Unfortunately, a couple of times a month in Cali there is no water and/or electricity. Most of the time the electricity goes for a few hours, maybe up to 10, but the more annoying thing is when water goes. There is rarely any warning about this, and even when there is, it can last for over 24 hours so flushing toilets, cooking and washing become really tricky. About a month ago the water went for 24 hours with no warning, even though it was due to planned works, so I just cross my fingers that this doesn't happen when I have to work or haven't showered yet that day! And I really feel for people caring for the elderly or babies, it must be really difficult to handle because not everyone can afford to go out and buy bottles of water.
Every time there is heavy rainfall the water and/or electricity are almost guaranteed to cut out due to landslides or rivers overflowing. When the electricity goes, we hear a huge explosion and then it cuts out. When the water does come back, for a good 4 hours it comes out of the taps all brown full of sediment so is unusable. People here are used to it but, to be honest, it is pretty terrible and there don't seem to be any improvements. The infrastructure simply is not built or maintained to support a city of millions of people and rich and poor alike suffer from the cuts. I feel this is a rudimentary human right, especially in urban areas like Cali, to have adequate sanitary and electricity provision and I hope, for the sake of the Colombian people, that the government addresses these shortages.
Some lighthearted memes do always appear on Facebook around these times though, such as this one below about water (captions read: 1) 'Yesterday in Cali - Today in Cali'; 2) is sarcastically saying that Cali is 'Like any European city'; 3) is paraphrased from a famous song and reads 'The problem is not showering, the problem is that there is no water'; 4) '17 hours without water in Cali'
Every time there is heavy rainfall the water and/or electricity are almost guaranteed to cut out due to landslides or rivers overflowing. When the electricity goes, we hear a huge explosion and then it cuts out. When the water does come back, for a good 4 hours it comes out of the taps all brown full of sediment so is unusable. People here are used to it but, to be honest, it is pretty terrible and there don't seem to be any improvements. The infrastructure simply is not built or maintained to support a city of millions of people and rich and poor alike suffer from the cuts. I feel this is a rudimentary human right, especially in urban areas like Cali, to have adequate sanitary and electricity provision and I hope, for the sake of the Colombian people, that the government addresses these shortages.
Some lighthearted memes do always appear on Facebook around these times though, such as this one below about water (captions read: 1) 'Yesterday in Cali - Today in Cali'; 2) is sarcastically saying that Cali is 'Like any European city'; 3) is paraphrased from a famous song and reads 'The problem is not showering, the problem is that there is no water'; 4) '17 hours without water in Cali'