Daddy...where does the water come from?

"Where does the water come from?" my son asked me while his bath was filling.

I told him that our water source was probably found in a reservoir in Coquitlam.

"Is that the place where our poop goes, by the Alex Fraser Bridge," he asked

"No Jack, that's the sewage treatment plant...it's a different place, where the water is fresh and clean."

I told him that the water travels in underground pipes, and then like magic pours from our taps when we want it. With the bath full, I took this opportunity to remind Jack that he was a lucky boy, because many people in the world didn't have the luxury of just turning on the tap and getting fresh water. Some people have to walk miles in search of clean water.

"Is that because they don't have any money," he inquired?

I was then reminded of a passage I had been reading earlier that day in Rick Antonson's book, To Timbuktu for a Haircut:

"You do not drink in Dogon [Mali] just because you are thirsty. Water must last the journey. You do not whistle, do not make idle chatter, because it dries the throat--a discovery I would take home with me. From the water bottle , you at best get a wilting quench. I learned the difference between warm water and WARM water--my standards shifted like the sands. Water was always a serious issue in Dogon; little of it fell to the ground without further use. Where I encountered people at wells, I passed my hat to them as they pumped and cupped it back over my head in a spill they approved of, but only once. More was too much."

Many of us give little thought when we turn on the tap and water flows endlessly, but a billion people on this planet don't have access to clean, drinking water. Let me put that into some perspective. Think of six of your friends. Now imagine that one of them has no access to clean water. Depending on how good a friend they are, maybe it doesn't matter. But for those struggling to survive in a place with an unreliable water source, it surely matters. And isn't it really just luck that some of us are able turn on a tap in our homes and get water.

Water issues aren't solely the plight of those with "no money", as Jack put it. Serious water issues can be found on every continent. If you're interested in learning more, click here to see a map outlining some of our water challenges.

You might be interested to know that March 22 is World Water Day