How do you get water in the desert?

Yesterday the taps in T~ ran dry.

Coming from an arid Western state, the value of accessible water is not a foreign concept to me. In Colorado, newspaper coverage of annual snowpack is devoured with interest and concern. But arriving in Africa, there were too many other strange inputs for me to even consider where the water comes from to take our robinet showers (if you're lucky; bucket baths if you're not) and to fill our water filters. We spend so much time in Peace Corps worrying about what's in our water that there's no chance to think about where it comes from, here sandwiched between the desert and the very salty Atlantic.

The relative wealth of water during the rainy season is deceptive and not conducive to discussions of water conservation. I've so far figured out that most potable water here comes from one river or dam somwhere up north, near the border with even more deserty Mauritania. We've also been told that, during the dry season at least, the city taps may run dry and village wells will get low. So, it was a little surprising yesterday - as the rainy season is drawing to an increasingly sandy close - the water pressure from the robinet outside our house slowed to a trickle. In my friends' compounds closer to the city center, the water stopped completely. Having filled my water filter earlier (and not having to worry aobut having drinking water for a day or two), my next concern was how I would wash off a day's worth of sunscreen, bug repellant, sweat and general Africa dirt/sand. Asking the stupidly obvious question "So if there's no water, there's no shower in the morning, right?" in Wolof elicited loud chuckles from my family. But, really, in a society where it's common to rinse off the ever-present sweat two-three times a day and taking ablutions before each of the day's five prayers is required, what do people do when there's no water?

I'm not entirely sure. The water came back last night around 10pm, although still at a reduced pressure. And, even though my friend Byron's brother said the water would be cut again today, I was able to shower this morning. Whether that will be the case this afternoon, we'll see.

Whatever the case, one or two days with rationed water brought the issue to my attention. I'm especially curious to see waht my homestay in ML~ will have - a city tap which can go dry or a village well which may go low, may risk saltwater infiltration, but won't likely go dry. I'll certainly be savoring every sip from here on out, though.

Side note: Water came back...and stayed. No issue.