The water crisis

THERE WAS A significant water main break yesterday in Quincy. We are expecting a boil order today. It prompted a run on buying bottled water and highlights yet again our old and antiquated our water delivery system.

I'm not blaming our current city leaders. They've inherited many years of neglect and ignorance when it comes to water. They are trying to fix it. Our water bills are going to go up again, by a lot, soon. 

But ... I just paid two large property tax bills. I mean ... large. We expect more. 

Sheryl is a manager at a local grocery store. A city worker came in yesterday and loaded up a cart with water, and warned them the boil order was coming. Guess what? They were insanely busy the rest of the day and night until they closed at 11, and they ran out of water. If you go out this morning looking for water, well ... good luck. Sheryl smartly bought herself several cases before the mass of humanity descended.

I don't drink city water. Call me paranoid, but there's too much concern over lead pipes and other chemicals. I go to Ecowater and buy a 3-gallon jug of water for my coffee, which tastes 1,000 times better than made with city water.

We are spoiled when it comes to water because we have this big ditch called the Mississippi running past us. I wouldn't dare stick a toe in its polluted stream, but it's enough to supply us with water and we'll never run out. At least, I hope we never run out. Quincy has plenty of water in reserve but the city has asked us to refrain from watering lawns and doing dishes and laundry until the water main is fixed. Fair enough.

I have siblings in Colorado and Arizona where the water that falls on their lawns isn't theirs. In other words, rain barrels are highly regulated. I'm not making it up. My brother lives in Phoenix and he casually talks about water shortages and issues like construction projects halting like we talk the weather. 

Be smart about your water choices and put your laundry off for a day or two. We'll be just fine. And don't take for granted our water, wherever we get it from.