World Water Day

Today is World Water Day! Since I have spent a lot of time thinking about water, here are a few things I would love for you to think about today.

For many people around the world, getting water is HARD WORK! Water is heavy (about 8.3 lbs per gallon varying slightly with temperature and pressure).  I tried a couple of times to carry water on my head, and only managed to carry the smaller size jerrycan (10 liters) a relatively short distance.  People around the world work hard for their water while we just turn on the faucet.  And the majority of the people gathering and carrying water are women and children.

Add to that the work of accessing an improved a water source, well you get the idea.  I posted this picture because I think it shows visually some of the work involved, but let me tell you that digging trenches through the hard S. Sudanese soil is the really hard work.  It just doesn't make for as dramatic of a picture.

In my Relief and Disaster Mitigation class we studied the Sphere Handbook.  It provides minimum standards as well as indicators for humanitarian response.  In practice, the indicators often serve as goals for different sectors when responding to emergencies.  Just to give you a sense of scale, in a refugee camp the water goal is 15 liters per person per day and no more than a 30 minute wait at a tap.  The typical large jerry can shown below holds 20 liters of water.  I took this picture on the day of a convention at the ECS church in Mundri which meant extra long lines and water shortages in the system.  This was an unusual day in Mundri town, but many disaster response situations will not even achieve the goal of 15 liters per person per day for drinking, hygiene and cooking.  I've seen different numbers floating around, but it is no secret that Americans use a lot of water every day.  Since I'm talking in liters, the average person in the United Kingdom uses 150 liters of water per person per day, ten times more than the goal for disaster response.

Even though I am no longer serving as a water engineer, I will always care about water issues.  I hope today you consider the water you drink and pray for those who don't have access to safe drinking water.  Pray especially for individuals affected by disasters and conflict who are living in camp situations where water is often very scarce.