Skip to main content

Summer is for...

... drinking spring water from the source

Evian drinkers, you don't know what you're missing!

This particular spring flows on Mt. Pulag, above the line of vegetable gardens and human habitation. In all likelihood, it is unpolluted, although I know of no study on the life cycle of chemicals and their possible presence in the watersheds and aquifers of Pulag. The only empirical evidence I can offer about this spring is that my personal water supply was taken from it over the course of three days, without the use of puritabs, filter pumps, and without boiling the water, and I was fine!

The water from this spring was ice-cold and tasted oh so sweet and refreshing! All of us who drank from the spring swore that we felt revitalized as the water coursed through our bodies!

Nowadays, instead of regarding a found water source as something to be grateful for, we regard it as something dangerous. Isn't there something wrong with this reaction? It's not the reaction itself that is wrong, but the long process by which we got ourselves here. Why have we come to this? There are fewer and fewer places where we can drink spring water without fear of ingesting deadly chemicals, pet amoebas, or traces of human waste. This makes the existence of potable spring water in our mountains something to treasure and something to be proud of!

When I was a child I used to imagine that it would be a nightmare-ish world to live in if we had to buy our drinking water. Now I take it for granted that I do buy our drinking water on a regular basis. Water, the seeming lack of it whether potable or not, has always been considered a problem in Baguio. Are we part of the problem, or can we contribute to a solution? Potable water is a right, not a commodity, and if we already have it in our environment, why should we allow the risk of losing it?

I'll stop now, before I set off the Preachy Alarm, but this isn't the last thing I'll be saying about this!
Labels:

Comments

resty said…
Hi Padma, in these times of bottled water, fuel belts, camelbaks, I wouldn't dare drink spring water unless in emergency situations.
21 May 2008 at 07:57
padma said…
But Manong Resty, this is not just any ordinary, possibly life-threatening, spring water. This is PULAG spring water! It tastes sweet and to drink it uplifts one's spirits better than any softdrink or alcohol ever could. This particular water source is located above the line of vegetable gardens and human habitation, so it is untainted by chemicals and domestic waste. I've added a paragraph to my blog on drinking spring water, because as you've pointed out, in some instances drinking spring water can be quite risky.
24 May 2008 at 15:45
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

This will probably be the only Tagalog post on this blog ever

So this is what my writing looks like in Tagalog... A synopsis written with high school teachers in mind, translated from English by Karlo Altomonte, for a play directed by Karlo Altomonte, staged by Open Space Productions. A play by Paul Dumol featuring Ferdie Balanag, Jojo Lamaria, Mel Sabado, Roman Ordoña, Joenas Galinato, Syrel Amazona, Ana Degollacion, Eunice Caburao, Candice Degollacion, Wow Pidlaoan, Joel Genove, Shunjen, Jun Balitan, Rhoda FIangrayan, Jaja Lamaria, Charlene David, Hanna Camiring. The play premiers on August 23, at 6:30pm, in the Bulwagang Juan Luna, U.P. Baguio. ANG PAGLILITIS NI MANG SERAPIO Isang dula ni Paul Dumol Sino si Serapio? Bakit siya nililitis? Ano'ng paki-alam natin? Sa unang limang minuto pa lang ng paglilitis ay tatambad na sa atin ang krimen ni Mang Serapio. Ang pagkakasala niya ay pag-aaruga ng bata. Oo, ang pag-aaruga ng bata ay isang krimen. Unti-unting magkakaroon ng liwanag ang akusasyong ito sa pag-usad ng kwento. Si Serapio ay is...
3 comments
Read more

Lola of Maipon

It's all too easy to fall asleep under the blanket of everyday life and to smother dreams with the mundane things I surround myself with. But once in a while, along comes a sparkling vision that jolts me out of my daily sleep and reminds me of the existence of convictions and worlds so different from my own. "Our beloved LOLA of Guinubatan, Maipon, Albay is the last true messenger of God. So, let us follow her holy teachings so that we will gain TRUE SALVATION without sufferings and without death." In another story I, the intrepid heroine, the adventurer seduced by mysteries, the pilgrim in search of truth, would follow them back to Guinubatan from Session Road, thirsting to see and hear their Lola for myself. However, it's all too easy -- much safer! -- to fall back asleep under the blanket of everyday life, and to smother dreams with the mundane things I surround myself with. Then along comes 9 a.m., and really, it's time to down the dregs of coffee at the bott...
4 comments
Read more

Palengkera: my route

This is the path my footsteps trace almost automatically when I go to the market. I start at the foot of the hill where the flower stalls are lined up. I squeeze through jeeps and cars waiting bumper-to-bumper for the traffic to ease forward inch-by-inch. I stop for rosal, not in the flower stalls where wreaths are prepared for funerals and celebrations, but with the manangs who set up their flower stands on the road, just beside the exit of the Marbay parking building. Then I walk across from the rosal manangs to my meat suki, where I buy pork or beef. From there I go deeper into the meat section and take the slippery, perpetually wet steps down to the seafood and chicken section. Here I have a suki for chicken. But all she sells is magnolia chicken. Today I came across a woman who was selling freshly butchered and dressed broiler chickens. She caught my attention when she called out, “Bagong katay po ito. Hindi galing sa freezer!” Next time, I will buy my chicken from her. I don’t ha...
9 comments
Read more