Friday, September 25, 2009

There’s Poo in the Water

I’ve been back at work for over a month now and it’s been hard to get back into the swing of things.  Between having two kids that have started school or daycare and starting back at work in a department hard hit by layoffs, it’s been difficult to keep up with other things like blogging.  So dear blog, please forgive me.

Knitting and spinning has unfortunately taken a back seat to more practical things at the moment like poo in the water.  That’s right: poo in the drinking water.We got notice on Monday that the drinking water in the whole town is contaminated with cloriform bacteria.  To be more precise, it’s not really poo I suppose – poo would be e.coli and this is just coli which commonly comes from soil, rot and decay.  Not as dangerous but knowing where it comes from makes it just as unappetizing as poo. 

The city, after finding the poo last Thursday and then not warning us until Monday (?!?), has given some rather confusing directions about how we can handle the water.  They said it could be used for making food or drinking, but it must be brought to a rapid boil for 2-5 minutes first.  Clothes can be washed at 60 C and dishes at 85 C.  So far so good… and then you reach the “hygiene” section of the directions.  Bathing – OK.  Handwashing – not OK.  (pause for a “huh?” accompanied by a puzzled look with cocked head)  So do I keep my hands out of the shower? It gets even better when they tell school children they may not wash their hands at school but may do so at home – and it’s the same water.  I am getting the feeling that someone hasn’t really thought this through and it’s making me wonder what would happen in a real emergency.

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