Cambridge - a little oasis in the midst of a water emergency

Those of you have haven't heard or aren't in the middle of it, the Boston area is experiencing a major water emergency this weekend because of a broken pipe that brings water in from Western Massachusetts. People have to boil the water before drinking, brushing your teeth, washing dishes or bathing babies. It's OK to shower, but you can't drink it. This meant that yesterday at dinner in Boston, they had no water to serve except bottled water, no soda from the soda fountain, only canned soda allowed. Beer is safe! Lexington just closed down all their restaurants as a precaution. Over 2 million folks are impacted, except for Cambridge.

Turns out, Cambridge is the only city in this area that has its own water supply, everyone else relies on the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. Normally, economies of scale and banding together with local communities for water makes a ton of sense since this water from the Berkshires is pretty great and pristine. Cambridge is a little weird, under normal circumstances, in its desire to control its own water supply. However, this weekend I'm awfully glad I live in Cambridge since I live in this little oasis where the water is fine. My next door neighbors (literally next door) are in Somerville and I'm guessing they're boiling water as we speak. Our church is in Cambridge and folks filling up their water bottles with clean water to take home after service. Every so often, I really appreciate living in the crazy place called the People's Republic of Cambridge with its liberal water and all.