This week we were prompted to reflect on and research water sources, filtration, and distribution in our host cities. Naturally, this blog post reminded me I have not had any water all day which prompted me to find my water bottle (realize I need to wash said water bottle), refill it, and then drink it. Before I left New York (and what has been voted some of the best tap water in the country) I invested in a LifeStraw water bottle with a built in filter so that I could safely drink from the tap if needed. Generally (and I had this drilled into me after an unfortunate tooth brushing incident in St. Petersburg) tap water is a no. In Bishkek, cold tap water and hot tap water actually come from two different sources. So while the cold water is okay for washing fruit, brushing your teeth, or cooking (still best to boil before drinking), the hot water is decidedly not. From various sources I have learned the cold water comes 37 different irrigation intakes to two different reservoirs, but the hot water is routed through a separate centralized system in the city. One of my first nights here I was washing the dishes after dinner using hot water and my host family was scandalized. Unlike the majority of Central Asian countries Kyrgyzstan does not actually have an issue with water access. However, in the last year the groundwater levels have been decreasing by 15-20 meters due to a combination of environmental factors, population growth, and poor water use. There was a lot of uproar this summer as temperatures reached record highs and the government suspended / limited drinking water access but the problem has not been officially addressed by the government yet.
On another note, the last days of Summer I think have come and past now. On Monday / Tuesday temperatures were up in the 80s as if the sun was saying one last goodbye before dropping into the 50s for the rest of the week. As someone who packed for almost exclusively cold weather / loves Fall I was very excited to embrace hats, soup, and sweatshirts again.
Until next week!