Independence

When you take a look at the Google Maps satellite view at Independence, you see a large number of strange oval shapes in the ground; many seem to be connected, but it’s still not clear what they are:

In fact, they are RIBs (“rapid infiltration basins”), part of a large water reuse system “Water Conserv II” set up by Orange County, Florida, to improve water reuse and reduce discharge to waterways (see also here); the basic idea is that when there’s a lot of waste water, it’s pumped to these shallow storage ponds, from where it can slowly drain to the underground aquifer. There are also benefits in delivering water to where it’s needed, reducing farmers pumping from the aquifer.

And today, finally, I saw an RIB in use – I had to stop and take a couple pictures:

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Visiting Independence today to check out the finished HVAC ducting, I noticed a number of “nowhere to nowhere” duct vents in the ceiling of some rooms. As I saw more and more, I realized that they were installed as an “air link” across any door that could be closed, presumably to improve whole house air flow.
Turning to Google now, I’ve learned that these are called “jump ducts” and their intent is to “pressure balance” bedrooms. Interesting!

“Jump ducts”

Extractor vent ducts have also now been installed in the bathrooms, as well as the dryer vent – for now the exit hangs below the roof, but when exterior trim is fitted, they will be properly placed in the soffits …

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Today’s visit found lots more ductwork – but it’s not finished because they’ve had to redo a lot of it! When I visited Tuesday I spotted an odd thing, and it’s forced the HVAC installers to redo some work.

But meanwhile, the partially complete ducting is entertaining (reminiscent of the movie Brazil!):

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