More Civic Problem Solving

Artesian_Wells
Originally uploaded by MConnor.

And while I've got Kiev's innovative way of dealing with killer icicles on my mind I figure I might as well post about more municipal government genius.

As I may have bitched about before, the water in this city really sucks. It's not even close to potable. Besides being riddled with bacteria, there's tons of particles and debris in it. Pipes (not drainage pipes either) frequently clog just from the crap that's in the water and you have to clean them out regularly. It's not very rare when I'll turn a faucet on and the water will run brown for a couple of minutes before it turns relatively clear.

As you can imagine, displeasure with this isn't just limited to western expats and the locals tend to get pissed off about this too. So, to keep everyone happy, the city government had to do something. Slowly start upgrading the system? Replace pipes that date back to before the Russian Revolution?

Nah, that would make sense.

Instead, they went around the city and started digging artesian wells. That way, if people want water that's actually good enough to drink they can walk down to their neighborhood well, fill up their 5 liter bottles, and drag them back home.

Don't you dare suggest that this isn't a European country!