About this Blog
I am a PR professional that specializes in online communications and works for a company headquartered in Washington D.C. I am not going to mention the company name here because this is not an official company blog and I won’t be talking about any of my clients – although I am likely to express views on topics and issues around which I work. Prior to my current job, I was a scientist doing HIV vaccine research for the U.S. military. This blog is going to cover a range of topics depending on what I find interesting. Welcome to my blog and I hope you find something of value. If not, I wish you well and bid you safe travels.
I found your comments searching for the results of the second water test. I agree entirely with everything you have mentioned. When I heard the news report early in the morning, by chance, I was caught between the two breaks. The Urbana break is up the street from me. I wondered if the Derwood break had anything to do with the ICC construction underway in the same area. I’m surprised that few people get that showering or bathing for a woman is the same as getting water in your mouth, if you understand anatomy at all. I would add that the Safeway, Giant malf is probably due to Union regulations, that Shoppers, though also union based, has a less protective contract. That’s also why the government offices were closed. Running water is mandatory on work sites. Bathrooms must be in working order for people to work. A bit of an ironical reverse when you have to stay home , where there is no working sanitation. I would also note, that the good neighbors of Rockville, with their own water supply system, built on the backs of my state taxes, if not county also, were nowhere in the assistance line. And how do they come by their own water system anyway. A crisis like this holds huge implications for everyone who is already feeling put upon by those that control government actions at every level. They have been systematically rerouting water supply in the county for a decade. We are all going to see our share of the Katrina mentality sooner than later. I was just hoping, it would be later and not a quadruple whammy with water, food, gas, property taxes in the same year. I could digress into the whole Leggett legacy, but I try not to go there, and hope we aren’t going to end up there nationally speaking also. I mean with a political leader that comes tethered to tightly to the concerns of the wealthy. Our water woes pale in comparison to the other current crisis in the country and world, but as humans , we will still find difficulty in dealing with our own immediate circumstances. It may only be a small beginning. Big stuff is going to happen everywhere. Civilization is a fragile thing, that is obviously largely held together by equal access to water. Without it, we stink.
Paula,
Thanks for sharing. I think one does need to ask why a 28 year old water main would break so spectactularly. Even the little copper pipe leading into my house is expected to last longer than that. It could just be bad luck, or it could be indicative of a bigger problem. I hope that WSSC will look into this. In all fairness to WSSC, I do think that they have been pretty honest about the need to overall the infrastructure. They have been saying for years that they can’t support the current population with the existing infrastructure. Unfortunately, now is probably not the best time to increase rates on people that are already feeling the pinch from the dual afflictions of inflation and recession.
I think the bigger concern to which you alude, is that after 911 and Katrina, while a tremendous amount of money has been spent on communications equipment, training and emergency plan development, two guys going on vacation renders the entire investment worthless.
I also think that certain retail outlets like grociery stores and gas stations need to be brought into the emergency management infrastructure. When something like this happens, I am not driving to the fire department, police station or policy makers home for basic human needs. I am going the gas station to fill up my car’s gas tank and to the local grociery story for basic supplies. If USAID were managing a crisis response in some place like Myanmar, they would use the distribution resources available on the ground. It seems short-sited not to apply the same tactics here in our own communities.
Ultimately, this was a low cost test run for the system. Hopefully, everyone learned something and changes wil be made that improve our performance next time.