29 January 2013

Water around the vineyard

One week ago today the snow was melting. Water was everywhere. Did I mention that it's supposed to rain again today? But the temperature is closer to 50 than to 30 (fahrenheit, of course).

A water hole in the woods at the edge of the Renaudière vineyard

 Still water along the road that runs through the vines

Snow melt water flowing along the road

Speaking of running water, what we have coming out of our faucets right now is more like hot and cold running Alka-Seltzer. It spits and sputters and fizzes. It's cloudy and yellowish. I hope it's safe to drink, or at least to bathe in and wash dishes with. We're drinking bottled water and I made mineral-water coffee this morning. Yesterday, we had a brief cut in the water supply because there was a broken pipe down the hill from our hamlet. The water has been fizzy ever since.

11 comments:

  1. Ken, it sounds as though there is muck and air in the system from the repair down the hill... try removing the filter/foamer/restrictor on the kitchen tap and filling the sink a couple of times.
    See if that helps at all... it is no use doing it with the stupid thing on the end of the tap in place, because it doesn't let the water flow fast enough.
    NB: If you have any modern, ceramic valve taps, these can be damaged by muck in the system, unfortunately.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Preuilly's water periodically carries a yellow silt. To fix it they open some of the fire hydrants in the lower part of the town and flush from the reservoir in the chateau ramparts. We notice it especially in the bath because it settles out and we get a film of silt stuck to the bath. We habitually double filter our drinking/cooking water, so I don't have to buy bottled, but the filter goes yellow pretty quickly.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tim's idea seems like it would take care of the problem....hope it works for you.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yuck about the muck :( That doesn't sound very potable.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oui, Tim, have done all that. The spitting and sputtering is diminished since early this morning.

    Susan, that certainly does sound like a lot of trouble.

    Judy and Virginia too, we are getting used to this. It's the third or fourth time it has happened.

    ReplyDelete
  6. That's a lot of water. Your water should clear up if you let it run for a while. We have a similar problem every time they work on the pipes in our area.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hello Starman, that's interesting. I never experienced the fizzy, yellowish water anywhere I lived -- DC, NC, Ill., or Calif. -- in the US. I also don't remember having any bayonet light bulbs.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ken, we've had a lot of main water pipes breaking in LA the past three years. Which is a drag because streets close down, and I mean major city streets; you can only imagine the traffic and very think patience. One broke not too long ago in my city and we had yellow water for a day. I can't remember how to spell gadoue but I am humming the song looking at your photos (France Gall?)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I meant to write "thin patience". I reread my comment all the time but as soon as I post it, I see mistakes. It happens all the time, or I just forget to write a word. Sorry!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Nadège, it was Jane Birkin who made the most famous recordings of Serge Gainsbourg's song La Gadoue. I looked it up and it seems the Petula Clark also sang the song in the 1960s.

    Don't worry about typos. I make a lot more of them than you do.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ken: It's not much trouble. One of the filters is inline ie part of the plumbing, and the other is part of a filter jug which I refill when necessary.

    ReplyDelete

What's on your mind? Qu'avez-vous à me dire ?