5 October 2007

Unlimited Resources


So the water to our house got cut the other day. It wasn't a big deal, really; in Bahrain, you get used to random water or electricity cuts every now and then, especially during the summer periods. However, this wasn't your average "few hours" disconnection. No. The problem actually lasted a few days; besides just disconnecting the water, turns out the main pipe coming in from the Ministry of Works had some sort of huge leak, and it took them a good 4 days to fix it.

So here we are without water. No big deal, the ministry said the problem would be solved quickly. We could handle it; the first day, we bought a few extra water bottles for the small requirements (washing your face, brushing your teeth etc), and the next day when we realised it still wasn't fixed, we called in a water company to bring in a big load to fill in our water tank/container (enough to last a day or so).

Third day, still no progress, more water bottles. Same situation on the fourth day.

Finally we got the water back, but something had changed. Most of us usually take the water supply coming in for granted, and use it like there's no tommorow. However, when you're using a very limited resource, your usage habits change. When you know theres hardly any water left in the water tank above your house, you really try to save every last drop. When you have a water bottle to wash your hands with, you can suprise yourself with how little water you actually need. Little things like leaving the tap on while you actually brush your teeth while the water just spills into the sink start to seem devastating.

Its amazing really, the way we misuse our resources, and the planet is already under pressure to keep pumping out clean water for our use. You see signs and posters everywhere; use water wisely, use electricity wisely, and so on. But do we care? It might seem like such a small issue if you switched off the tap while you brushed your teeth, and hardly something that could make a difference. But if you did it, your neighbor did it, your neighbourhood did it, your whole country did it, then yes, it does make a difference.

Well, problem is over now, and the water supply is back at full strength. I'm not using it the same way though, i'm not taking it for granted any more.

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UPDATE; 8 Oct 2007

I have been contacted by Kim Bridges, a member of Water; Use it Wisely, a website dedicated to helping people learn not only why they should save water, but how they could save water. Its an excellent resource, I urge you all to visit:

13 comments:

Islander said...

so its true then, you don't miss ur water till the well goes dry ;)

i wonder when people in bahrain are going to understand the importance of saving energy.. you dont have to go completly green to be green, its the small things that count.. recycling, saving water, and electricity are just some of the ways you an help. but yeah, sometimes you need a wakeup call to understand the importance of what you have, and taking for granted.

Lapa said...

قمة عالمية البرتغالي الكاتب : cristovao دي اغيار.

وهو ، أيضا ، وترجمت الى اللغة البرتغاليه ثروه الامم من آدم سميث.

وقد منح العديد من الجوائز.

لا تنسوا اسم هذا الكاتب العظيم ، يمكنك الاستماع اليه قريبا.

اشكركم على انفاق الوقت في الثقافة العالمية.

شكرا للزيارة
TOP PORTUGUESE UNIVERSAL WRITER: CRISTOVAO DE AGUIAR.

He has, also, translated into Portuguese the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith.

He has been awarded several prizes.

Don't forget the name of this great author, you'll be hearing of him soon.

Thank you for spending time in Universal Culture.

Thanks for visiting.

M said...

After reading this post, I will try my best to change my extensive water habit.
I must admit, I've been taking it for granted for so long and I've just realized that after reading your post.

What is life without water afterall???

Anonymous said...

it's good to take a lesson out of every situation, sometimes we need that. after all, our life choices are based on past experiences.
it's a good thing i have a concious for these issues, thank God :)

Anonymous said...

I guess we are also having the same problem here in Kuwait .. you must have heard about Tharsheed already ... At least you guys have power so ! you guys are blessed ..

Anonymous said...

Exaclty like the saying
you wont know qemat shay unless you lose it.

nice post , im so going to change my water usage habbits ;)

Re.Loaded Soul said...

Firstly, I am really sorry for the terrible time you guys had without water. I do understand the suffer.

Secondly, I would like to thank our wise government for teaching us how it is important that we carefully and wisely use our resources. That's of course by cutting them off!

We used to have similar problems in the past. You can put an additional water tank/container, so when the first one goes empty, you would still have the second one, that can last for a couple of days.

Anonymous said...

I second that emotion... The main problem is those who come out with the silliest of excuses.. such as: "it's the government's responsibility to provide us with water".. I believe as part of being a good person, calls for "waste not, want not".. Lets all do our bit...

KJ said...

El7amdella I realized this early on a few years back and I try to be as conservative as possible with electricity and water. I still need to be more conservative when it comes to showers though :( but I made a good start.

You know what would really help? Get the energy saving bulbs. They're expensive, but think of it in another way. They cost 6 times as much as a regular bulb, but in return you not only save electricity and the environment, they also last MUCH longer! So taking these into account, they're cheap.

Plus they're making now ones with an orange glow, which is great

Ammaro said...

Sunshine; yes, I guess we always need a wakeup call

lapa; say whaaaaaaaa?

dynamic; good to know you'll make an effort :) and without water, life will probably be thirsty.

moonlight: Good stuff, keep it up :)

grey; No, I haven't really. Whats Tharsheed?

Blue Dress; Good to know you'll make a change :)

Reloaded; We have THREE water tanks! And they all ran out, so imagine how long the water was cut before we actually found out!

Capt Arab; Sure, govt has to provide water. But again, we have to not waste it! Its a two way street...

Ammaro said...

Kj; I have a bunch of light saving bulbs around the house. They're pretty annoying (being white) but hey, what can you do. I try to mix the room with one or two white ones and one or two orange to give it a warmer color. Thanks for the info, i'll definately look for those orange glow ones!

Unknown said...

You're right in saving, but isn't this the way our plumbing is made? Taps? etc? These designs are what help us be excessive in our usage. There needs to be a mediator system to mediate the amount of water used, somehow.

Um Naief said...

in the states, texas, you have ration days during the summer months. you're only allowed to use water at certain times of the day... for big projects like watering your yard and such. there are big pushes by the local govt to help ppl learn to ration water.

i used to turn off the faucet while brushing my teeth and such, and still do pretty much.

you're right though.. when you're without, you learn real quick how to use only a small amount.