Thursday, June 25, 2009

Texas Skinnydipping In The Middle Of The Night With A Fort Worth Water Report

I think I may be going to have myself one ultra-hellacious day today. I woke up about half past 2. I was fairly certain I was not going to fall back asleep. So, at 3 a.m., I got up.

I checked email, read the news, saw the Scrabble Queen of Washington had played 3 words, so I played 3 words.

I got bored preparing for this morning's virtual trip to New Braunfels and Schlitterbahn, so a bit before 5 it seemed like a good time to go for a relaxing skinnydip.

The air temperature is 80 this morning. The pool was warmer than the air. Even though we are currently suffering with a Level Red Pollution Alert, I saw stars twinkling above me. That is not the moon behind me in the photo, it's a big round light.

On the way out of the pool I got the mail. There was one odd thing in the mail. A bi-lingual publication from Fort Worth. The 2008 Drinking Water Quality Report. In a city so pinched for money it has cut back library hours, this seemed an odd thing to waste money on. On page 2 under "A Message from the Water Director" there is a full color photo of the "Water Department Leadership Team." Why didn't they save a few bucks for the city by foregoing the color photo?

Also on page 2 of the "Water Report" it says "Mailing this report to our customers is a federal and state requirement. It also is posted on our website."

In all my years of drinking water in Washington I never received an annual "Water Report." Did this federal mandate come along after I moved to Texas? Or is this a mandate that only applies to places that get their water from sources that require extensive treatment?

I have long found it a bit disturbing that the drinking water here comes out of reservoirs that are also used for recreation, like boating and swimming. Where I lived in Washington, Mount Vernon, the drinking water came out of a reservoir that was totally closed off to human access by a chain link fence.

It's a puzzlement. I can see that so far today, I'm being all about water.

2 comments:

Cheap Tricks and Costly Truths said...

We get notices in Wink after they have to shut the water off to repair a leak...that for a 24 hour period all water must be boiled before use. The kids and I only drink bottled water and I have installed on the kitchen and bathroom faucets clean water filters.

Color pages are expensive...I know this because when I was in high school (a very, very long time ago) we were only allowed 8 colored pages in the annual because of the cost. I concur...the city should have saved the taxpayers some money. Who even cares what the "team" looks like?

Durango said...

When I first saw that full color report in the wee hours I was a bit foggy. Now it's coming up on noon and I'm thinking clearer. I think someone needs to be fired for wasting money on that full color report.