“Energy and persistence conquer all things.”
-Benjamin Franklin
Michael likes to get his hands dirty and be involved in almost every project on the quinta, but when he and Tim decided to clean one of our two wells on the last day before he left, I just shook my head and muttered under my breath about this madness. Not only was his back killing him, but we didn’t even know how long it would take. My objections fell on deaf ears, so I had no choice but to embrace this last push to get yet another task done.
As part of the irrigation system for the orchard (blog post to follow) Michael installed a pump with a float switch, which we switched on at 5pm on Wednesday afternoon to try and pump as much of the water out, before Tim arrived the next morning with his much stronger sump pump for pumping out the last meter or so of water.
We set the alarm for 5am to start the day with a coffee or two, as we knew it would be a long day without rest until the job was done. Michael went to check on the water level while I made coffee, and was happy with the result, as the pump had switched off automatically as it should.
Tim arrived just as the sun was gliding over the horizon. It took a while to lower down and secure two ladders, the sump pump, and a pressure washer, before Tim climbed in to start washing the walls, while the last of the water was pumped out.
Although Michael cut the brambles growing in the well back about two years ago, they have grown back with a vengeance. It took Tim and Michael quite a while to systematically wrestle them, but once done, it became much easier to clean the algae off the walls and remove all the plants growing in the cracks above the water level.
We marveled at the beautiful stonework and skill of the people who built this well, who knows how long ago. As the water level dropped, an opening revealed itself, and we got excited, hoping that what we were seeing was a water mine feeding into the well. A water mine is a tunnel that is cut, usually into sandstone rock, to filter water from the water table through the rock, so literally mining for water. Later, when Michael could have a good look it turned out to only go about two metres in, but it was big enough to stand in, and carved out of solid rock with a domed ceiling. An interesting feature, even though we are not entirely sure what the intention is or was, apart from perhaps helping the inflow of water.
Once the water was all pumped out, a thick layer of around a metre in depth of silt remained. Apart from hauling bucket loads of it, Michael and Tim took turns to dilute it with water so that the pump could suck it up and spit it out at the top. This bottom layer gave up sticks, stones, and the remains of a hose, which was most probably used the previous time the well was cleaned, which, from the look of it, could have been anywhere between 5-10 years ago.
The job of carting away the silt, wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow, fell on my shoulders. I dumped it into some of the holes we dug for our orchard to help enrich the soil in which we will hopefully plant around 40 fruit trees in autumn. With the sun getting hotter and hotter, I could feel my energy lag, but luckily I could rely on my excuse of work at the house I had to take care of to run away from the relentless sun on my shoulders.
Eight hours after Tim arrived and the work started, Michael walked up to the house to announce that they were done. I made my way down one last time to take photos and shoot the last of the video footage for the day. And although Michael’s back made him grimace in pain, he had a twinkle in his eyes as he declared that he had a lot of fun.
With the hum of the generator silenced, the drip-drip of water as it slowly started to seep back, felt like an appropriate ending to a long, hot day of backbreaking work.
According to Michael’s calculations around 18,000 litres of water a day seeped back into the well to reach a level very near to what it was before it was pumped dry to be cleaned. With a diametre of 4.15m and a depth of approximately 5.15m to the top of the ground level stone wall, it contains roughly 68,000 litres of water when full. This being at the beginning of the hot, dry summer, it will be interesting to see how much the water level drops, before the rains arrive in autumn.
Portuguese Words:
água – water
poço de água – well
limpar – to clean
nascer do sol – sunrise
Written by: Jolandi
The construction of that well is really a work of art. The water mine is especially a rarity in this century, since most modern systems simply use an electric pump to draw water through a pipe poked into the earth. But the work! Michael must be made of steel to rip out the bramble, then scrape the scum out of the well. With an aching back! I hope he took a long break after that. An injured back will come back to haunt you when you’re over 60 (says one who knows).
I hope the well will keep your farm supplied with plenty of fresh water through the dry summer months. California and a good portion of the American West are under a drought, for how long is anyone’s guess. I growl to myself when I see someone wasting good water on a lawn, when farmers are cutting down almond and other crop trees because they don’t have enough water to keep them all alive.
It really is a work of art, Hangaku. Such a pity that certain skills are just disappearing.
Water is such a precious resource, and so often it is not appreciated as such. Having grown up in a country where droughts often wreak havoc, and on a farm with a limited water supply, I always cringe when water is wasted or misused. I hope the rains will return soon, as without water we certainly cannot live.
Michael’s back has been playing up for years. He is seeing a sports physiotherapist at the moment, who will hopefully be able to help, as various scans have not been able to find a cause. – Jolandi
What a back-breaking job that was! I do hope Michael’s back is beginning to feel a little easier now. I love the video, Jolandi! I had no idea that wells had to be cleaned like that and regularly, too and what a beautifully constructed one! Well done, all three of you!
Thank you, Clare. Yes, apparently one should clean them every three years or so. Thank goodness it isn’t a job that needs to get done every year. We do want to cap both the wells on the land, which will hopefully push the need for cleaning back another year or two. I’m so glad you enjoyed the video. I shot a lot of video footage on the day, so it was quite a task to pick through it. – Jolandi
I’m amazed you got through that job in only eight hours. I found the video fascinating, it really demonstrated the process. Do you cover the well in summer to reduce evaporation? And as other have said, a construction work of art!
I’m glad you found the video fascinating, Gwen. Sometimes photos and words cannot quite capture something as well as video footage. We are planning to cap both our wells, but haven’t had the time for that yet. Michael is busy drawing up a list of projects to work on when he visits again mid-July, but he did promise me that we will have time to go search for river beaches and not work all the time, so I guess that will be a project for another time. Not sure if we will cover it this summer with something else until we can get to that project. – Jolandi
Eish, thankfully Mike had Tim to help him or he may have not made his flight back. I’m impressed with how much work you guys are doing. I just hope that once these big jobs are initially done you will be able to find the perfect rhythm of distributing these tasks evenly overtime.
Looking forward to your next post.
Mike
I’m also hoping to find that perfect rhythm to distribute the yearly tasks in a way that is more manageable, Mike. One thing I’m learning, is that when Michael says to me we need a tractor, I now don’t hesitate to say “you bet we do”!! The vegetation definitely needs to be cut a couple of times a year. I guess I’m going to have to learn how to drive a tractor . . . 🙂
I think you will love the post about the orchard. We have crazy plans. – Jolandi
Wow! You guys are incredibly intrepid and handy. And you had the presence of mind to capture it all in photos and on video. It seems like such a daunting task to me. I’m sure your plants will love the silt. Hope you’re all not too sore.
I think we both love the process of accumulating new skills, Caroline. That said, although we’ve lived and worked in cities, both Michael and I grew up in a rural environment (both spending part of our formative years on farms), where practical skills are highly prized. Apart from the fact that Michael has an insatiable curiosity and yearning to learn new things, he spent most of his life working with his hands. He is one of those rare project managers who not only understand all the facets of the job, but can actually do most of the work himself. All this are helping a lot when faced with new tasks and projects on the quinta. Well cleaning was definitely a first for both Michael and myself. – Jolandi
This is astonishing! This is a huge well for you three to clean it alone in eight hours!! I’m in awe. Extremely well done! (I left a comment with a link to your comment under your previous post. It might be hiding in spam.)
Thanks for your kind words and compliment, Manja. It was an exhausting job, but it felt really good when it was all done. – Jolandi
PS. The comment wasn’t hiding in spam, but as I manually approve comments (to avoid spam flooding the site), it sometimes takes a while as I only check in once every day or two.
That is a JOB! Wow! As others have said, it’s hard to imagine getting all that cleaned up in only 8 hours. I love cleaning things, but this looks overwhelming. Great job!
Thanks, Lexie. I definitely felt overwhelmed (even though my share of the work was a fraction), but luckily Michael and Tim didn’t share my sentiments. They had a great time, even when Michael’s back didn’t enjoy the job. – Jolandi
That video is fabulous! I can’t believe I was captivated for the entire thing. Who knew cleaning a well would be so interesting? Tim is a good guy. I love how he held the ladder steady when Michael climbed. What a big job and I know you all had smiles when it was done. If I was there, the next morning I would go right back to the well, not only to see how high the water was, but just to look at how changed it was after all the work. When I was doing that work in France, we excavated an ancient well and found animal bones from something unfortunate that had fallen in. I’m surprised you found so little inside your well, other than rocks, sticks, and a hose. I guess in 5-10 years there is less chance of something to have a fatal accident. I can’t help but think how lucky you are to have access to a water table to help with irrigation. Will there be enough water to irrigate everything with this well?
I am so glad we didn’t find any bones in our well, Crystal. Like you say, it is a bit unusual that we found so little. Thank goodness! I didn’t think people would find the video very interesting, so I’m glad to hear that you were captivated. I must say that I wasn’t sure myself how it will play out beforehand, so I’m glad I captured the process. Michael did go back that evening and first thing in the morning to check the water level, Crystal. Like you, he just couldn’t resist. I hope we will get enough water from the well to irrigate all the trees we are planning to plant in our orchard and keep a good size vegetable garden. I guess only time will tell how much water we really have, but we think it would last through the summer until the winter rains come. – Jolandi