On the beautiful afternoon of Friday August 21st I went to the tap for a glass of water and it was dry! No water. Mmm? Checked the other faucets and they all agreed no water. So I wander outside to see if others in the neighbour hood are in agreement and yes indeed we all have the same problem.

So I stroll down the alley where I see a City of Spruce Grove Public Works truck. I ask the lone worker what was up and he explained that they had to turn the water off as there was a break in the water main. When I asked when they might have it fixed he just shrugged and walked away. He was not the most informative fellow but as long as he was good at repairing water mains, who cares?

Anyway stuff happens. At least I knew someone was on the job.

I heard them working after I went to bed and was awoken in the wee hours of the morning by the sound of a water pump. Before I rolled over and went back to sleep I remember thinking that I was glad that I was me in my cozy bed and not waste deep in cold muddy water in a deep hole at 2 A.M. on a Saturday morning.

In the morning I need coffee. You need water to make coffee. Something I did not have as our taps were still dry. My wife brushed her teeth by rinsing with a cola. So I drove to gas station and purchased some bottle water for the coffee. All this made me think how little I had appreciated water coming out of the tap on demand. After a cup of coffee I wanted to know how long it was going to be before water service was returned.

So I called the City of Spruce Grove public works and received a recorded message but it did give me a number I could call in case of emergency, so I called that.

The gal that answered the phone knew of the situation and said she would call the guys working on the problem to find out and someone would get back to me. I said thanks. Well in 15 minutes or so our phone rings, glad to know that was working, and it was the fellow in charge of the problem and he explained that they were waiting for parts and water service should be restored by the afternoon.

I was pleasantly surprised to get a response so fast! His response was most pleasant, and not in the least defensive, or misleading.

Now I can’t remember the names of the City employees that I talked with nor the names of the guys working until 4 in the mud. They should all be commended especially the guys working in the mud.

So the next time one of your “essential” services is not working just be glad you’re not the guy in a wet muddy hole fixing the problem.