Electricity
Moorea has 220 Volt 60 cycle electricity as in France. Power is reasonably reliable but outages do occur from time to time. The Station has back-up generators that kick-in automatically and provide power to the labs and core equipment. If you plug a US appliance (110 Volt) into the European wall power sockets, it will be immediately destroyed. Beware of adapters that allow you to insert American plugs into the local European (French-style) sockets – always double check your appliance can handle 220V. Most laptops are OK because they have a built in transformer. To conserve energy, please turn off lights, fans and appliances when you are not using them.
Water
Moorea has a municipal water system that connects the Station, but the water is pumped to tanks in order to supply the entire property with suitable pressure. Excessive use of water can cause these tanks to empty and we will be without water for several hours. As a result, please make sure the toilet that you’ve just flushed stops running or it will drain the tank.
Drinking water
Water treatment plants are being installed to increase the coverage of potable water on Moorea. The water is fine for cooking, brushing teeth etc. but for drinking, it is recommended to use water from the separate (small) faucet on many of the Station sinks, which is attached to a filtration system.
Sewage
The Station uses septic systems that rely upon bacterial action and are thus highly susceptible to overfilling and chemical imbalance. Do not use chlorine-based cleaners in toilets. Do not put any chemicals down any drain or toilet. To help the bacterial breakdown of the sewage, please put any trash or feminine hygiene products in the trash receptacles provided.