Cambridge Celebrates Drinking Water Week 2010

Cambridge is celebrating Drinking Water Week with activities culminating with Fresh Pond Day on Saturday, May 8th.  Cambridge was lucky enough to escape the water boil order that affected other parts of metro Boston (the boil order was lifted today).  The main reason is that Cambridge has its own system that runs separately from the MWRA system that was compromised this weekend.  If you were the paranoid, suspicious type you might think that the Metro Boston water emergency seems to coincidental, happening just as Drinking Water Week was starting.  We will see what happens when special dive teams recover the broken parts that caused the pipe break.

Drinking water week is sponsored by the American Water Works Association.  It’s purpose is to educate the public about all that is needed to bring safe drinking water to all of our homes and businesses.  If you live outside of Cambridge in surrounding towns like Belmont and Somerville you now know what it means to have someone else worry about safe water for you.  Boiling water and buying clean water don’t seem like a big deal until you have to do it.  Hand washing dishes and laundry with boiled water can be an eye opening experience.  Most distressing of all was that the coffee shops like Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks couldn’t make coffee!

Cambridge actually benefited from the water emergency as folks from surrounding towns figured out that our water was not affected.  I even saw a news story that showed the owner Upstairs on the Square discussing the increased traffic at the restaurant.  That was the scene at many of the Cambridge Restaurants that were perceived by diners as safer than their local restaurants.  Even with the safety protocols in place at Boston Restaurants it is easier to have the “better safe than sorry” attitude.

Besides educating the public the American Water Works Association also hopes to bring attention to careers in the Water Works industry.  It may not seem like a glamorous job but there is a lot to it from chemistry to engineering.  On Thursday the Water Department is visiting the Cambridge Schools to both educate and entertain with interactive activities.  Fresh Pond Day will take place from 10am-2pm and will also include activities and games celebrating the wonders of water.  This is a great way to expose your children to the science of water treatment and the water supply process.  For more details visit the City of Cambridge Water Week announcement page.