out of water

Luckily, we didn't have to resort to the water in the turtle tank.

On Saturday morning, enjoying my coffee in bed and (luckily) reading the local paper, I discovered that the water was being shut off for work on the metro. I dashed down to fill some buckets (the thought of unflushed toilets in tropical heat got me moving fairly quickly) and pots in the kitchen. The pressure was already low and it was so lucky that I realized when I did. Shortly after I filled the buckets, the water went off completely. The paper said 14-16 hours. I was not worried; I had filled enough containers. I even went for a run Saturday night expecting that the water would be back on by eleven.

The water was not back at eleven or twelve. I had a sponge bath and thought about how excellent my shower would be in the morning. There was no water in the morning. There was no water at noon. By about two there was a trickle of water downstairs. My buckets were empty, the bathrooms were stinky and everyone in my house was getting grumpy (showering and good humour are definitely connected in this climate). We refilled the buckets from the trickle and resigned ourselves to the situation.  Finally, there was enough water to shower at four. There are some areas that got water even later and the pressure is quite low even today. 

Because of these water problems the Education minister cancelled classes today. So my girls are home enjoying a unexpected day off (the most delicious kind). The water authority announced this morning that the continuing shortage was due to an increase in consumption as people filled their reserve tanks. This is not a very satisfactory explanation and the comments in the paper were good. Oh I see, it's our fault there's no water... what do you think we are stupid?! 

The water pressure is low and it's even lower than it was this morning. There seems to be some problems at the water treatment plant. Last year the city had water shortages in December and January because of a problem at the treatment plant. I hope we are not headed back into a situation like that. I also hope that there's school tomorrow because I love my kids, but by tomorrow they will be bored and bickering. And that is possibly even worse than a smelly toilet.