Monday, September 26, 2022

Water Problems

Friday night there was a big storm, with lots of rain and thunder and lightning. A typhoon that was originally headed straight to my area, changed course and stayed at sea, then dissolved.  The big thunder storm was probably part of that typhoon storm.  Saturday morning, the sky was blue and I did some normal things around the apartment. My water worked as it always did. Everything was good. 


Early afternoon, I tried to turn on the tap, but no water came out. How strange was that?, I thought. There were no cars in the apartment lot, so my neighbors were not at home to check with. (I live in a small apartment building with only six apartments.)  I waited and checked the tap from time to time - no water. I looked out my back window and saw someone run from the apartment across the park to the porta potty in the park. Aha! The water must be out over there too. I later learned it was out everywhere in my town! This is why we all keep lots of two liter bottles of water.  This is the emergency that water is for.


Sunday morning, I gathered all the water containers I had, and walked about 15 minutes to a nearby elementary school to get water the city was providing. The line was long and I had to wait about an hour, but everyone was calm and orderly with all of their containers.  There was only one older man without a mask. He didn't even have any water containers, so I don't know what he was doing.  Maybe just checking things out. 








Water is heavy, but I had it in the backpack, plus a bucket, so I made it home again. Later, my kind friends also brought me 2 liter bottles of water and a big container of water for the toilet flushing.




I don't know when this problem will be resolved, but as you can imagine, I've had enough of it already.  This is the English translation of the information on the City's Japanese website last night.  


- About the water outage response tomorrow (26th) -
Regarding the water outage, we are continuing to work on the restoration work, but at the moment we are not at the prospect of restoring the facility and eliminating the water cut off.
Tomorrow, we will conduct emergency water supply by water supply trucks, etc. at 27 places, the same facility as today, but please note that the opening time may be delayed due to the preparation situation.

~《In the middle of investigation and restoration》About the water outage~
Currently, the water outage is in a situation where there is no prospect of restoration because there is a poor water intake due to driftwood etc. that flowed into the Jogenji water intake.
We will continue to do emergency water supply by water supply vehicles and removal work near the water intake, but we apologize for the inconvenience.

At the water supply base of elementary schools, we are receiving the cooperation of the following prefecture and other local governments.
Thank you very much for your support.
[Hamamatsu City, Kosai City, Oinoue Waterworks Corporation, Ogaki City, Makinohara City, Kakegawa City, Kariya City, Kikugawa City, Okazaki City, Nagoya City,
Numazu City, Kani City, Kawasaki City, Gifu City]

I have always taken water for granted. Have you ever been in a situation with no water?  


This was my view of Mt. Fuji yesterday.


10 comments:

Jeanie said...

I'm without water this afternoon but not for as critical a reason as you. Rick is installing a new dishwasher. We are in hour eight. It's not going well. Good luck with your water situation -- it sounds grim and of indefinite time. But it's nice how well people are cooperating.

Lyn Warner said...

Life is very difficult without water even when it is off for just a few hours for maintenance. It's a good idea to keep a few 2 litre bottles of water just in case. I hope it's all sorted out soon for you.

Anonymous said...

Hello from Hokkaido, Pamela san. I'm worried about you.
Media doesn't tell about this disaster very much. Why? I just found the details on Twiiter. I hope the situation is getting better as soon as possible and you can spend the daily life as usual. I'm glad there are kind people around you. I'm praying for you. Manami

Vireya said...

That is not fun! It is amazing how we take basic services for granted and are lost when they stop.

Hope the situation is resolved soon.

Lyn Warner said...

Cape Town had a severe drought in 2017 so I experienced how difficult it can be to make sure you have enough water for day to day needs. To save carrying water home from the tanker or collection point, it may be worth keeping the water from rinsing vegetables or washing your hands, for flushing the toilet. I hope you will soon have water in your taps again.

Queeniepatch said...

Although this is a crisis, you are lucky it happened in Japan! At least in this country, things are organised and people help each other out. In many other countries, a minor war might break out in such a situation.
I am also sure the officials and city workers are doing their utmost to have the situation restored to normal as soon as possible - as you know, people here are working overtime and not demanding the weekend off.

Hang in there, Pamela. It will be OK in the end!

Diane-crewe said...

I hope it soon gets resolved. We take water for granted and it is only when we do not have any that not only do we appreciate it but realise just HOW MUCH we use x

p. said...

I admire the kind, thoughtful gesture of your friends bringing what you needed most.

roughterrain crane said...

I'm sorry to hear the typhoon damaged your area. Please take care not to ruin your health.

Leonore Winterer said...

I've been out of water before, but usually it was just a couple hours at a time when they were working on the pipes. Glad the Japanese are prepared for situation like these!