Water water everywhere

I would like to propose an experiment. First, you will have to go to your kitchen cabinet and take out a cup. Step two, pour water into cup from the sink in your kitchen. Finally, take a nice big gulp.

Did you have any hesitations with taking a drink?

I'm a huge fan of groups like Charity:Water and Blood:Water Mission. Hmm.. just made the connection that both like to include semicolons in their names. Fascinating. Any way, I love how much both groups raise money to bring clean water to places that don't have ready access to healthy drinking water (as in, having to walk for miles, or providing purification processes for rivers and lakes). Most need the education on where to build wells, as well as financial support to make that happen. I not only encourage you to get involved, but check out their websites linked above. It's so neat how the process works, and how the people who receive the water are involved in the construction work; something in which they can take ownership and in general feel more invested.

But let me add something to the conversation. There is so much water on this earth. Water is essential to life, and yes, both organizations help to bring water to communities in desperate need. Both organizations however, focus on the countries with little to no access.

What I am thinking is that there's another issue. We don't realize how good we have it in the US sometimes when we can drink straight from the tap. Sure, there will be places where there the water can taste a little funny, but it's nothing. It's drinkable. It is still healthy for you. Part of me actually thinks it's a giant scam that they have us paying for something we can otherwise get for free! (Just like bookstores when there are these things, have you heard of them? They're called libraries.)

In Germany, you are encouraged to never drink the water from the tap. My mom had gotten very sick from doing so. In Russia, in the capital city of Moscow for crying out loud, you can't drink the water either. Much less brush your teeth with said water. One of the things I've learned about traveling in Europe is to check which countries are safe for drinking water, and in which do I need to buy bottles.

When I first arrived in Córdoba, I was told the water was safe. Maybe some of you haven't followed this story for very long, but the short of it is I was sick for my first month and a half. Something like a sinus infection, that is, more mucous than I care to remember. So I experimented by ceasing my tap water intake and switching to bottled water.

Cured.

For this city, we get our water from a nearby manmade lake. After researching reports, I found that there is algae in the water. At first I thought about the Argentinians, but upon closer inspection, we realized they don't drink it either. Just like the Germans and Russians.

Which means, even for countries that have access, not all of it is good for drinking. Much of it is our own fault through negligence and disobedience to care for God's earth. Had we taken better care of our water reserves, had we the knowledge to separate where we take a bath and where we drink (see Walter's work for the Chinese in The Painted Veil), maybe we would be better off.

At the same time, there are places without pollution problems, but either the technology isn't there, or the resources themselves are insufficient. Such as the marshlands from which most of Russia pulls its water.

So what do we do about this?

I put extra thought into this situation while drinking boiled tap water so I could have tea. At least this way, it's in a smaller dose, and I hope the algae is dead from the heat. I don't know though. It's just, we ran out of our weekly supply of water and I don't have much other choice except to buy more bottled water or wait until we are replenished tomorrow morning. Truly, the US doesn't realize it has it so good.

I ask again: What do we do?