Water Emergency x 4

OK, what is it that I'm not getting? I've now had four water emergencies in less than three weeks.

Water Shortage #1: City Boil Alert

A short time ago, my city announced an emergency "boil water" alert that lasted for (what felt like) days. Do you know what a pain this is? You can't wash dishes easily, you can't shower easily, and you have no running water that you can trust. Talk about an eye-opener.

Water Shortage #2: Broken Water Pipe

Not two hours after the city lifted the water alert, my husband accidentally cut into our main water pipe outside the house while edging the lawn. Yep, this is right. My neighbors now have clean water again, but we've had to turn ours off. Oh, showering is starting to look like bathing in liquid gold.

Water Shortage #3: Broken Kitchen Faucet

True, a broken kitchen faucet is not a water emergency per se, but when the handle snaps off and your husband is working two jobs and not home, this means you are without water in the kitchen ... for what feels like a very long time (although it ended up being only 3 days). Ever tried washing dishes in the bathroom?

Water Shortage #4: Replacing Water Dial-Thinga-Ma-Jiggy

OK, so not a very official title, but I can't remember the true name for the main water measurer-thingy the city uses to see how much water you guzzle. But just yesterday, the city employee showed up out of the blue to tell me my water would be shut off once again, so he could change to a new dial-thinga-ma-jiggy. Once again, I'm without water ... in less than three weeks time or so.

I think I'm getting the message that emergency preparedness MUST include having a water storage system of some kind! (Otherwise, a family gets awfully thirsty!)