In the The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Samuel Taylor Coleridge describes how, even in the midst of plenty, the mariner was dying of thirst. He laments, “Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink”.

Erywilde has lots of water – two creeks, a lake, a spring or old well up the hill AND water provided by the Arrowhead Lake Community (ALC) water supply via 1″ PVC pipe. I couldn’t drink from any of the former but definitely wanted to drink of the latter.

Amazingly, my first bill was for over 7,000 gallons in January. I  could rephrase Coleridge with “Billed for water, water everywhere while not a drop did I drink”. 7,000 gallons is a lot of water for one person who only uses an outdoor faucet to brush his teeth! Thinking it might just be a billing quirk due to the reactivation of our account, I was not too concerned but the February bill was just as high.

Why? Why? I pondered. There were puddles in some logging tire treads by the driveway and originally I thought it was another spring. Now, slowly, I came to the conclusion that it was not a spring but a ruptured water supply line and the leak was causing my high water bills.

So, I dug around the dirt for a while until I found the white PVC 1″ pipe. Great, now I can fix the leak. Except the pipe was not leaking where I found it. I dug 6″ uphill along the pipe. Still no leak. The water was leaking somewhere higher up the hill and gravity was pulling the water down the hill, following the path of the PVC pipe. Now, to find the break, I have to search up to 40′ of buried pipe. It could be  2″ or in 25′ from my first hole. I had no way of telling but I certainly did not want to just dig up the hill until I found the leak.

To minimize my efforts, I split the difference between my hole and the uphill meter at street level. I dug. Dry. Splitting the difference between my new hole and my original dig, I dug. Wet. Closing in, I dug another hole. Wet but now the distance was just a few feet between my new “wet” hole and my former “dry” hole so I just dug until I found the leak. The water was escaping from a joint in the pipe.

Knowing that I wanted to shut off the water BEFORE I repaired the pipe, I went to the meter. The meter had a large dial with a hand that measured gallons flow but also a small “spinner” that showed very low flow. It was turning, showing the leak’s “drip”.

I successfully turned the handle to the “closed” position.  Strangely, the spinner spun at exactly the same rate. I turned the valve the other way. Dial still spun. Now I am confused, not knowing which position was closed since the spinner spun the same regardless of the handle’s position.

Applying my deft computing logic, I figured that since the water was flowing with the valve in the position I found it, then turning it the other direction MUST BE (I hoped) the “closed” position. Repositioning the valve to its original position, I walked back down to my dig. I gently lifted the PVC to see if I could feel any water leaking or any other damage to the pipe or the leaking joint.

Whooosh! – the pipe practically exploded in my hand. Water? You want water? Well, from first hand experience, I can tell you that a 1″ pipe can deliver a lot of water at 80 – 90 psi. Your house probably has half the pressure and a much smaller diameter. To help visualize the scene, double the output of your garden hose, have it come out twice as hard, direct it through a broken PVC joint into your face. It was exciting.

The water knocked my glasses off, loosened a front tooth, blinded me as it sprayed at tremendous pressure uncontrollably into my face, my hands, on my clothes, into the dirt, up into the air. A small still voice was saying (1) I wish I were a fly on the wall watching this scene because it must be really funny and (2) I wish I were somewhere else.

Fortunately, I had brought a bigger 2″ pipe to slide over the source end of the 1″ pipe so I could capture and redirect any leaking water while I effected the repair. I quickly slid the larger pipe over the 1″ pipe and rerouted the water so it now rushed madly out of the end of the bigger pipe.  10′ away.

I could breathe again. Wet but breathing. Actually, soaked.

Hmm, I guess that the valve was now in the “open” position. Great. Armed with my hard won knowledge, I closed the mystery valve and made a temporary repair on the joint. I called the ALC water company and they fixed the shut off valve. Eventually, I fixed the break. At least it was fixed when I left.

Another potential source of drinking water is to dig a well. As this will cost over $5,000, I am not too excited about this option. There is a small standing pool above the cabin building site that has potential. It may be a former well or a spring. I will explore it further.

Finally, I am digging into the use of a cistern. We can capture rainwater from the metal roof (no bits of asphalt roofing to worry about), store it in a 1,000 gallon tank, filter, run it under an ultraviolet light and then drink it, wash with it, flush with it. Rainwater. How cool. And we get a lot of rainwater.

The property at the foot of the dam has a lot of standing water, aka “vernal ponds“. My son saw “billions and billions” of amphibian eggs last week and when I checked them this week, they were all gone. Hatched actually. Thousands of little tadpoles covered the bottom of the pond.  Today tadpoles, tomorrow frogs. Maybe a few salamanders. Seems if you have lots of frogs, you will have at least a few snakes.

Glad I have my really cool, tough guy, tactical (what does that really mean?) boots. They are up over my ankles so if I step on a snake my odds are better that he will strike my boot and not raise up and bite me in the upper calf. Are there cobras in Georgia?

While on the subject of snakes, a couple of guys who have been helping indicated their partiality to rattlesnake meat. “Can’t be much meat on one,” I observed but they said what little was there was good. “Tastes like chicken I bet,” I said.  Water moccasins are probably more prevalent. I promised to give them any snake bodies, (carcasses?) that I killed. I hope it is zero.

Your not looking for rattlesnacks blogger,

Frank