@letsmile
I’m intrigued by the public source which you are drinking from…
Is it marked “potable” because, if not, it might not be suitable for regular imbibing…
(I’m assumign you’re in France… sorry if I’m wrong…)
We have several sources in the commune… water literally bubbling up and out… however, none is marked as “potable” and the water is used for irrigation crops/animals/gardens… even washing the cars and whatever.
One particular source had a lavoir built over it and folk used to come and do their laundry therein… drying sheets etc and laying them over the bushes/ferns in the sunshine…
Where a source is directed to a “well supply”… the well is covered to avoid contamination and the water piped to the houses…
this water is tested regularly to ensure it is safe for human consumption.
This is what happens in our commune… it might be different elsewhere…
Yes I’m in France, the source is potable and tested, otherwise I wouldn’t be going there The general practice around here seems to be quite the opposite to what you suggest, by adding a sign ‘eau non potable’ where the water is not drinkable i.e. not tested. The source I use is very very well used - in fact almost every time there are folks there, and if not there when I arrive, they frequently arrive after. There is another source actually in the village, which is also tested, but I much prefer the taste of the source that I use.
Things differ from here to there… the most important thing is to know what’s what.
It’s possibly 'cos we have so much water bubbling up through the rocks, all over the place, that only the potable stuff is highlighted… in as much as it’s a tap outside the SdFetes.
Indeed that could be it, as here in the South, rain is certainly a rare commodity and not flowing everywhere. But in these cases, maybe it’s a benefit, as it perhaps makes folks/communes cherish the liquid gold more
The farmers are restricted on what they can draw out of the ground at the moment I think… I know the lavoir is looking very low and certainly not able to do the laundry there…
EDIT: I don’t care what Meteo France says… it’s now 40c in the shade here… and 25c inside our old stone house… I’m staying indoors (what a surprise…)
This is rather what I have experienced in many area of France. Years back very few sources, fountains etc had signs on them apart from some that were drinking water in village centres and people drank from unmarked ones quite happily. But the powers that be decided that that could lead to ambiguity, so anything that had not been tested had to have “non-potable” slapped on it. Many of these are perfectly potable!
A really old and good friend here, a Frenchman, many years ago used to visit us with all sorts of help and advice and we had lots of laughs, our humour being akin to his own.
One time we asked him if the water in France was safe to drink from the tap, he puffed himself up in mock indignation, ‘of course it is, France is a civilised country’.
Later, on the way home back in England we stopped at a motorway service area and saw a tap in the wall of the building. The sign said ‘water non-potable’. We dissolved in laughter, the joke was firmly on us, and we repeated it to him on our next visit.
Sitting here by the front door, catching up, I glanced out towards the west and the hills on the other side of the valley. Mist? That usually advertises rain which arrives with us 10 or so minutes later. 15 minutes later it is still there, but thicker. It is now in the valley and, horrors, I am getting a very faint smell of smoke.
Sitting here almost entirely surrounded by trees, fire is the only thing I worry about. I rushed outside and round the house, no sign of smoke here or fire. But still that faint wiff.
I freed the long coiled hose from the tendrils of the bush I have been slowly clearing over the last couple of mornings and, removing the kinks, flaked it out and tested it, ready for use.
I hope I won’t need it, but I can hardly see the hills now and the only plus is that the smell is still very faint.
OK, but a tad worried. The smoke is still in the valley though there is a light breeze from that direction, difficult to square that circle. If we do have fire here a SW breeze is good news, as, by design, almost all the trees near us are to the north and east so any fire will be taken away from the house.
There are 3 shade trees along our western front terrasse, all within reach of the hose, so I will be keeping a keen watch on those.
I suspected as much Lily, but what a long way, at least 150 kms from here as the crow flies, or flees.
Is it really heavy, as in affecting breath where you are, barely noticeable here, it just hangs there in the valley, obscuring the hills.
Sand from the Sahara comes to mind David
Facebook can be a mine of information… not enough to convert me though
No not that heavy, seems to be coming in waves, sometimes obscuring the sun.
Totally clear in st astier at 08.00 at 09.15 smoke was in the air.
Was woken by Herself at 03:00 two mornings ago claiming she could smell smoke. I could too, so I checked around the buildings and every room in the house.
No sign of fires near or far, but there was a faint hint of smoke in the air blowing in from the SE.
The general practice around here seems to be quite the opposite to what you suggest, by adding a sign ‘eau non potable’ where the water is not drinkable i.e. not tested. The source I use is very very well used - in fact almost every time there are folks there, and if not there when I arrive, they frequently arrive after. There is another source actually in the village, which is also tested, but I much prefer the taste of the source that I use.
she is wrong.