American Lady writes to me about the Water Problems we have in South Africa

(000228.79-:E-000157.73:N-:R-SU:C-30:V)   

[My own comments are further down below what the American lady wrote. Jan]

This is what the American lady wrote to me:

Hi Jan, Sorry to hear about the water problem in your city. I had to laugh about the shortage of qualified welders. During WW2 my mother learned to weld. Unfortunately she has passed and can not help. My fathers sister and her husband had a contract for life to do the city streets in all five boroughs of New York City, the entire sewer system, glorified plumbers but rich. Unfortunately, they too are no longer with us. So, I guess you are on your own. Not having water is no laughing matter. I hope you are prepared to do it yourself. You can purchase covers for the gutters on your roof and catch rainwater. Purchase a water filter such as Berkey. Set up a distillation system or make one yourself. Then there are large containers to store tap water when it is available. A spritz of vodka or gin can act as a disinfectant for poor quality water. Not to be overdone if you want to maintain the good health of your liver.

My Comments:
In my case I have my own "home made" well that I dug myself so I can get water, though the water I get is very alkaline, but in all other ways it is nice and clear. I had a little pressure pump linked to my house, and I could use it. But it broke 18 months ago, and I did not bother getting a new one. So I was caught a bit off guard with the water in the house, e.g. for bathing, etc. However, I do have boiled water in plastic water bottles, and for the 2 days I had more than enough water to drink and to boil with. So all I need to really sort out is to get a new little pressure pump and I will be ok. I need to look a bit more closely at the alkalinity of the water. The water is nice and clear and drinkable, but it has a bit of a taste. So that’s why I keep quite a bit of boiled water in plastic bottles. I have more than enough of that to last me a week. I figured, for now, that as long as I can function for a week, that would be all I need. But it does look as if we will have a lot more of this problem in the coming years. The entire water system is in a bad state. They’ve not done maintenance on the pipes for DECADES. I’ve also heard that there are so many leaks in the pipes that is why the water pressure is so low at times. Jan]