Boiled Water

Palm Beach County, Florida. One of the richest per-capita counties in the nation.

And I'm afraid to drink the water.

I turned on the TV this morning, and for the seventh time, in just that many days, parts of the county are under a boil-water alert. What happens if those people don't turn on the TV or the radio? Ugh, never mind, I'd rather not think about the answer to that question. And why do we have so many orders to boil our water anyway? Today the reason given is because of the recent rainstorms.

Hmmm. Our weather is tropical. It rains. A lot. And the county sewer system breaks down in a thunderstorm? They didn't plan for rain?

I find myself wondering if other places have the same problem. Is this as common in the rest of the USA as it is here? Maybe that's the reason so many people drink bottled water.

How can I be sure that I've boiled all the germs out anyway? I know they (the mysterious they people) say that boiling for one minute purifies the water, but really, if I know it's been compromised by waste-water, do I want to drink it? Even if I boiled it for an hour, I don't think I'd look forward to swallowing it.

So, for now, I'll stick to drinks that come in a bottle. At least until they get this sewer stuff sorted out.

Cat