The Water
Older than
the city.
Under the house there is a borehole that keeps going long after most stop. Past the rain that fell last summer, down into water that has been waiting in the rock for a very long time.
Why it is different
There are two kindsof water under a hill.
The first kind is young. It fell as rain, soaked through the soil and settled near the surface. Most boreholes stop there, because it is easy to reach and there is usually enough of it.
The second kind sits far deeper, held in the fractures of the ridge itself. It did not arrive last season. It has moved through rock slowly enough to take some of that rock with it, which is why it comes up carrying potassium and other minerals.
Ours goes for the second kind. We call it ancient water, because frankly, that is what it is.
- Source
- Our own borehole, on site
- Character
- High in potassium and other minerals
- Power
- Pumped on solar
The way down
Past the rain.Into the rock.
Scroll, and the drill goes with you. The diagram shows the idea, not the measurements.
01
The ridge
Where the house sits, carved into the rock.
02
Soil and weathered rock
Rain soaks in from above.
03
Surface level water
Young water. Recent rain. Where most boreholes stop.
04
Solid ridge rock
Hard, dry and slow to drill. We kept going.
05 · our source
Ancient water
Held deep in the fractures of the ridge. High in potassium and other minerals.
- Potassium · high
- Calcium
- Magnesium
- Silica
Where it goes
From the rockto the table.
The kitchens
Three kitchens run on it. Stocks, sauces, ice and every pot of pasta water start under the house.
The bar
Clear ice and clean dilution. A good drink is mostly water, so it helps when the water is good.
The garden
The koi pond, the waterfall and the cloud pruned trees are all fed from the same source.
The house
Every tap and basin. When the city has a dry day, the ridge does not.
Off the grid, on the rock
Solar above. Water below.
Frankly Oscar makes its own power and draws its own water. For an event that means no outages, no tankers and no apologies. For the hill, it means a venue that takes very little from anyone else.
Everyone comes for the view. The best thing here is underneath it.