About a week ago we started to experience problems with water pressure in the house. As it turns out, the water pressure from the city is insufficient. So homes here have a water pressure tank that is used to compensate. It consists of a tank in the backyard and a pump at the bottom of the cistern under our carport.
As you can see from the close up the top of the water pump blew off and ultimately destroyed its ability to pump water. Generally one would expect more than one year on a pump given this is a brand new house, but it appears as though they installed the very cheapest pump one could buy. So now we wait until Thursday or Friday to have it replaced and resume our life with normal water pressure.