Cabarete: Water Rationing on North Coast

[chico bill]

It is the sources of these rivers that are drying up, being turned into a reservoir or diverted. A stable river requires a stable source or it is nothing more than a temporary drainage ditch.

Or a Styrofoam and plastic bag dumping ground

 

[windeguy]

We have had no water since November. We have a cistern and the water normally comes once a fortnight which fills up the cistern and is easily enough for 2 weeks until the next delivery. Now we have a little old man who brings a truck of water which fills up around 20% of the cistern - assuming he can find water. Sometimes it even has fish in it. That costs RD$600 and we have it once a week. No sign of any water coming at all in the near future. We live near Moncion dam and that is way down on normal levels as well.

Matilda

You do have a knack for picking exotic and intriguing locations, eh?

No water ever? That's a government even better than than the one in Cabarete/Sosua.

I suspect there will be a run on pumps at the local hardware stores in Cabarete over this.

 

[windeguy]

You would think with all the previous yrs of rain and flooding the rivers would be full

The thing is that rivers flow from their source supplied by recent rains and the local watershed eventually dumping into a reservoir or the ocean. Rivers are not a steady state systems that fill up and remain full from what happens a year before, but rather need frequent rains to stay at a good level.

The El Nino caused less rain in our area. This winter was much drier than last winter. Eventually another wet and rainy cycle will return with a La Nina. Hopefully sooner rather than later but there is no way to know exactly when.

 

[dv8]

I suspect there will be a run on pumps at the local hardware stores in Cabarete over this.

this is only a start. we have large cistern but no tinaco (by choice). that means the pump needs to be working with inversor so that we have running water even when there is no power. the cistern entrance is also easily accessible so that in the toughest times (3 days post hurricane blackout) we can draw the water out using a bucket.

 

[Buzzard]

we have large cistern but no tinaco (by choice).

pray tell, dear dv8, why no tinaco.

 

[william webster]

I have a cistern.... no tinaco

The cisterns are bigger.....

 

[DR Solar]

When Corraplata went dry on us, and just about everyone else in our area a few years ago, we installed rain water harvesting systems that are plumbed into our cisterns. Gutters with downspouts that filter large stuff using the Leaf Eater system. Mounted so they are easy to get to in order to clean the screen. Then a downspout First Flush diverter that takes the first few gallons of dirty roof rain and diverts that into another tube until full then into the cistern pipe. We have 4 of these systems. From the cisterns we have some filters and UV so all our water is pure and we drink from any and all faucets without any problem and no lugging bottles.

Plastic gutters are not that expensive and can be bought here in the D.R. The other two items can be found on Amazon. Installation is pretty easy but some planning might be a good thing. lol

1" of rain = about 4,000 gallons at our place. We seldom have to run the well pump and RO systems since our well water is very ... not very good.

 

[AlterEgo]

I have a cistern.... no tinaco

The cisterns are bigger.....

Cisterns certainly are bigger, but when there is no electricity our inverters will not run the pump. So we have a 550 gallon tinaco on the roof that is automatically kept filled from the cistern when there’s electricity. (Cistern is filled by submersible pump in our well).

I can’t imagine living without the tinaco.

Meanwhile, this week we had a visitor from Edesur, told Mr AE that all old contracts will be voided, new meters will be installed and we will have 24 hour electricity. Everyone around us already does, so we believe them. Time will tell, but we’ll keep the tinaco, just in case

 

[dv8]

pray tell, dear dv8, why no tinaco.

we had it removed as soon as we bought the house. we live in a pretty nice residential area, almost no one here has a tinaco on the roof. the cistern is enough.

 

[lifeisgreat]

this is only a start. we have large cistern but no tinaco (by choice). that means the pump needs to be working with inversor so that we have running water even when there is no power. the cistern entrance is also easily accessible so that in the toughest times (3 days post hurricane blackout) we can draw the water out using a bucket.

We installed a 12 volt RV pump in our cistern for back up when power out does a great job 3yrs now does 30 gallons hr and adjustable pressure settings works off battery low power use... $80 bucks , pressures 30 gallon tank no problem

 

[william webster]

I have 2 properties... both with cisterns....5,000 gals and bigger

They are positioned on the highest point on the property.

Yes, I use an impeller for better pressure, but I get water regardless... impeller or no

Filled from a well... both

Between the well and the solar.... I am literally untraceable....
no utility bills of any kind

 

[malko]

Cisterns certainly are bigger, but when there is no electricity our inverters will not run the pump. So we have a 550 gallon tinaco on the roof that is automatically kept filled from the cistern when there’s electricity. (Cistern is filled by submersible pump in our well).

I can’t imagine living without the tinaco.

Meanwhile, this week we had a visitor from Edesur, told Mr AE that all old contracts will be voided, new meters will be installed and we will have 24 hour electricity. Everyone around us already does, so we believe them. Time will tell, but we’ll keep the tinaco, just in case

That.

And when you are lucky, the tinaco fills itself with the "road" water. No electricity needed.
If needed use pump to fill tinaco from cistern.
When pesky relatives visit, keep pump " on " all the time, when you draw water, the pump automatically starts up.

Best of 3 worlds

 

[malko]

we had it removed as soon as we bought the house. we live in a pretty nice residential area, almost no one here has a tinaco on the roof. the cistern is enough.

I wouldnt dream of a tinaco on my roof, lol.
Build a " tower", 1) if the bloody thing bursts or leaks, you dont have water up to your ankles, 2) you can " sort" of hide it behind another structure ( like the house itself, or the outside kitchen, etc...).

 

[ctrob]

I wouldnt dream of a tinaco on my roof, lol.
Build a " tower", 1) if the bloody thing bursts or leaks, you dont have water up to your ankles, 2) you can " sort" of hide it behind another structure ( like the house itself, or the outside kitchen, etc...).

Yeah, but...don't you get heavy rains?

I don't care for cisterns. I grew up on wells, but here, I always worry about somebody taking the lid off. An animal crawls in and I'm taking a shower in carcass juice till it gets discovered.

 

[ctrob]

Between the well and the solar.... I am literally untraceable....
no utility bills of any kind

Nice. Off the grid and ready for the Zombie Apocalypse. I'll bring the MRE's.

 

[malko]

Yeah, but...don't you get heavy rains?

I don't care for cisterns. I grew up on wells, but here, I always worry about somebody taking the lid off. An animal crawls in and I'm taking a shower in carcass juice till it gets discovered.

It has a "manhole" lid thingy, that i could secure with a padlock if needed, but i dont. No1 apart from me, lr my wife has access.
Chlorine goes in it aswell.

 

[dv8]

I don't care for cisterns. I grew up on wells, but here, I always worry about somebody taking the lid off. An animal crawls in and I'm taking a shower in carcass juice till it gets discovered.

not a problem for us. two people household and the cats cannot lift the lid.

 

[malko]

Yeah, but...don't you get heavy rains?

I don't care for cisterns. I grew up on wells, but here, I always worry about somebody taking the lid off. An animal crawls in and I'm taking a shower in carcass juice till it gets discovered.

Also the " manhole " is a bit higher than ground level, and also has a small concrete "wall" like 5cm, aroumd it, so flowimg water cant get in from groumd level.

 

[Taylor]

Between the well and the solar.... I am literally untraceable....
no utility bills of any kind

May not want to advertise that you've got a well ... pretty sure that you're mean to pay a set monthly rate for well water use to corraplatta.