water flow into tanks. Now lying on north verandah of house. Easy investigation hampered by my vertigo and balance and wooden ladders which are just big enough to enable me to reach inlet filters on House tanks, but not to see in with a torch. Can see into Garage North without ladder, but garage roof water not going in there either.

Is paradox.

Also would like formula to calculate water flow from house roof into tanks.

My conclusion is that gutters are blocked somewhere. Cory wants us to very heavily cut back trees around north end of house. Gutters however were only cleared every three months by previous owners. A conundrum and a paradox.

Off to Sydney lured by the malls, and a few outstanding christmas presenting issues.