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|The South Marysburgh Mirror 5) WATER, WATER, EVERYWHERE Summer is upon us, to be followed inevitably by drought. This doesn’t bother people with town water. They don’t know or care where it comes from, it just flows when the tap is turned on or the toilet is flushed. Those of us with wells and/or cisterns, we have a somewhat different view, and take pains to conserve what little water we have. It’s strange that we’re short of water while surrounded by it. Those who know these things say that 30 to 50 litres/day of clean water is considered the basic human need for drinking, cooking, and sanitation. at doesn’t seem like very much, and actually it isn’t because the average usage for North Americans is 420 litres/ DAY. For Africans, that number is more like 37 litres/ day. I expect that out here in Milford, “Here in the land of sun and fun, where we never flush for number 1”, our water usage is a lot less than 420 litres a day. In the summer, when we shower, we’re in and out so fast that parts of the body remain dry, especially for fat people like me. Today, most of our local water is befouled. Mine tests 0 coliform and 0 fecal in the winter, but in the summer, I imagine the testing people wear protective suits and masks when they open a bottle of untreated water sent in as samples. When I put water on the plants directly from the lake, I know I’m fertilizing them and providing them with a good dose of various pharmaceutical residues, as well as providing them with a drink. Like many of us, I have installed a UV light and a bunch of filters. The installer asked if I wanted the filters, and as I couldn’t fancy drinking dead fecal bacteria after the UV light had killed them, opted to filter them out. Maybe it’s good protein, but it sounds pretty yucky to me. This equipment is supposed to be maintained by the homeowner, and in the case of a competent individual, it probably is. I tried to change the UV light once and broke the quartz tube it’s in, and did other damage, so this homeowner doesn’t maintain it anymore. We were washing and (gasp) drinking the water before we put in this apparatus, but when I fished a dead, rotting squirrel out of the well, that practice stoppes Di you know that world-wide, the leading cause of death in children is diarrhea? This is caused primarily by contaminated drinking water, and you can get a ton of diseases from it. Most untreated water has horrible things in it. Cryptosporidiosis, E-Coli, and Giardiasis to name a few. This latter is also called “beaver fever” and is a parasite found in bodies of water everywhere. It’s called ] “beaver fever” because up north, where the water is icy cold and crystal clear without a house or a cow within 100 miles, and a person gulps it down to slake a thirst, you can get it. It’s in beaver and muskrat poop...also dog, cats and birds, so don’t think because you don’t have beavers in your water you won’t get it. I got beaver fever when working in way northern Alberta. Not fun. Darting from the tent into the black of night, stumbling over roots and logs, in one heck of a desperate hurry. Black bears scattered in fear. The other six guys in the timber cruising party thought it was real funny...until they got it. Then the woods around the camp tumed into a mine field. It was no joke, though I make light of it now. We were very, very sick. W.C. Fields claimed he never drank water because of what fish did in it. Of course he also said , “A woman drove me to drink, and I never even had the courtesy to thank her.“ Watch what you drink. You don’t have to be in Mexico to get Montezuma’s revenge so you may want to stick to gin like W.C. Fields. In houses in the undeveloped world where the water doesn’t squirt recklessly out of a tap, houses without plumbing, women are usually responsible for fetching water. They have to spend some 90 minutes a day doing this, and each load of water is about 45 pounds. The men Continued on page 9 & Removal Brush chipping Lot clearing ardwood & Softwood lumber Black River Tree Service Glenn Guernsey 476-3757