The Water Hole, as everyone calls it, collects rain and surface runoff water. It caught my attention as I saw people, and often animals, walking along the path towards it. I decided to stop and take a closer look, I'm sharing with you these images in the following slides...
In spite of its beauty, this is not a natural spring and the water is not clean. I could tell from the unnatural stench and sheen of pollution on the surface. Almost invisible but ever so present, see slide 7. Unfortunately, these murky waters were, and probably still are, the only source for this community near Fisherman's Cove in Chennai, India. The women washed their clothes and bathed; the man was taking water home to "wash and cook" -he said. I offered to carry his empty "cántaro" to the water's edge and told him that I had done something similar as a child. I don't know if he understood but he smiled and nodded.
I remembered my childhood chores included carrying water from a nearby "tanque" which collected rain water; but just about 200 feet down a slope was the "Rio Acelhuate" the river that carries raw sewage out of the city of San Salvador, El Salvador. I count my blessings, being alive is first on my list. Having clean water is definitely right next to it.
Water Facts from water.org
- Every 20 seconds, a child dies from a water-related disease.
- 884 million people lack access to safe water; approx. 1 in 8 people.
- In just one day, more than 200 million hours of women’s time is consumed for the most basic of human needs — collecting water for domestic use.
