Eau ?...NO! Part Two.

Until one's water supply becomes precarious, most of us don't give a second's thought when we merrily open our taps. However recent world wide droughts, and the menace of climate change have woken many people up. Our own personal odyssey began over twenty years ago , shortly after we bought our house. I continue my tale...

"Don't worry," our vendor told us. The rains will come in spring and you'll be O.K. If they don't , you do have another solution. But what was it?

We had been taken to the forestry headquarters/maison forestiere at the bottom of our valley where there is a spring that flows without fail all year round. From there we were shown an alkathene pipe that ran uphill to our house . Apparently , if we were ever short of water , then this could provide a top up. "Look," our vendor said, pointing to the electricity meter. " I've never had to use it." But he certainly had. With the help of our friendly forester neighbour, we learned that water had been piped to our house in times of drought over many years, using the maison forestiere electricity supply. Only now that new owners were arriving, did the forestry commission insist that a contract was drawn up, and an independent source of power installed. When we saw the contract we were appalled. We were allowed to take up to fifty cubic metres of water per year, no more. Our water storage tank alone stores up to sixty. Moreover, the contract lasted no more than twelve months, and would then be reviewed. We were planning to develop a couple of gites, bringing the need for extra water resources. Houston...we had a water problem.

It was February when we realised the full extent of the problem, and the weather was mild and spring like. The good weather continued. By summer there had still been no significant rainfall and the level of water in our storage tank was seriously low. We replenished it from the maison forestiere. But what about the security of our future supply? In a normal year one could expect autumnal rains. But then again they could fail. We had to do something about this urgently.

"How about we sink a bore hole ?" Brian suggested.

But even then, one can sink a bore hole but fail to find water. Crossing our fingers tightly, that is exactly what we did.

To be continued...