During my recent holidays, I realized the importance of having a reliable water supply on the Sunshine Coast.
I chose to stay on the Coast to get some rest and relaxation at my family's cabin here beside a lake. But my four star vacation quickly turned to a one star when my own personal water crisis of 2006 hit.
After a long jog, I stepped into my cedar-walled outdoor shower, heated by a hot propane camp shower I bought online, which is like a sauna and a shower in one.
But when I turned the water lever, nothing came out. And panic set in. I can't go a week without washing my hair and I didn't want to use shampoo in the lake. Not to mention the hassle of not having running water in the indoor sink. We and our neighbours have a licence to pump from the lake into a tank. Yet the tank had never gone dry on my time so how was I, the most unhandy person, supposed to get the water running again? I didn't even know where to find the pump.Thus began the series of static cell phone calls to my dad and neighbour to walk me through the pumping. Although I have no trouble starting a boat motor, apparently getting a water pump engine going is beyond my comprehension. But the engine started, so I ran up the hill and arrived breathless at the tank to discover it was still bone dry. And there is no cell phone service at the tank. Okay, there must be a break or a hole in the line, I figured. In a panicked frenzy, I traced my way down the water line, falling and eating dirt along the way. Partway along the line was a tap thingy, which ran water when I turned it. So for some reason, the water was not making it all the way up the hill.
Back down at the pump where my cell worked, what my neighbour described as a roar that should be coming from the engine sounded more like a chitty chitty bang bang. But everything seemed in order. The races up and down the hill continued until I finally gave up. Until later that night when my dad figured out I probably had the choke lever going in the wrong direction. Aha! But by then, in the interest of keeping the peace, it was too late at night to get the pump roaring.
So the next morning, the choke lever saved the day and there was water running from the kitchen tap. Of course, when I got the water running in the shower, I discovered its propane tank was empty and so was the backup tank. A cold shower would have to do.
Since I had followed the water from source to tap, I had a newfound interest in conserving water, mostly so I would not have to go through the ordeal of pumping again. And really, I realized how lucky I am because the newer constructions near us cannot get a licence to pump and have to dig wells. It would have been nice to have a team of professionals who would not only monitor the tank for low water levels but also have the expertise to quickly service the line. Because if it had been an actual technical problem and not just my engine ignorance, I would not have been able to fix it myself. Plus I don't even drink the water because it's not treated.
I returned home to Sechelt a week later to my blissful indoor hot shower and taps with running water, fresh from the Chapman water treatment centre and ready to drink. And I reminded myself not to forget where that water comes from and how it gets to my home.
