The Water Man

Our water arrives in this truck once every two weeks.

The back of the truck opens up to reveal the pump and hoses.

 As far as cleanliness goes, the picture doesn't show it, but this area is always covered in dust.  Imagine my horror when I first noticed that my drinking water was just getting dusted off a bit by a cloth covered elbow before the hoses were clicked together. 

Howard, a.k.a "Waterman"

Filling the insulated 1000 gallon tank

Bird's eye view

 I asked the waterman one time if I should put bleach or anything in my tank to keep it clean...  "yeah, once every few months or so," was the friendly, nonchalant reply.  I handed my container of bleach to him  while he stood on the ladder.  He measured out a cap full and dumped it in.  That's it!  That's  my drinking water.  We never get sick so I'm figuring he must be right.  He also told me there's a Dr. in town who never adds bleach to his tank, saying the green algae does its work and that's good enough for him!  I think I'll stick to the bleach.

The water delivery day is always a looked forward to event!  Howard is full of local science and history lessons as well as some politics and religion.  I learned today that he doesn't have a computer because he's too busy working.  The kids and I learn more from Howard then we do the local TV Station!  We go through about 800 gallons every two weeks, give or take 50 gallons.  I always wonder towards the end of those two weeks if I'll have enough to do a load of laundry or take a bath.  We probably conserve more in the last few days before he arrives just because we don't want to run out!  During the spring thaw, these water trucks can only haul half their normal levels in order to make it down the roads without finding a soft spot to sink into.   Our driveway showed a soft spot forming so we ordered a load of gravel and the waterman kindly packed it down every time he came out.  (Except I did order the wrong type and it turned out to be a rather expensive, but beautiful pebbled driveway.)