The water situation in Zambales is atrocious. There are a few ways of getting water here: 1) Pay the water company for water from the tap, which is rusty and has quite a few bugs in it. None of the ex-pats drink it. 2) Some properties have "deep-well pumps" which come from underground reservoirs. Getting water from these is free. 3) For drinking water, you have to go to one of many water purification centers. 4) Some of the especially poor families get water from the rivers and streams around the area.
Because water is so expensive, showering is quite different. At the clinic, when we shower, we have to stand in a large black tub, not unlike a small kiddie-pool. The water from the shower collects in the tub, and you transfer it to a large 3-4 gallon bucket, also in the shower area. The water, newly transferred, is used to flush the toilet (let me explain). Toilets, as Americans know them, are non-existent here. Here, they have no seats, i.e., they are just bowls. Plumbing is also practically non-existent in residential areas, so the pressure from pouring a quart or so of water into the bowl after it is full of you-know-what essentially flushes the toilet.
No comments:
Post a Comment