Pozo Update

The last video of the interior of the pozo (well) ran into a hitch because the water was dirty, and the camera couldn’t get a good picture of the bottom. So Super Prez had a bulto de cal (lime) dumped in and added more water in the hopes that the sediment would fall to the bottom and a clear image could be obtained. 

The video was then delayed because the camera broke. Finally, another company was hired, and a video was taken. The results weren’t terrible, but they weren’t as definite as we would have liked. 

The camera was able to film to 174 meters before running into the rock that had been demolished but not removed. The supporting tubing was 10 inches rather than 12 inches and of inferior quality. Super Prez said that we could insert a better tube inside the tubing that doesn’t meet the specs as reinforcement. That would also “fix” the damage caused by the giant boulder being thrown in. 

The company that agreed to clean the pozo was scheduled to come out the week of Semana Santa. Then, we would see how bad the obstruction was. However, it was a full month later before they finally arrived. 

When they did, the truck with the machinery zoomed past me while I was out walking the dog. It barrelled up the road to the pozo and less than 15 minutes later, I heard the machinery hammering away. Super Prez arrived shortly after and took some pictures. The first day (or ¼ day, as it were) went well. The crew did not show up the next day and was delayed the third day with a flat tire. They did finally return and worked about an hour more to remove the debris.

Another video was taken, and the well ended up being 239 meters deep, more than what we needed. Hooray! This information was then submitted as evidence to the water and sewer office (El Sistema Municipal de Agua Potable y Alcantarillado).

So now that we knew the well was deep enough, it was time to determine if there was enough water to support our little community. And for this, we’d need someone to conduct el aforo (water volume study).  Super Prez gathered several bids and finally picked a company out of Cuitzeo, about 20 minutes away. It took them about a month to get her, though, with one delay after another. Several times, they sent pictures of the truck all ready to roll, only to call back the next day with another excuse. 

I was all for hiring another company at that point, but Super Prez said they were substantially less costly than any of the others, that the were known for quality work, and that we would need that money we saved for other items. So we waited. 

Finally, the last week of May, they arrived and immediately started setting up. This involved inserting tubes and connecting a pump. They would pump the water from the depths of the well over several days and determine how long it took for the groundwater to replenish itself. We originally were going for 48 hours, but ended up doing 36 hours with the approval of SMAPAM. After all, we were in a drought, and we didn’t want to be excessively wasteful. 

The water was not hot but lukewarm. The pozo dug last year at the intersection had issues with the temperature of the water. It came out too hot to use without mixing it with cooler water. Not this baby. 

The quantity of water was phenomenal. For the first 24 hours, it came out at around 13 liters per minute. After that, it remained at a steady 9 liters per minute. We needed only 1 liter per minute to cover the current residents’ needs, so we were all good there.

Mid-way through the aforo, the water analysis people came out to take samples. These were sent to the laboratory, and we’ll have the results in about 3 weeks. We have a lot depending on the favorable conclusion of this final study.  

While all these shenanigans were going on, CFE (Comisión Federal de Electricidad) paid a surprise visit to La Yacata and brought some totally expected but welcome news. More to come.

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Not sure what’s going on? Get the backstory from La Yacata Revolution: How NOT to Buy a Piece of Heaven in Mexico.