...Boston you're my home.
So, there were a bunch of reasons I wasn’t looking forward to the trip back to Boston from NY last night. However, the kicker had to be the fact that a state of emergency was declared Saturday after a large pipe-burst cut off drinking water for all of Boston and the surrounding towns. That means no tap water for the next few days, which doesn’t bode well for the dirty dishes in my sink.
There are a few things I am confused about, however. Officials are saying that we should boil water for consumption. Does that mean, if I make ravioli (the only thing I can cook) for dinner tonight, I have to boil the water, pour it into a new pot, then boil it again for the actual cooking? If I can take a shower in the water, why can’t I wash my dishes? And why doesn’t my coffee maker get the tap water hot enough when it’s perking to make it safe enough to drink? I brushed my teeth with bottled-water this morning…and it’s definitely something I could get used to.
Suffice it to say, this situation – combined with the fact that my apartment is 8,000 degrees and I have serious humidity hair – has made me more uncomfortable than I have been in my entire life. And Dunkin’ Donuts isn’t selling coffee. What. The. Eff. I think my friend Katie (who is a nurse, so she knows), had the best fix for times such as these:
“What if we only drink alcoholic beverages ’til they lift the warning?”
Done and done.
In all seriousness, there are people who deal with this problem every day, so if you’re feeling the pinch, like I am, maybe you’d want to donate to a charity that brings clean drinking water to people who never have it. Click on the link here, or use Google to find a charity of your own.
NoMad Blogger 
In Bangladesh, this is a common affair. People are used to in drinking and bathing in water that is mixed up with drainage line.
It just goes to show you how much we take clean drinking water for granted. Best of luck. Hope the ban gets lifted soon.
Hi,
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I’ve lived in third world countries where you cannot drink water off tap. Every time I came to the US and the waiter offered us “tap water” I would look at him like he was from another planet. The whole concept was outrageous! Lately there seem to be many more programs and organizations dedicated to safe drinking water, thanks for plugging them =)
Yeah, Laura. That’s exactly what I feel. I’m living in Indonesia (yeah, it’s still a developing country), so tap water usually not drinkable. We have one machine at school where I teach, that processing water so it become safe to drink, but… most of us feeling hesitate about it. Haha…!
Very good post!
Thankfully, I live in a town with its own water source, but I’ve heard my friends in neighboring towns complaining about the water contamination. Just the thought of all that water being wasted because of the leak makes me incredibly sad — since we are so privileged to have clean water, it is such a shame to see it go to waste!
Umm, let me know if this situation is fixed before I’m supposed to be coming up there. I love you, but you’re not painting an enticing picture for me to want to come and stay with you.
Haha – I promise I will have air conditioning and running water when you come….if you bring NY bagels. 🙂
Great post!! I would boil it twice …But thats just me!!
We had our water supply cut off for a few hours, here in East London, one Friday in April and you would’ve thought it was armageddon. Water bottles everywhere disappeared. In one budget store in particular, there were only pallets left where bottled water used to be. Total and utter madness.
Of course I wrote about it like any blogger would. It’s good you had the presence of mind to think about those who don’t have such easy access to water. Well done.
Great post…Good luck!
I once lived where all the water came from a local geyser … selling for 98 cents a gallon in a plastic bottle at the time.
Will we ever learn?
Alcohol does kill germs…
Reminds me of the time I drank beer in the lab because it was the only beverage I had cold in my fridge. What a great excuse to drink beer at work!
“I was too lazy to put anything else in my fridge to chill, so I had no other choice…”
“Didn’t you hear, the water is unsafe?? I had no other option but to crack a beer…”
Love that dirty water! I would go with your friend’s suggestion to drink booze until further notice. Boston will get very ineteresting! I think the worst part of all of this is that Dunkin’ Donuts isn’t serving coffee….that’s just not right! Hope they are still making donuts 🙂
Beer is the answer.
But then that’s often the case anyway.
Even after I boiled my water this morning, there were small pieces of dirt in the pot. I can’t win. UGH
http://jenclinton.wordpress.com
Have you read The Road, by Cormac McArthy? Stuff like this always makes me think of that book and what the worst possible outcome could be. Sorry for the despair. Hope your situation is better by now.
1 word. Vodka. (if it’s good enough for eastern europe, it’s good enough for everybody)
I went to some survival journeys when I was still joining the girl guide, and we have to drink water from the river err… small creek, but surely in some places, the water is still very fresh. But if you live in town and having that kind of trouble with water, well… just simply boil it. Your stomach will make some adjustment with that condition 😉 Hope your problem have been solved by now. 🙂
Clean drinkable water anytime we want it straight from any of several taps in our private homes ….. we never appreciate what a privilege it is.
At least you still had electricity to boil the water! Hence the importance of an emergency supply of water in your home. I live in an earthquake-risk area, so I always have several litres on hand.
I think you boil the ravioli in vodka, just to be sure. Then chase it with the other alcohol your nurse friend brings over. Just to be extra sure.
Nice post!
It is sad that people live in these conditions everyday and die from them as well. Our country has been spoiled by a water supply, but I think that soon we will all know what it’s like to fight for clean water
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