Sick and Tired

Under normal circumstances I would have taken a day off today, feeling under the weather, as I do. However, there’s work to be done before I break for the summer, so I can hand-over at a natural break, rather than at some more awkward juncture.

At home, tired, I declare that I’m going to do “bugger all” for a bit – or words to that effect. It is not to be. (It rarely is). When I go downstairs I hear dripping water. After brief investigation I find that the hot water tank in the apartment is leaking – thankfully into a floor drain as designed. Minutes later our neighbour arrives and tells us not to use any appliances, and to turn off the main stop-cock, as they’ve been experiencing leaks too. Our other neighbour reports the same. Back in the main part of the house, I discover that our main tank has been leaking too.

Our neighbour's plumber is in the scene in ten minutes. He measures the water pressure at 9.8 bar, way above the 6 bar that tanks and appliances are rated for. The “leaks” are coming from the pressure-relief safety valves on the tanks.

A call to the council ensues. They investigate. A sensor in a pumping station has failed and apparently three pumps are running instead of one. The problem is soon corrected, stop-cocks opened, and normal service resumed.