Water water everywhere but not a drop to drink

Tiffany- Dec. 8, 2005

While Shanghai literally translates to ‘City on the Sea’ due to its close proximity to the East China Sea and Yangtze River Delta, finding clean drinking water is still a challenge. Apparently the water system in Shanghai was developed during a time when Chinese people boiled all of the water they used. Hot tea was the drink of choice, and if water was ever used for cooking, it was boiled as well. So there was no real reason to spend money to bring up water standards to a level where people could drink from the tap. So, upon moving here, Zach and I were faced with 2 choices: learn to like water that literally tastes like dirt-and suffer the repercussions or rent out a stylish ‘Office Space’ type water cooler and try to pass it off as a family room decoration. Since after 3 months, we’ve asked everyone from the US Consulate to our local friends what will happen if we so much as use the tap water to brush our teeth and still been unable to get a straight answer, we now sport a stylish ‘water cooler’ in the middle of our apartment. Surprisingly, it’s not only cheap but also convenient. We can get a huge water jug delivered via bike to our house for less than $1 any day of the week. And Zach swears the customer service agent at the water distribution center is the only person that understands his Chinese perfectly. So while we do miss the luxuries of being able to drink a glass of water straight from the tap, or stick our toothbrush directly under the faucet, at least it allows Zach to have one successful Chinese conversation on a weekly basis!