So I came home last night around 7:30 p.m. and discovered there was no water available. It’s almost 1 p.m and there still isn’t water available. Welcome to the third world. Apparently there was a leak in one of the city’s main aqueducts and a large number of neighborhoods have been without water for more than 12 hours. I woke up hoping to find things back to normal and go about my daily routine, but no such luck. Instead, I woke up sweaty and with a puffy bed head, longing for and needing a refreshing shower. I ended up staying home from work (now I’ll have to make up the hours on Saturday), checking the faucets every 30 minutes with the hope of seeing water flow. One of my reasons for staying home was to keep an eye on my animals, as there is not enough water in the house to change their water dishes. Given the warmer temperatures these days, I feared they might be dehydrated. Staying at home has allowed me to give them access to cooler parts of the house where they normally are not allowed when I’m not here. It’s quite frustrating to stay home under these circumstances. I feel so unproductive. I can’t clean, do laundry, or cook. Needless to say that even my use of he bathroom is limited.
Not wanting to find myself in this situation again, I shall do as my supervisor at work said, "Make this a learning experience and prepare for a similar situation." So, I’ve started a shopping list of all the supplies I need to get to prepare well for next time a water shortage occurs. I certainly am more motivated to take this experience to the next level and have my emergency preparedness supplies and plan in place. The CDC and the American Red Cross offer some helpful sites on the topic.
