Water in Khartoum

Today is Blog Action Day 2010. This year's topic is clean water.

We all know what it's like to buy water. Each one of us has, at some point, purchased a small bottle of water to hold over our thirst. Few of us in the western world, however, drink bottled water exclusively.

Life here is different, at least for me. In Khartoum, I only drink water that comes from a sealed bottle, just as most Westerners living here do. Though the people of the city pride themselves on some of the cleanest water in Africa, I have yet to be convinced. When I first arrived here, the water coming from my tap was brown and I suppose I've never quite gotten past that (I was later told this was due to mud and wasn't harmful, though this did little to change my mind).

The source of water for most of the city and its surrounding areas is the Blue Nile, which flows from the mountains in Ethiopia. Locals brag that, by the time the water reaches Khartoum, it has yet to be tainted by any major city or industrial area. They drink without fear and, for the most part, are fine. You certainly don't hear any horror stories to match those of the Ganges in Sudan's capital.

Yet, there are still two major problems. First, the water from the tap at my place comes from three large tanks on the roof; most Sudanese don't have this luxury. From where I live, it's more than a three mile journey to the Blue Nile. That's a long way to haul a couple of gallons and, as the temperature has yet to dip below 100F (38C), it won't do much to help your thirst.

To address this, along the street there are drinking jugs with a cup about every 50 meters. They're often located in the shade and many people stop there to cool off and drink up before continuing their walk along the hot streets. Yet culturally, the jugs expected to be filled up by whoever owns the house closest to the street. So, while it might address some of the problem, it still puts the strain of collecting water on someone.

The other, more important, major problem is the lack of any sort of water treatment. That means that, even if the water is fairly clean most of the time, there's nothing between you and the occasional cholera outbreak. What's more, there's no other natural source of good water when something like that happens.

At my school, the kids all drink from water jugs filled with untreated water similar to those found on the streets. The really gross part is that there's only one cup, which all the kids share and then leave on top of the jug. I love my kids, but they're not the cleanliest bunch. Neither are many of the older Sudanese (Sudanese don't use toilet paper- that's all I'm saying). This general lack of sanitary practices only increases the risk for disease.

Which brings us back to bottled water.

Buying water is a pain in the ass. I either buy a few 1.5 liter (0.4 gallons) bottles at a time or haul a giant 5 gallon (19 liters) water cooler bottle the half a mile back to my flat, which is located atop six flights of stairs. Five gallons of waters weighs more than 40lbs (18kg).

There's also the cost. Between the two of us, my roommate and I spend approximately $53USD a month on those water cooler bottles for our flat. In all the places I've lived, I've never paid that much for water -and that doesn't even include showers.

I recognise that I do have a choice in the matter. My other roommate, Amaniel, drinks the Blue Nile water and is still alive. However, due to my desire to be absolutely sure about what I drink, I continue to buy my H2O.

Yet given all this, it's not prices or the bitch of buying water that bugs me. The real issue is that this is an option for me as a rich Westerner, but not for the average Sudanese. For the impoverished people of the country, a few outside taps and the roadside water jugs are their only option. Like I said before, that option includes the risk of disease.

Is clean drinking water a right? You decide. All I can tell you is that, here in Sudan, I'm not about to start drinking Nile water any time soon.