Water

For the last month or so, Dawasco, the public water utility in Tanzania, has been experiencing significant outages.  The stated reason is that they need to make repairs on their system so a major pipeline has to be shut down.

Communication of the outages has been sporadic and generally transmitted by word of mouth. Sometimes, we'll get advance notice of the outages and can make sure our backup tanks are filled. Sometimes, we won't.  Other times, they will say that the water will be off for 2 days and it's off for over a week.  We've just come off a (largely unscheduled) 13 day outage for some parts of the city and this past weekend, Dawasco issued a statement that water will be off for another 2 weeks (which is disturbing if they are saying 2 weeks up front...how long will it actually be?!!)

Whenever this happens, 2 million+ people in the city of Dar es Salaam are without a reliable water supply.  When Dawasco is cut, the options are to buy water at the store or to have a water truck come to fill up your backup tanks (The cost for the truck is around $50 for about 1300 gallons of water and like any good believer in supply-side economics, water truck companies ensure that this cost can go up during shortage times).  Even Dawasco water here is significantly more costly than our water bills in NJ. (around $25 a month for an average family).

Once the water is cut, people try to go into conservation mode.  Laundry is done by hand rather than by machine; showers become briefer and less frequent; flushing of toilets is less frequent and/or done by bucket; grass is not watered; cars are not washed.  There is always the hope for rain and collection buckets are put under roof drain spouts.  But the reality is that we are the middle of hot, dry, dusty season here (in the 90s, high humidity) and the need for water is urgent.  I personally drink over 3 liters of water a day, to say nothing of the number of shirts I sweat through.

Thankfully, our family is in a really good position in that our landlord takes care of our water, which is included in the rent.  He has created an incredible number backup tanks and wells here on the Hill (the rumor is that he has an entire basement under his house filled with backup water....clearly this man is determined to combat the dire water situation).  Even with all these preventative measures, he told us when we moved in that about every 2 years or so, even he needs to call a water truck (which we'll need to help pay for).  So far, in the year and a half living here, we've never run out of water, even with these 13 day outages.

Because of our plentiful supply, I honestly don't even know when Dawasco is shut off except by seeing its impact on others.  I start seeing Tanzanian workers on the Hill carrying their water jugs and filling up at our well.  I see grass getting brown, cars getting dirty, and the looks of stress on peoples' faces.  Discussion of Dawasco becomes a common topic.

The irony of all this is that the water, even when it's flowing plentifully, isn't even of good quality.  It absolutely has to be filtered before drinking or washing fruits/vegetables because it contains a myriad of pathogens and bacteria.  Although every family here makes their own decisions about when they use maji safi (clean water) and when they use tap, I take a very conservative position in that I use filtered water for all cooking (even stuff that's boiled) and brushing teeth.  When we first moved here we had a lot of stomach issues and so it's worth the extra time and effort to me to prevent as much as I can.  Besides containing invisible hazards, it's also incredibly dirty water - we need to clear out our filter periodically and it is caked with gunk (dirt, sand, etc.) that comes from the tap.

After Dawasco returned last week, a number of people in our community started developing nasty boils on their skin.  It probably makes sense that after weeks of lying dormant even more bacteria had entered the pipeline.  I honestly don't even want to think about the water quality and what's entering their skin and hair as my kids shower.  I try to encourage them to keep their eyes and mouths closed, but how realistic is that?  Not surprisingly, skin infections and stomach ailments are common here and cuts take a very long time to heal.

I know that water was always something I took for granted in the West and at times, I think longingly of the days when the hot water tap brought hot, the cold water tap brought cold, water was always flowing, and I could even be safe in drinking the water that filled my toilet bowl if I wanted.  And let's be honest here:  there are people all over the world that are suffering from these, and even worse conditions:  women and children walking miles under blazing sun and facing unsafe conditions (including rape) just to get water that will make them sick.

Consider supporting one of these organizations:

Water Missions International (my uncle is on the Board).

The Water Project

Living Water International