The real Preston

The real Preston is a self-filling rainwater reservoir.

You may have heard of the phrase, “The Real McCoy” meaning the proper thing; it is popularly attributed to an escaped black slave in Canada who studied further in Scotland becoming a certified mechanical engineer. He was really an inventor, with eventually 57 patents to his credit, one of which was an automatic oiler of steam engines, formerly done entirely by hand.

The story goes that when purchasing an engine, prospective buyers would ask if it had “the real McCoy.”

Today, I introduce “The Real Preston.”

Few things are more empowering than becoming largely self-sufficient with regard to the supply of water for our homes.

Most South African women remain to this day under the curse of being carriers of water; on their heads rather than by hand, it is true. It’s not only about an adequate supply, but equally breaking the chain of transmission of serious bacterial diseases like typhoid and cholera from a dirty stream.

According to the CSIR, “the rain can be harvested not only for domestic-use, but also to provide water for schools and clinics.” All of the available options must include being able to store it on site.

Most commonly reported recently is the government’s favourite, a 5,000 litre PVC-tank costing apparently some R28,000 to install. Apart from the exorbitant price, it has the serious drawback, not unlike the engines prior to McCoy, of having to be filled regularly by a tanker.

Another rather better option would be a similarly sized fibreglass tank costing about R10,000 but it too has to be filled. They have the advantage of being nearly indestructible, are fire-proof and can be repaired if damaged.

And now introducing “The Real Preston.”

The Real Preston has the distinct advantage over the government’s preferred container that for only an extra R2,000 if will store five times as much water, viz 25,000 litres; but its real benefit is that like McCoy’s automatic oiler, it is filled automatically, with no need to wait for the uncertain arrival of the government’s tanker. Well, one does have to wait for the spring rains.

This self-filling Preston however does have one drawback; it must be erected adjacent to a roof with gutters. It is absolutely perfect for schools and has the advantage that it comes in many different sizes.

For a school the governing body would need to look at a 500,000 litre Preston for a pristine, reliable supply of water.

The cost of a 25kl Preston is roughly divided equally between material and labour. Bricks, cement and stone would cost about R10,000; and half again for the roof and sand for the mortar.

Digging the hole by hand, mixing the concrete and laying the bricks takes ten days; plastering and fitting the roof about another three. It would all be done by six strong men in roughly two-weeks unless they belonged to a trade union, in which case one would have to reckon on several months with a high risk of non-completion.

The 50,000 kl Preston would have huge economy of scale but obviously would require the services of a properly qualified civil-engineer. The home job just requires a bit of savvy. Plastering it correctly is the only challenge; and placing some reinforcing in the base and walls.

Unlike McCoy, Preston never had the foresight to patent his design. It’s not rocket science.

August was Women’s Month; few things would be more empowering than for government to establish dozens of teams to build Real Prestons, enabling the ladies to spend less time carrying water of questionable quality. Underground it is very cold, even in midsummer, and I find it perfectly potable; but the good wife does boil hers.

As I write the spring rains have arrived and we listen with pleasure to the gurgle in the downpipes, and watch the water-level in the Real Preston rising; for eight out of ten years we have again escaped having to use a drop from the utility. You could do the same; so could remote schools and clinics. There is no need to be beholden to state incompetence.

Water for the garden

Water for the garden certainly does not require chlorination. The real Preston will provide irrigation for all your vegetables and fruit trees too.

Broad beans for example, grown in the dry season, must have ample water or they quickly take strain, become vulnerable to black fly and the pods shrink.

In all five Blue Zone countries they grow and eat broad beans. It's all about a compound called L-Dopa, the precursor to the happy hormone.

• Blue Zone longevity
  

The real Preston

The real Preston was conceived after seeing the oiler designed by McCoy that revolutionised steam-engines.

If I was to do it again, I would increase the diameter to five-metres, and perhaps a little deeper depending on how many houses it must supply.

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Address:

56 Groenekloof Rd,

Hilton, KZN

South Africa

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