Wow! We had heard the water was a bit bitter here at Tenwek, but when Jessica and I drank our first glass (post-boiling, post-filtration) we could barely get it down. Dehydration appeared to be preferable until the primal urge to drink became irresistible. After about a week, I couldn't take it any longer.
You see, the procurement of water has been of primary importance since creation. God put Adam and Eve in Eden with a fantastic water supply: "A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters...Pishon...Gihon...the Euphrates...the Tigris." Every would-be settler since has first procured a water source before settling any new civilization. Well, the McCropders weren't going to buck the system.
Let me explain how things work here. The water coming to our indoor plumbing originates from this waterfall, which also happens to be the source of our electricity. It works great for flushing toilets, washing dishes and even taking a bath if you don't mind some exfoliatives (river bed sand).
A layer of foul, black muck lined the gutters. Some poor lizard had fallen to its miry grave in the deadly goo. Umm, nice to think all of the water we had been drinking had been brewed in gutter stew. The vile muck was removed with our hands and a mop that has since been retired from indoor service. The gutters were adjusted and repaired to collect the rain and to send it downhill to our clean tank. After only a few days with several hard rains, our tank was running over with water (see the picture at the bottom with water shooting out of the overflow hole at the top right of the tank).





