Tlaloc's gone missing:
It was too humid to watch paint dry. We didn’t get enough rain to watch the grass grow. Aside from assorted Bridge and Scrabble games around town, it was a long, hot summer in La Manzanilla.
Seldom do we have a summer when the weather doesn’t do some mischief: blow down a tree or two, gouge deep rain gullies through hillside streets, or relocate large parcels of earth. Although annoying to the person whose property is affected, these natural disasters are good for our collective summertime morale. They give us something to talk about, a reason to get together either to gawk or to help. This year there’s barely a storm-tossed stone on the beach.
Blame El Niño. Blame Global Warming. Blame Tlaloc, the Aztec rain god. La Manzanilla, like much of Mexico, is in a drought.
The New York Times reported this is the worst dry spell Mexico has endured in six decades. Leopoldo Loza Montaño (aka Morgan), the official in charge of La Manzanilla’s water since 1995, said this is the driest year he remembers so far this century. Local weather reporter Deanna Hammersley confirmed that this summer’s rainfall-to-date is about half the average amount we’ve received each year since she started keeping records in 2004.
During the slow season, when so few people are here, low water levels in the three strategically placed wells that supply La Manzanilla cause minor inconveniences. Pumps overheat trying to suck up available water to send through the maze of underground pipes to the properties they serve. Buildings in the affected area(s), especially those at higher elevations, can be without water until the pump is repaired, usually within a day or two.
The prospect is dim for any aquifer-enriching storms in the few weeks remaining of the official rainy season. Then the winter residents will start trickling back in, followed by a deluge (we hope!) of vacation visitors. Triple the number of users will be vying for water at half capacity. What happens then?
Morgan explained that city water is pumped daily throughout La Manzanilla for as many hours as possible between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. During the heaviest usage periods, the two weeks of Christmas/New Year and Semanas Santa and Pascua, they increase the delivery window to 12 hours per day. Most likely, he said, they’ll have to cut back those hours this winter. How big a reduction will depend on how the water – and the pumps – hold out.
At this time, Morgan said, there are no plans for mandated residential or commercial water rationing. No one caught wasting water will be fined. But, he cautioned, water is scarce and every person in the village needs to make an effort to use it wisely.
| ‘If it’s yellow, let it mellow; if it’s brown, flush it down.’ A time-honored water conservation tip. |
His recommendations included not watering the streets, sweeping instead of hosing down balconies, patios and sidewalks, and putting covers on swimming pools when not in use to reduce evaporation. Property owners should check for and repair plumbing leaks, indoors and out, including replacing toilet clappers that don’t close.
Those of us from California and other drought-prone areas know the drill. Turn off the water while brushing your teeth or shaving, and while shampooing or sudsing in the shower (especially tedious with quirky Mexican plumbing that can require much fiddling with the caliente and frio faucets to get the water temperature just right). Check the soil of lawns, gardens and potted plants to verify they need it before you water. And, of course, there’s “If it’s yellow, let it mellow; if it’s brown, flush it down.”
Google lists over 20 million entries for a search of “water conservation tips” and another 20 million for “water conservation facts”. For example, one leaky faucet can waste 100 gallons a day. Letting the water run while brushing your teeth uses about 5 gallons. A 10-minute shower uses 40 gallons of water. One toilet flush uses 6.5 gallons. A few drops wasted here, a gallon or two there, and before you know it, “Hey, what happened to the water!”
Given the altruistic nature of most La Manzanilla residents, voluntary water conservation should be no problem. But what about visitors? Many spend big bucks to get here, stay here, and play here. They deserve to know, up front, that they can do anything to excess they want while they’re here, except waste our water.
Fortunately, most people drawn to La Manzanilla, especially returning renters who think of this as their home-away-from home, are ecology minded. They’ll be willing to do their part in reducing water consumption — if they know what to do. A lot of people aren’t even aware how much water they can waste by using it in a way that’s “normal” to them.
To facilitate conservation, rental-property owners may want to include a list of appropriate water-saving tips in their welcome packages or post them on site. Plenty of hints are available on the Internet. Asking guests to please not run the dishwasher until it’s full, to adjust the water level in the washing machine to the size of the load, not to use the toilet as a disposal for ashtrays and used tissues, turning off faucets when the water is serving no purpose, etcetera, can make a huge difference.
La Manzanilla is not in a crisis situation, yet. But this summer’s way-below-average rainfall has made it important that we make every drop of water count this winter … and start praying for next year’s rain.
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