Third World Water

There are many obvious differences between life in the US and life in the DR. If the prices, people, and noise don't clue you in to the fact that you're in a different country, the water will. Whether in the city or countryside, it seems most houses have running water. In Jarabacoa, it was piped in directly from the nearby river. In Puerto Plata, each home had a cistern on its roof. But regardless of where you are in the country, you see racks of 5 gallon jugs of water.

These may look very familiar to you. In the US, many people who don't like the taste of tap water have purified drinking water delivered to their homes (despite the fact that the tap water is clean and healthy). Here in the DR however, the water that comes through the faucet is not potable.

It's one thing when travel guidebooks tell you not to drink the water - it's another when locals tell you not to. Dominicans throughout the country have told us not to drink the water; 'don't get it in your mouth when showering, and don't think that boiling will do it a lot of good.'

The facilities to treat and distribute clean drinking water don't exist here. So instead, people buy purified water by the jug. There are racks around town where residents can swap an empty jug for a full one. When we refilled the water tanks onboard the WTP, it took 11 of these jugs. At 50 pesos a piece, it wasn't as cheap as in the US (where we flush good drinking water down the toilet), however it's one of the few options available here.


SGE