Drip drip drip

If you're looking at our kitchen faucet and wondering what the green tape sign says, it says..."Please leave water dripping."  I bet for many people reading this, they are totally confused.  Why is a person who cares about environmental issues a little bit, one married to a biology professor, purposely leaving her water dripping?

We're on the risk of frozen pipes list.

In Winnipeg, it is still most definitely feeling like winter.  Yes, the sun is a bit brighter and spring is slowly moving northward. (we hope.)  The ground is still ice and snow covered, and boy, that snow is looking dirty! This morning when I walked the dogs, it was -6F.  Right now, it is -15C, or 5F, with bright sunny skies.

This winter is the coldest Winnipeg has seen in 35 years, and the frost line-that is how deep the frost goes beneath the soil- is at around 8 feet.  (2.5 meters or so)  You might guess, if you were thinking about plumbing, that there are water mains at that depth, and you'd be right.  Water mains are breaking in Winnipeg, and a whole lot of houses in our city do not have water.

Our next door neighbor's pipes are frozen, and she has water because her water line was connected with the neighbor on the other side of her house.  We live on the corner, and our one neighbor has no water and is connected to the other neighbor.  We hope our pipes don't freeze.

In our favor, we have twin two year olds and use a lot of water so it is still flowing!  We run the dishwasher and washing machine every day (potty training, but still using our share of cloth diapers...!) and that has helped.  Then in mid-March, we heard our neighbor had lost water and we started the trickle at the kitchen sink, 24 hours a day.  The city put us on the at-risk list and may compensate us for some of the water loss...but it is a necessary cost, no matter who bears it.  We so don't want to lose water!

If I think about it (and I try not to), this situation begins to sound like one of those bad comedies where things have to be funny so you don't cry--there are businesses and homes here who have been without water for weeks.  The professor talks about our "coy pond" and makes jokes about streams, water falls, and fountains.  In between my sleep deprivation (the boys have had a cold and they just don't sleep through the night) and the dripping water and a sinus headache or two, I think maybe I am feeling a little like I know how people in horrible war time work camp environments might feel.  (just kidding, definitely a first world comment)   I am even more upset now that so many people in the world do not have easy access to clean water...just the threat of it is scary to us.

We collect the water in the pitcher and try to water plants, fill the dog bowl, our water glasses, etc. with it, but we're using a lot of water.  Luckily, we are blessed with a lot of water here in Canada.  Drip drip drip.  Can you hear it running over there at your house?

I so can't wait for spring.  Please drop me a note or leave a comment or something if you can see flowers or the ground or even a melting pattern where you live!