water

ditch witch trench
Emma and I installed a waterline to my house July 31. Rented a model 1820 Ditch Witch, aka “the pipe finder”. Everyone knows, call Miss Utility (811) before you dig. I am on a first name basis with Miss Utility. She marked the underground gas and electric, the lines one really wants to avoid.
Lost in history when the Woolen Mills Village first got “government” water. The houses had wells. According to oral history, the Mill had a water system for portions of the village. Albemarle County installed a sanitary sewer and a water main to the WMV in the 1930’s. Emma and I found 3 retired supply pipes to my house with the ditchwitch. The last was polybutelene, “qest big blue”. These service laterals lasted less than 30 years on average. Hoping the newly installed one inch type K will last 100 years, or until the Ragged Mountain reservoir gets its fill pipe installed, whichever comes first.

Author: WmX

I stumbled off the track to success in 1968, started chasing shadows that summer. Since then, In addition to farm-laborer and newspaper photographer my occupational incarnations include dishwasher, janitor, retail photo clerk, plumber, HVAC repairman, auto mechanic, CAT scan technologist, computer worker and politico (whatever it takes to buy a camera.) I am on the road to understanding black and white photography.