Forums > Areas > Jalisco's Lake Chapala Region

Donna

Feb 15, 2003, 2:10 PM

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Water shortage/City water

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I live in Ajijic. The city water is shut off every day at my casita from sometime in the morning until around 4:30 p.m. Is this standard procedure through the dry season? Or is it just something going on in my neighborhood? We are conserving water, but on two days the tinaca got completely drained. I haven't heard anyone else talking about it, so I wonder if it's just my house or my area. If it's going on all over town, I'll shut up and do my part to conserve. If it's just my casita, I might need to look for a new place to live. I will appreciate any information that anyone can provide! Thanks, Donna

johanson

Feb 15, 2003, 2:22 PM

Post #2 of 13 (1182 views)

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Re: [Donna] Water shortage/City water

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Sure, we have to conserve water, and it is great that you are doing so. But you are probably experiencing the fact that the pumps are only turned on for several to 12 hours per day. I live very high overlooking much of the village. When things really get tight, we only get water every other day.

reg767

Feb 15, 2003, 8:01 PM

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Re: [johanson] Water shortage Usual ?

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Is this a typical occurrence? Chronic water shortage is not a particularly pleasant thought, year in and year out.

johanson

Feb 15, 2003, 9:38 PM

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Re: [reg767] Water shortage Usual ?

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Weird I wrote you an answer and it didn't show up. So here I go again. I am no expert. We do not have an over-abundance of water, nor do we normally have shortages except during the hottest times of the year and then they only can pump so much water out of the ground each day and they shorten the hours and frequency that the pumps pump to each area.

The fact that they only pump perhaps 5 to 10 hours per day to each neighborhood I think has to do with the fact that it costs less to do so than to keep the pumps on to everyone all of the time. I just know that every house has a tank either above or below ground that fills with water each time water is pumped to that neighborhood and that most houses have enough water for at least 2 days. I have enough for a week.

During the hottest time of the year, I only get water pumped to my tank every other day. And once when the neighborhood pump was down, I went without water for three days. But it's no big deal. We all cope. And so far my grass hasn't gotten that brown

PeggyS

Feb 16, 2003, 12:22 AM

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Re: [johanson] Water shortage/City water

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Hi Donna and Pete, Of course we conserve water, but having no water for part of the day (or for three days if you're not in Chula Vista Norte!) is something I have not heard about before. We live a couple of blocks up the mountain from the Ajijic Lloyds area, not in a gated community, and we have never experienced any time when there was no water. But I do remember visiting in CA when there was a water shortage and a sign in the bathrooms said,"If it's brown, flush it down. If it's yellow, let it mellow." So continue conserving water. But let the brown grass mellow.

johanson

Feb 16, 2003, 6:13 AM

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Re: [PeggyS] Water shortage/City water

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I have water all day because my water storage tanks receive sufficient water during the perhaps 6 to 12 hours there is water available from the city distribution pipes to fill those tanks. I promise you this is a very normal occurance in Ajijic. It doesn't necessarily mean that there is a water shortage. It is simply the way the water is delivered. That is why there are so many tanks on the roofs and so many underground storage tanks. If you don't have enough water, it usually means either the tank is too small or that the float has failed and your tank isn't being properly filled

If you are in Ajijic and have questions, the watee Department and one of the city wells is just one block below Lloyds and 1/2 block east on the north side of the street

esperanza

Feb 16, 2003, 6:21 AM

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Re: [PeggyS] Water shortage/City water

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Yes, this is entirely normal. As other posters have said, the town water pumps are turned off for a period every day during MOST seasons, not just during the dry season. During the dry season, the period is longer. I live in the heart of the village and for a week or 10 days we've had no water from the street until the late afternoon. Does your house have an aljibe (underground cistern), or only a tinaco (storage tank on your roof)? If you have an aljibe and are running out of water, perhaps your pump has failed or your aljibe has emptied for some reason; you will need a plumber to investigate. If you have, as I have, just a tinaco, perhaps the float inside it has failed or you simply need to adjust your water use until water is more available.

Many houses are set up so that the household water supply goes from the town water lines to the aljibe and is pumped from the aljibe to the tinaco and then is either pumped or gravity-fed to the sinks, showers, and toilets in your home. If you, as I do, have only a tinaco, the city water goes directly there; if you go up on your roof you can hear it filling during hours when the town water is turned on. In my house, all water for the garden bypasses the line to the tinaco and comes directly from the street to several faucets in the garden~when the town water is turned on. If the town water is NOT turned on, there is no water available for the garden.

If you have a gardener and can communicate with him in Spanish, let him tell you about the browning of the grass. It's entirely possible that there is no town water available during the hours that he's working. On the other hand, there is a variety of grass here that pretty much browns off during the dry season and comes right back again when the rains start late in the Spring.

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(This post was edited by esperanza on Feb 16, 2003, 6:22 AM)

johninajijic

Feb 16, 2003, 7:50 AM

Post #8 of 13 (939 views)

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Re: [esperanza] Water shortage/City water

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Yes, it sounds like only a capacity problem and she just needs a larger tinaco(s) or to have an aljibe built. Of course, as you point out, she should first make sure her current storage system is working properly.

Don

Feb 16, 2003, 9:30 AM

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Re: Water shortage/City water NEW

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I live in a town of about 35,000 just 60 miles south of Ajijic. I was unaware that the water supply is off for part of the day in that area. Our city water supply is on 24 hours, unless closed down for some repairs. The tinacos on some of the higher buildings won't fill during the day due to low water pressure, because of the high comsumption. The tinacos usually fill during the evening , when consumption is down and the pressure goes up. We have an aljibe which remains filled and if our two tinaco ever become too low, it automatically pumps up water to fill the tinacos. So my question is: Is your city water system shut off during parts of the day, or is the pressure just so low during the day, due to usuage that it appears to be off.

(This post was edited by Don on Feb 16, 2003, 9:31 AM)

esperanza

Feb 16, 2003, 10:04 AM

Post #10 of 13 (883 views)

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Re: [Don] Water shortage/City water NEW

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It's turned off, Don. Local custom.

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Feb 16, 2003, 10:15 AM

Post #11 of 13 (893 views)

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Re: [johninajijic] Water shortage/City water

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Hello John,how much does it cost to have a tinaco installed?

Donna

Feb 18, 2003, 5:24 AM

Post #12 of 13 (847 views)

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Re: [Donna] Water shortage/City water

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Thank you all very much for the info. I have only a tinaco, not an aljibe. I have a feeling that it is a capacity problem and we just have to be careful not to waste water. We take navy showers and keep buckets in the shower to catch extra water with which to "flush" the toilet. I don't have a gardener; our courtyard is quite small--and I wasn't really thinking of the plants, just thinking of my bad self. Thanks again for the helpful information.

manana

Feb 28, 2003, 6:32 PM

Post #13 of 13 (648 views)

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Re: [Don] Water shortage/City water NEW

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I sense, from reading this board for a couple of years, that there is a Large Realtor Scam underway. The place is running out of water. What more need one say.