Water in the Desert

Drinking tap water here is a gamble for one’s health. 🚰 Will dirt come out? Or a feather? Might it be orange today?
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Okay, so I’m exaggerating a bit – dirt and feathers are rare – but still the water is not safe for consistent consumption. Instead, everyone has water cooler dispensers in their kitchen (unless you’re savvy enough to hook up a filtration system of your own).
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Each Saturday, the Nestle water man comes to our door and replaces our empty 5-gallon water jugs with new ones, and instead of filling up cups or pots at the sink, we just use the dispenser. It’s an aspect of life that has become normal to us now and when we go back to the US it takes a mental shift to remember water from the faucet is okay. 😄
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The roof of every building here houses big tanks where the water is stored. Though we don’t drink it, we do use it for all the washing and showering. At our previous apartment, the lid of one of the tanks came off without anybody realizing, hence the feathers and dirt. And sometimes the tanks run out before the water truck is scheduled to refill them, so that’s always fun. 😐 When we were apartment hunting, our Saudi friend encouraged us to always ask how many water tanks the building has and how often they run out of water. 💦
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Due to the tap water situation, that also means public drinking fountains aren’t a thing here. I’m looking forward to Ezra being amused by a water fountain next time we get to an airport. 😆