Water

When we last wrote about our water supply we had done a number of upgrades to capture more water, store more water, reduce our use and recycle grey water:

1. March 2016: Installed new guttering on the house to supply our 21,000L cisterna and our 1st external tank of 2500L
2. September 2016: Removed our bath and replaced with a low water use shower
3. November 2016: Set up a 500L tank under a sloping cliff face to funnel water to our house
4. February 2017: Changed to compost toilets 
5. April 2017: Installed two grey water systems
6. September 2018: Sold our large outdoor pool

In last 2 years, summer 2020 to summer 2022, we have made a number of improvements and additions to achieve the following:

1. Increasing water storage from 21,500L to 34,600L (61% increase).
2. Increasing the garden water availability from 500L to 13,600L.
3. Installing extra outside storage tanks, from 2 to 16.
4. Establishing a network of supply pipes and hoses, from 2 to 14.
5. Installing 25m of guttering on 8 different garden newly install rooves.
6. Upgrading the smaller grey water planter to version 4.
7. Allowing the establishment of 8 planting areas with all year round water.

The last 4600L of outside tanks are in the process of being installed in August 2022 - the last 5 photos below show these new tanks. 2022 has been a hot and dry summer and we are just keeping our plants alive but with these new tanks we can expand our planting further over the next year.

Each picture below has a caption that confirms the Litres each tank holds, where the water supply comes from and which planting area it supplies.

So our house supply survives well each summer to no lower than 30% of capacity and we have enough water for our planting. With the latest tanks installed we hope to stay well ahead of the demand as we increase the planting. In addition we hope to re-start the use of the outdoor shower in 2023 as we have had to use that water for plants in the last two years. Maybe the jacuzzi also can be used again soon while it is all about priorities and then adding the extra as these can be afforded - after all we can always go to the beach of the pool.