Very rapid housing development and dwindling water resources may soon become San Miguel's next challenge Conscious that water is a scarce commodity in this semi-arid part of the world, when we built our house we included three cisterns to collect rainwater from our roofs. The side-by-side cisterns are located in the back of the house, in the space created by …
Tag: rainwater collection
An early symphony of rain
The rainy season began last night. Maybe. The sis-bam-boom of thunder and lightning, and the crescendo of fat raindrops pounding the skylights, was a welcome spectacle last night, assuming it was the overture to this year's rainy season.The all-night rain ranged from furious to gentle and back again but it never seemed to quit. Our cheapo …
Living the (Good) Green Life
When about three years ago we moved into a "green" house we had built—and which as far as we know remains the "greenest" house in San Miguel de Allende and the surrounding area—the initial weeks were not reassuring.A freak winter storm in January dumped several inches of rain over a two-week period and one morning …
Stuck in a hole
And a big hole at that. Cost overruns and delays are inevitable and two months into construction we've already been hit by both, caused by the construction of our extra-large rainwater collection system. Was it actually necessary? Is it worth it? I must confess that I've had my doubts. Stew insists it will pay off …
The Vital Question of Water
One Saturday each month, under the dancing shade of a grove of mesquite trees, Doña Felisa presides over a meeting of La Biznaga's water committee. Felisa is thin, neatly dressed and coiffed, and all-business. She takes meticulous notes of the proceedings which invariably revolve around money or how often and when to turn on the …
El Rancho Santa Clara 