Water, water everywhere, but not a drop out of my sink

        If you follow me on Facebook or twitter you are most likely aware of the water situation in Grahamstown, specifically at Rhodes. Since last week (starting I believe August 6th) some of the residences here have not had any water in their buildings. NO WATER. No showers, no flushing toilets, no washing hands, nothing. And as the week progressed more and more residences found themselves without water, and that brings me to today. This is a campus wide email that we received from the Dean of Students a few minutes ago:

Update from the Dean of Students on the current water outage  14 Aug 2013 10h30 

Unfortunately there has been no change in the situation overnight: there are currently 45 residences which are without any water. The most recent report from Makana Municipality indicates that the planned repairs on the Waainek pump were not successful, and the pump is still not operational. Another specialist is being brought in today. As an interim measure, water is now being diverted from the Fish River scheme to fill certain dams in Grahamstown, and it is hoped that the water will reach residents by late this evening.

The following measures are in place to meet the immediate needs of students:

. 2 litres of drinking water are available per student per day at all dining halls at meal times 

. Water is being provided to as many residences as possible for the flushing of toilets

. All tanks on campus are being re-filled daily

. wet wipes are available for hygiene purposes;

. the University is monitoring the impact of the lack of water on

student health, and there is currently no cause for concern. I urge all students to be meticulous about issues of hygiene. we are investigating the provision of waterless toilets in key areas 

Unfortunately circumstances make it impossible to provide facilities for showers and laundry at this time.  

Please join the protest march at lunchtime to express your outrage at this unacceptable situation. We will gather from 13h00, but will wait for a reasonable time for students who are delayed because of lectures. 

Meetings were held in 5 dining halls last night - thanks to all students who

attended, raised their concerns, and made useful suggestions. All your

feedback will be brought to the attention of senior management. My sincere thanks to everyone for their forbearance and tolerance during this difficult time. 

Vivian de Klerk

DEAN OF STUDENTS

        My res (Olive Schriener) has been without water for 3 days now, that is 3 days of 80 girls not being able to shower. And my res has it pretty good! My friend Nicola has been without water for 8 days...

So you’re probably wondering, “Caitie, why don’t you have water?” EXCELLENT QUESTION! From my understanding, there is a pump connected to the main water source of Grahamstown that needed to be replaced. The problem is that they have not replaced it. This was a job that was supped to be done last week and only cause water outages throughout Grahamstown for a day, tops! Why hasn't the pump been replaced yet? ANOTHER EXCELLENT QUESTION! We honestly don’t know, but it is definitely not safe to leave an entire university (7,000 students + faculty and staff) without water for this long of a time. The worst part is that its been raining every night, and we have been told that there is no shortage of water, its just not getting to us because of the stupid pump. If the Dean of Students is hosting a Water Outage Protest, you know that its a big deal

Ok ok ok, I know this sounds like me just bitching about not having water, and me being a snobby American, and maybe I am, but the way I see it is that this is a hazard. 

1. Obviously there is a hygiene issue if there is no water for showers/ toilets/hand washing... ew.
2. What if there is a fire?
3. Cleaning dishes in the dinning halls??
4. WHAT IF THERE IS A FIRE?!??!
5. Although I do not drink the tap here, a lot of people do. What are students supposed to do about hydration?

I was fully aware that water shortages are common in Grahamstown (I was told ahead of time by a WAC student that was here last fall) and I’ve had to deal with the same issue in Honduras and Tanzania before, so I know how to conserve water and make the best out of this type of situation. However, according to some Rhodes students, water outages or shortages are NEVER usually this long so everyones getting a little angry, and sharing a bathroom with 40 other people kinda changes things. People are starting to get a bit hostile about it, and I don’t blame them. Hell, I’m sure I’ve looked pissed off all day. My point is that even though this is just another part of the cultural/study abroad experience this is definitely not one that I was expecting and/or prepared for and I know for a fact Rhodes definitely wasn’t ready for it either. But hey, what can you do? People can protest and send lengthy emails, but at the end of the day its up to a few people to fix the pump. I’m trying to stay as positive as possible, and hopefully if I keep my fingers crossed long enough we will have water back by tonight.

Cheers,

An optimistic American

SIDE NOTE: 

Feel free to look me up on facebook: Caitie Dailey   

*send a message saying that you read my blog/how you heard about my blog/how you know me

or follow me on twitter: caitieeveryday

A picture of the Water Outage Protest: taken by Anna He