We are now on water rationing. Not the island, just us. Ages ago, our sterna was infiltrated by a rampant fig tree, and was emptying as fast as we could fill it, and our landlord installed a 500-litre water tank instead. That’s fine by us because the cold water comes out hot in the summer, so we don’t have to use the water heater, and after all, 500 litres is a lot of water, isn’t it?
It is, normally, because we top it up every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and sometimes, on other days. Our feed is permanently open, so it looks after itself. However, this year for Easter, the May 1st bank holiday has been moved to next Tuesday, which means, unless we get water in today or on Saturday, we will not be able to top up the tank for a whole week. A full tank will last us three days, and that’s being careful. As you can see, 500 litres doesn’t go that far, and that’s one of the reasons we’re careful with water usage here on Symi. We do the washing on the mornings when the feed is on, and water the garden then too, so that water doesn’t come from the tank but from the mains. There’s a bowl in the shower to use in the loo, so that saves a couple of flushes, even though we only have a small wc cistern, and showering is a case of: get damp, water off, get soaped, and water on for a quick wash off. I don’t think we use even a standard non-Symi amount of water per day, but it works out at roughly 166 litres per day between us, or 83 per day each, which doesn’t sound possible, but apparently is.
We know we don’t have a leak as a) we would see it if it came from the tank, and b) the pump would run if it was leaking from a pipe. So, next time you’re here, think about how much water you use, because, come next Wednesday morning, we could be a bit dry at our place. Neil has to have a shower after the gym and before work each day, but I will go without for a few days, so if you find yourself standing beside me, well, sorry about the smell.
