Water: essential for life, refreshing, energising, destructive and dangerous. As humans, our experiences and memories of water are multi-faceted, determined by place and context, writes Congregational Leader Sister Catherine McCahill.
Some of my earliest memories include the delight of playing under the sprinkler on a summer’s day and standing out in the cooling rain, cleansed from the sweat of the depleting humidity. I have spent hours watering gardens, replenishing the parched earth. I have been attentive to pets, poultry and livestock, ensuring the supply of fresh and sufficient water.
I have stood in awe at the spectacle of cascading waterfalls and delighted in the abundant life sustained downstream. I have also despaired at the destruction of floodwaters that take everything in their path, leaving only mud and rubbish. And yet, I know that some of our most productive agricultural land rests on floodplains.
Image: Luke Peterson, Australia, CC BY 2.0.
As a teacher of chemistry, I have experienced the joy of teaching others about the unique and amazing properties of water, from the molecular level to the observable. We studied the capacity of water to dissolve so many other substances, to conduct electricity, and to exist in three states (vapour, liquid, solid). We learnt why solid water floats on liquid water, not a usual feature of substances that exist in both states, and why its boiling point is so high.
As a Christian disciple, I was baptised with water, and I have witnessed the baptism of countless others. I have been blessed, and I bless myself with water as sign and symbol of baptism, of entering into the mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection. As I experience the blessing, I renew my commitment to be a disciple of the Risen One. I am reminded of God’s everlasting commitment to me and all creation.
Each year on 22 March we acknowledge World Water Day. I have been asking myself; how will I be a good neighbour to water this year?
As an Australian living in a large city, I can take water for granted. At the turn of a tap, the supply is plentiful, clean and drinkable. We expect the government to provide it and at a low cost. When we are out and about, we expect free drinking fountains or taps, especially in places of recreation.
Sadly, this is not the situation where some other Good Samaritan Sisters live, nor in many other parts of the earth. Our Sisters in Bacolod, the Philippines, and in Kiribati rely on well water. The quantity and purity of the water means that I am unable to drink it.
In some parts of the earth, one or other country controls either deliberately or implicitly the supply of water to those downstream from the source. Palestine and Jordan are at the mercy of Israel as it controls the Jordan River basin and other water sources in the West Bank.
China controls the headwaters of the Mekong River, a major source of water for the Southeast Asian countries of Myanmar, Lao PDR, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The mighty Tigris and Euphrates Rivers are controlled by Turkey, with significant impact on Syria and Iraq.
Girls in Babile, Ethiopia, fill water containers. Image: Wikimedia.
The politics of water are tense and troubling. Droughts and famine result. Yet seldom does the mainstream media notice or report. Those who are powerful take and squander that which is given freely by nature. When it comes to this essential gift of nature to the earth and all its creatures, we struggle to be good neighbours.
I could look on this with horror, and I have. In Palestine and Israel, I have witnessed firsthand the deprivation experienced by those from whom water is deliberately withheld.
In parts of the West Bank, ‘neighbours’ experience extreme disparity because one is Israeli and the other Palestinian. Some live with less water than the World Health standard while others in the same ‘neighbourhood’ have abundant supply.
As I reflect on all this, I ask myself; how can I be a good neighbour to water?
Yes, my supply is abundant, but I know that many of the earth’s resources are consumed in providing this basic commodity. I wonder, can I be more careful in my use of water? I think of my time under the shower, allowing copious amounts of water to flow into the waste system.
I wonder about the cleaning products that I use in my water. Are they biodegradable? How long will they persist in the wastewater? What other chemicals and products do I allow to enter the wastewater at my house? What about the pesticides and fertilisers?
When I notice the litter around my driveway, perhaps I could pick it up rather than allow it to be washed into the stormwater system and into our waterways with the next rain event. I ask myself; will I be a good neighbour or not?
Will I add my voice to the forums that support better laws to protect our water sources? Will I take the time to be informed, to speak up and advocate where I can?
With water, life flourishes. Water is indeed the gift of the Creator. The choice to be a good neighbour or otherwise to water is mine to make.
