Transporting the Fresh(Water) Goods

Ireland is a country that is surrounded by water, also known as an island but there are parts of the Country that still don’t have a steady supply of water even though this country is known for their rain. In Inis Oírr, the smallest of the Aran Islands of the coast of Western Ireland, we were made aware of the fact they are completed reliant on the mainland to get fresh water. This island has one freshwater lake on it called Loch Mör. The people on this island have one major problem with Loch Mör  and that is because it is a dead lake. This means the water is stagnant, and has no streams or fresh water spring running into the lake. This is problematic as the water begins to smell because it is stagnant and also acidic. These are all factors on why the loch can’t be used as a viable source of drinking water for natives. This lead to people having to be reliant on other sources of fresh water. Before the more recent practice of shipping their freshwater in from Galway, the Islanders on this Island were completely reliant on the rainwater which one local described as, “dirty water” which we were unsure if he meant polluted or that the water had a salty taste to it. Everyday there is a water boat that makes two trips from Galway to the port here on the island where they then proceed to pump the fresh water from the mainland into storage containers located near the center of the island. When we were talking to a local resident named Eoghan (Owen) we learned that this island did not get electricity on the until the year 2000 when they laid a optic cable across the bay.. This is something he was happy about but he then mentioned the Irish government didn’t think about making that a joint project to also provide water to the island. This means that the Island will not get water if the boat is unable to make it one day which means that they are completely reliant on the mainland to survive on this island. While staying on the island we were told to conserve water the most we could and to only flush when necessary. This is something that I was not used, because in the United States my home has a well and my parents never told me not to flush the toilet or to make sure you rinse your dishes in the sink instead of keeping the water running the whole time. This was eye opening to me because I didn’t realize that even in a developed country that is known for its rain could still have the same water problems of third world countries