Cider Press Hill

Dirty water

Oh good morning.

I’ll bet that most of us take for granted the privilege of turning on the tap and seeing clean, clear water run out.

This morning I turned on the shower and a steady stream of ruddy brown water tumbled out and splattered the shower wall with what almost looked like blood. It was quite startling.

So much for a shower.

Turns out that the town decided to flush the fire hydrants last night. That usually riles the pipes up and dislodges all kinds of crud. It’s not something you’d choose to think about too deeply after the water runs clear again.

I warned the lad that the water wasn’t exactly pristine before he disappeared into the bathroom. He turned on the tap to brush his teeth and then shut it off again. “I’ll brush them at school,” he said.

In the midst of my grumbling about the inconvenience he remarked, “If we lived in a really poor part of a third world country, dirty water pouring out of a faucet would be a big step up over hauling dirty water from the river. Our water will be clean again in a few hours. Just saying.”

That’s a nugget of perspective I hadn’t expected so early in the morning.

Posted on 04/13/06 at 06:52 AM
 




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