I’ll never again take water for granted

It’s astounding how the smallest of disruptions can rip one from your comfort zone. Just the other day, I was pondering my rut, lamenting that it was still eight months to go before the December holiday.

But all that changed in a flash on Wednesday. In fact, it changed with the turning on of a tap, because the tap was empty.

Yes, parts of Mogale City, where I reside, woke up dry on Wednesday. The exact cause remains a mystery. Rumour has it that a substation caught fire causing a power outage to the pumps that fill the reservoir. But as I said, that’s just one of the many rumours. Fact is, the taps were dry. Fortunately, my parents live on the other side of town, where the taps were still flowing. So off I went to shower there. First problem solved. Except that in my rush, I forgot my shoes. So back and forth I went until eventually I was clean and fully dressed. That took 90 minutes and a total of 32km travelled.

Next step was to ensure a supply of water in order to wash dishes and flush toilets.

Buckets were collected and cleaned, filled and driven home. It seemed an endless cycle of up and down, filling and emptying and filing ...

In between it was a cycle of decanting into pots, boiling water, filling the basin ... an endless and continuous production line to compensate for the empty taps.

By late afternoon I had made two important realisations: we use way too much water and without piped water in the house, the sourcing of water is almost a full-time job.

Around 5.30pm my wife gets home. She takes the kettle and walks to the tap to fill it. Force of habit I suppose, except that something amazing happens: the water flows freely and within minutes she’s enjoying her tea.

Sometime during the day the water supply was restored. Exactly when that happened, I do not know. What I do know is that next time I wake to dry taps, I’m going straight back to bed and staying there.