Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Tuesday Slice: First world problems

You may have seen the images of Central Texas on the news these past few days.
Llano River Flooding

Lake Travis Flooding
This area is just to the north/northwest of us, and these waters flow into downtown Austin to the south.  The news reported yesterday on the effects of the flooding on our water supply--the reasons we are now under a boil-water notice.

The water hasn't been tested positive for anything specific; the boiling notice is a precautionary measure.  We are fine in our house.  Showering is still okay, we already had bottled water on hand, and I've boiled a couple of gallons more.  My husband likes his water cold--and I had already dumped out the ice cubes--so he headed to a convenience store and picked up some gallons to stick in the fridge.

This is just a minor inconvenience at this point.  We still went to work, had access to flushing toilets and sinks, bottled water to drink during the day, came home, even went to the polls for early voting.  I'm hopeful that the silt will clear in a few days and our water situation will return to normal.

Meanwhile, folks in Flint, Michigan have been without uncontaminated water for years.  Native American tribal lands are still lacking water delivery infrastructure.  And the World Health Organization reported last year that globally, 2.1 billion people don't have access to safe drinking water.

We are more than okay in our little, unflooded home in Central Texas.  I'll just be a bit more grateful for my indoor plumbing and bottled water today--and the next day, and the next, if it takes that long for the river to clear.

4 comments:

  1. It is so true that we take so many conveniences for granted. Glad you are safe and I appreciate the perspective you gave all of us this morning.

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  2. The things we take for granted and be grateful for are often reminded through situations like this. Thank you for slice.

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  3. Thank you for reminding us of the things we do take for granted. Yes - much of the world is lacking water and even adequate food sources. Let us not forget what we have!

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  4. One never appreciates the clean water that flows from the tap until it stops or is dirty. This happened to us the summer I was pregnant with Ari. It was an inconvenience, but 24 hours after the water came back on, life was back to normal. I cannot imagine what it would be like to brush with bottled water and have to worry about showering every single day.

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