The Drought

Tuesday June 19th:

We have no water in our house, day #1 where turning on the faucets results in a few drips and then none, and off to the town faucet we go with every sort of jug we can find in the house, to be filled with this now wonderfully-thought-of quantity: water!

Our Yellow Lawn This Year

Map of Drought in Northeast

All the lawns are yellow in the area, and our front yard looks like it’s just been mowed on the lowest setting, but in reality my son did it about three or four weeks ago. There has been no growth. Riding around Cato, we see the same: whole yards with yellow, carefully tended grass you might think, but actually its stunted. And there’s no rain in the forecast or, at most, a light drizzle lasting a few minutes, then more sunshine.

It’s amazing how much you appreciate water once it’s gone. Oh, how I used to just get in the shower and out the water came, and brushing my teeth was a breeze, and shaving – how do you do that with no water? Then there’s dishes and cooking and giving the chickens water and getting a drink and hearing the flush when we put the handle down and of course the teens must have their shower. Did I mention laundry? Isn’t water just supposed to come out when I turn the faucet on? It is. We never had these problems in suburbia when I was growing up!

We’ve been here before. Our well is generally good but in drought periods it gives way. Usually in these times the well will be dry by about 6 pm or 8 pm, then we turn the pump off and almost always we have water the next day. But these conditions have never started so early; usually it starts in the middle to end of August or into September, not mid July.

I should mention the cause of our water shortage. It’s just not that it hasn’t rained. It’s also that my kids left the outside faucet on and thus emptied the well; as far as I know, the jet pump is still functional as we did get a small stream of water last evening. We got this small stream right up until it was a few drips, then not even that. Then we knew we had a problem.

Alas, running water, how I love thee! When you are there, you are forgotten but once gone, you are so missed greatly. Maybe we can do a rain dance or something. At least its not California – not yet.

Wednesday, June 20th at 10:00 am:

We have water.  Not a lot, but at least some is flowing out of our taps!