Within Congolese cities and towns, families are learning to pay for water. Even, we, in the US and Europe, have had to learn that message, too. Many apartment dwellers did not realize that municipal water suppliers charged the building owners for water. It is more common for electricity to be separately metered and charged to the occupant. Therefore, some thought that water was FREE! Back in 2015, Jay-Z made the comment while making a comparison to a streaming music service that “Water is free” [https://time.com/3898069/jay-z-denver-water/]. Was it a bad comparison?
In Kananga, we indirectly pay for water. At least the last time I visited the community water source, there was no charge for water at a capped spring down the hill in the valley from our rented house. The cost of water comes from paying the women to bring the water up a steep hill from the valley to our house. I can barely walk (CARRYING NOTHING) down the hill and back up the hill without stumbling or falling. So, we pay for the service.
That’s what many Congolese consider as the cost of water. They are, like us in the US and Europe, paying for convenience. To the extreme, we pay for the convenience of bottled water. And yes, some pay even more for the status of brand-name water. Finally, in the past few years, we pay for the safety, healthiness, and aesthetic appeal of water. We understand the characteristics of safe drinking water are that it must be clear, tasteless, odorless, and free from harmful biological and chemical contaminants. Congolese will also pay for water with those characteristics, too.
We can see if the water is clear. And we can taste if the water is natural. And we can smell if the water is odorless. But we can not detect if the water is contaminated. Periodic water quality testing of the water is necessary and should be required. However, water quality testing in Congo is lacking. Therefore, water quality testing could be a beneficial and noteworthy selling point.
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