Yesterday I found myself having one of those conversations that many in the water profession have. We were talking about the privileges afforded to those of us who live in the United States and benefit from our extensive water and wastewater system. I have to be candid I love those discussions. I am one of those preachers of the Gospel of clean drinking water and sanitation. There is a painting on my wall done by a co-worker depicting hundreds of India’s citizens drawing water from a near empty well with buckets. I look at it frequently and think what an honor it is to do what we do.
We were discussing the recent flooding tragedy in Pakistan and I was struck by the discussion, being not a quite a year from the floods that wreaked such havoc in Cobb, Douglas and Paulding Counties, I found the discussion illustrative of the differences in our countries. The floods here were devastating; I was one of the fortunate. My home was not affected, and I was not charged with the difficult task of speaking with our citizens who had seemingly lost everything. I was fortunate to watch the technical skills, dedication, and technological advances we have put into action to avert a far greater tragedy than the loss of homes. These professionals continued to provide safe drinking water and sanitation. Yes, there were tragic effects; there were lives lost, there was massive property loss, and there were a few public advisories to boil water because systems had been washed out and compromised. The longest lasted 6 days. We had wastewater treatment plants that went down or lost tertiary treatment, but plants were back on line in a week. The amazing and largely unknown part of the floods was what did not happen. As citizens fled the flood waters, water professionals remained at plants inundated with those same waters, were out running temporary services where lines had been washed out or making emergency repairs to ensure continued service. Lastly, they deployed all the technical knowledge at our disposal with a level of dedication every citizen should know about to ensure that the foundation of our way of life, our water treatment and distribution system and wastewater treatment and conveyance systems, remained viable.
It is often what we as American citizens do not know that would make the greatest impact. Look at the reality and aftermath of the Pakistan floods. We never had to call for 15 million water disinfection tablets and receive only 3 million. We did not have to set up special medical centers to stem the outbreak of Cholera, a water-born disease. Our citizens did not have to take to supply drop sites to find bottled water to slake their thirst.
As a water professional I am often challenged by how we make the average citizen understand not the cost of water down to the penny of their bill, but the value of water to their very way of life. Is the message in showing them what they don’t know? The privileges they take for granted. The talk we had yesterday went on for about a half an hour. That means in the developing world 83 children died of water born diseases while we discussed the luxuries afforded to us by the water and wastewater profession in the US. Do our citizens ever mark the time by thinking while I ate my lunch 166 children in the US grew, played, and went to school because of what water professionals do?
Kathy Nguyen
Senior Project Manager
Cobb County Water System
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Why Water? - A reminder in the Face of Tragedy
Most of the citizens in the United States have been affected by the coverage of the devastation in Haiti resulting from the recent earthquake and aftershocks. The loss is raw and devastating. As a water provider I was struck by a recent article by the associated press on the relief recovery and staging at the Haiti Airport outside of Port Au Prince. The article covers much of what anyone would expect. The airport is not designed to accommodate the amount of air traffic arriving with medical aid and supplies, etc. Within all the expected facts and figures on landings per hour, is a striking sentence and an important reminder for those who have chosen this profession. The U.S. military coordinator, who has taken the role of relief air traffic controller, is discussing the priority landing schedule and simply says “planes carrying water and water purification land first.”
This sentence was probably missed by most readers. Those that noticed may even have thought, “well of course. You can’t live without water. We learned that in kindergarten.” As an individual who chooses everyday to work in this field because of a deep sense of purpose, I sadly wonder how many of us who learned this years ago, live it today. Haiti is an epic reminder of what the absence of water can mean (rioting in the street, desperation, violence, and even death) just some of what the Haitian people have suffered. In the U.S. we have had glimpses of the importance of clean available water: severe droughts, recent floods, and Hurricane Katrina are just a few. In the face of tragedy I believe people help and people learn what is really valuable. The people of Haiti need water before medical supplies, before shelter, and even before food. It is a good reminder for us to appreciate what we have as citizens of this country and it starts with and is built upon the water and wastewater treatment and conveyance infrastructure.
Next time I am asked why I choose this profession I think the answer is simple “water lands first.”
By: Kathy Nguyen, Cobb County - GA
For more information on water issues in Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake:
http://www.medpagetoday.com/EmergencyMedicine/EmergencyMedicine/17997
http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/haiti-earthquake-interview-100120
http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/19117
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