“I cannot even boil some potatoes”: living with non-potable water

ManacorLiving in an apartment without an elevator when you are 80 years old can be a problem, but it is even more so if you live in a city where the water that comes out of the taps is not good for drinking or cooking, and you depend on bottled water if you do not want to get sick. This is the case for Antònia, who does not have an osmosis system in her home and relies on her family network to be able to have drinking water. "At my age, I don't have the strength to carry jugs of water up the stairs and I'm afraid of falling," she explains. "I always have to keep after my family to see if they can go buy it for me and bring it up to our home. I feel bad about bothering them because I know they are very busy, but I have no other choice, because with this water I can't even boil potatoes," she adds.

The lack of potability thus becomes a matter of inequality. Not everyone has a vehicle to carry jugs of water or a family network that can take on this task. This is the case for many of the women of foreign origin who live in Manacor, who do not usually have a private vehicle. "Women all alone with small children don't have a car and can hardly go to buy bottled water or carry it, which poses an added problem," explains a social worker who assists the vulnerable population of Manacor. Added to this is the fact that the Basic Card from the Government of the Balearic Islands, an indirect aid that facilitates access to food and hygiene products for vulnerable families with dependent minors, does not include water as one of the products that can be purchased. "How can it be that the most basic good is not included?" she asks.

Although water bills do inform that the water supplied is not suitable for consumption, this professional considers that more public information is needed regarding this issue, especially for newcomers, whether from the public administration or the Health center. "I cannot say it with data in hand, but I imagine that many people drink from the tap because they do not know it is not potable, especially when you have many economic needs and you have a tap that puts out water."

Inequality does not end within households. The lack of drinking water also shifts the cost and responsibility to businesses to ensure that food and drinks are safe.

The fact that Manacor's water, with a nitrate concentration of 120 milligrams per liter, 70 points above the threshold established by health authorities, also poses an added problem for restaurant businesses. Rafel Mulet has a restaurant in the center of the capital of the Llevant and operates with an osmosis system connected to the kitchen tap and the coffee machine. With this water, he cooks the dishes he serves every day. “Health authorities have never warned us that we must cook with bottled or treated water, but they have checked the osmotized water we serve,” he points out. A gesture as simple as filling a pot to make pasta or a vegetable cream becomes complicated. “If we had to cook with bottled water, we would need a specific warehouse to store it, and in this premises, we cannot afford it, neither for space nor for cost,” he explains.

Another catering professional, Juan G., believes that in most businesses, more importance is given to limescale than to nitrates. “Many prioritize that the dishwasher does not break down over health, and that is because people are not aware enough: it is talked about, but it is not given enough importance.” “And it could also be that we are eating bread with nitrates,” he points out, questioning whether bottled water is used to make bakery products. “I don't think it's out of bad intention, but rather it is surely out of ignorance, because it has always been done this way,” he adds. “We pay for that water and we think it must be good. I think many people cook with tap water because they are not aware that they are drinking poison.”