Solving the Water Problem

Modern technology – what would we do without it! The other day Jake needed to clean his spade after using it in the chaco. There was a bucket of water from the well sitting there so he just cleaned it in there. The next morning when he went to use the water for the plants there was no scum! The water appeared fairly clear from the magnesium and didn’t have an odor. Quite the discovery – maybe.

So he took 2 more buckets, filled them well water and let them sit in the open air for a day. The usual yucky, unattractive scum appeared. If you put a plate or a container in this water you would immediately get a reddish scum which, if you did not wash it, would stain badly. After a day, Jake took clay in which there was no humus and mixed it with the water. It sat undisturbed for another day at which time he found that the water was clear, a bit dirty but clear. We left it for another day and most of the dirt had settled to the bottom of the bucket.

When we had the water tested in Canada we were told that it was not harmful, just disgusting to look at. Now that it is clear it should be good for the people to use. We hope that they will apply this simple technology and use there wells. It was two years ago today that we came to the community to drill the wells and now we hope that they can actually use the water. We are very thankful that the solution is simple and economical.