Saturday morning around 10am, a “catastrophic” leak in the pipes that bring water to the Boston area instigated a “boil order” for all the city’s residents. That means, before drinking water or washing dishes or food, it is advised that we boil our water to kill potential bacteria. This reminds me of the 2003 blackout that plagued much of the northeast: it shows us how very delicate is the electrical, convenience lifestyle that our culture has made us accustomed to. I will be thankful when we have convenient water again. Until then, let’s try not to scald our fingers in our haste for cleanliness!
A company called Population Services International (PSI) markets a product called Waterguard in the developing world. It’s basically a low dose of chlorine that you add to 20 Liter jerry cans of water and it sterilizes it against most things, though not all.
In my situation, we have two water problems: salt and micro organisms/disease. I must buy non-salty water from a water seller, and then I run it through a ceramic filter which then drips into a Waterguard-ed container.
Isn’t water purification fun!?