Water Restrictions Give Athens Glimpse Into Third World Living Conditions

by Tolu Ogbechie
11/10/2007

For people in Athens, Ga., not having running water is an inconvenience. For 1.1 billion people in third world countries, it is a fact of life.

A building in Abbey West apartments had no running water Tuesday for more than five hours. Managers told residents it was because of a water leak that needed to be fixed.

There has been a widespread call to action for all residents of Georgia to be careful with their water use, but the idea of not having running water is very foreign to most people in Georgia.

University student Jessica Ujcko, one of the residents at Abbey West Apartments, cannot imagine her life without water.

“It’s just always there, I don’t have to think about it,” said Ujcko. “I put soap on my hands before I realized there was no water to wash it off.”

While Ujcko waits for her water to be turned back on, people in underdeveloped countries walk miles each day to ensure they have water to drink. The U.K. Department for International Development reports that women in Africa spend 26 percent of their time fetching water for their families.

In Athens, Ga., water conservation means residents are not being able to water their lawns or wash their cars in their driveways. In developing countries, water conservation is evident is something more extensive.

The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council estimates that on average, North Americans use 106 gallons of water per day and the average person in a developing country uses 2.6 gallons for their drinking, cooking and washing.

Temi Siyanbade, who recently traveled to Nigeria, noticed that running water was scarce and observed differences in living in North America and third world countries.

“I myself find it hard to take a five minute shower here without complaining,” said Siyanbade. “However, at home in Nigeria, my limited showers were awesome. I appreciated every bath that I took despite the limitations on the quantity of the water.”

Siyanbade stresses the need for appreciation of our water and a desire to conserve the finite supply of water we have.

“We should be grateful for the abundance we have and make an effort to be wise in our water usage.”

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I love this article because it provides a seldom-seen angle to the debate on water restrictions. It's too bad more people don't think about how fortunate it is to have water to drink, even if we can't water our lawns.	Posted By: Brian 11/15/2007 6:19 PM
Thank you for the article. While working on better water supply, some people in third world countries have found ways to conserve water. Some of the ways to conserve water are: -use a cup when brushing teeth -use a bucket when bathing (it will make you conscious of the amount of water you use) -if you must wash your car, "mop" it rather than rinse it	Posted By: Didi 11/16/2007 2:08 PM
Well said, But i think the people in Africa (where i am from) Got their own water restriction from God. If you dont have it, you cant waste it, if you have to walk miles to get a little bowl of 'dirty' water then you will appreciate it, somehow i think we are blessed in Africa, even though we 'live' on 'mucky'water we still survive, Try drinking contaminated water in UK, or US then you will understand how blessed Africans are. 1. We dont need to wash our cars (Most of us dont have any) 2. We dont need water to brush our teeth, we use 'chewing sticks,. 3. We dont have to worry about lawns, we dont have lawns. We rely on God to send down the rain on our plants and if t doesnt rain then we blame God and our government. And what do you mean that we dont have water in Africa ? Have you been to the city of Lagos (Nigeria)Recently ? the whole city is littered with empty bags of 'pure' water.	Posted By: Akin Aliu 11/18/2007 10:46 AM
Question is, if the 1.1 billion people in developing countries have running water, would they still have conservative lifestyles in regards to water-use? Probably not. Unfortunately, except for the disciplined individuals, humans naturally don't conserve resources they think are infinite (e.g. OIL). Interesting article.	Posted By: Oluwasegun 11/19/2007 06:30 AM
That article was great. There was a lot of useful information that I didn't know that make me realize that I need to do a better job of conserving water.	Posted By: 11/21/2007 07:46 AM