No water in Braşov!
UNF%&@ING BELIEVABLE.
Last night they turned the water off in the entire city of Braşov.
During the summer.
No water. 48 hours.
How stupid are these twits? There is basically no excuse for this other than gross incompetence. This has got to be the worst city administration I’ve ever had the misfortune of suffering through. I wish the directors of Apa Braşov would lose their jobs. I wish the mayor and city council would be summarily dismissed from office. I wish the people would not accept things as they are and riot in the streets!
No water. No toilet! Anywhere. 48 hours.
No clothes washing. No dish washing. No shower or bath, during summer time.
Buy your drinking water. Find a well and pump water into a bucket and carry it home. What is this, Africa!? Start sending the UN relief packets, folks. This is a sick, sick joke and I’m thoroughly unhappy about it.
An entire city without water for two days.
Now, in a blatant display of brash denials, some spineless bureaucrat from some various authority issued an unenforceable press release from behind the safety of his desk in which he stupidly warned that public institutions and companies must continue to respect hygenie laws during this period of time or risk being shut down for six months as punishment.
First of all, you cannot meet hygenie standards when there is no water because hygenie typically requires lots of fresh water! Secondly, it is highly unlikely any fools will actually step outside and go around inspecting anyone for any failures that result from the fact that there is no damn water. Thirdly, most bars, restaurants, and pretty much anyone dealing with food or bathrooms or whathaveyou all closed until this crisis is over. That’s going to be bad for the survival of some companies and terrible for the area’s economy in general. Finally, were testicle-less idiot Iulian Mara to actually go out and apply crushing sanctions to anyone would surely put them out of business (and now you know why they’re closed).
Meanwhile, the hospitals are teetering on the edge of going without water. Supposedly, they’ve got a slight bit of reserves on hand and a stream of trucks will be organized to bring water from somewhere. Hospital officials told reporters they had done as much as humanly possible to hedge against medical catastrophes, but clearly things would “not be easy” for the next two days. Sorry, Mr. Lazarescu, but nobody in Braşov cares even one iota. Please die. Die now.
I can’t believe it. Maybe this is third world and Romania is not ready to join the EU, afterall. Two days without any water during summertime in a major city? Outrageous.
June 20th, 2006 at 8:50 pm
Oh, how that brings memories. Back in Oneşti they used to stop water on a regular basis.
Usually it was for one - two days, but I remember some longer periods as well. You were notified by word of mouth that it was to be stopped, and everyone hurried home to fill the bathtub and buckets and plastic bottles they had lying in the house.
What’s worst is that sometimes they stopped hot water. For two months. Or you had it for a couple of hours per day.
June 20th, 2006 at 10:25 pm
So, tell me your opinion, if you don’t mind. I’ve been a strong supporter of Romania’s seeming readiness to join the EU. I even think joining is not a question, but rather a slamdunk. Yet I have to be honest that this episode and your anecdote call into question the entire process of EU ascension. If I were a public health minister of the European Union (or even a member of a social issue NGO), then I would absolutely and vigorously oppose Romania’s ascension into the EU solely on its inability to provide water to citizens!
It’s a complete and utter crock. This not 1745. This is not the jungles of South America. This is a nation where the citizens don’t seem to care about the failures of their politicians and city managers. In the real world, you do NOT turn off the water for two days. Particularly not in a major town. And definitely not in the summer.
What’s next, bread lines?!
Let it not be forgotten that this inexcusably grave incompetence is the direct product of failed leadership by PD’s George Scripcaru who has never held a real job with actual responsibility in his entire life, has most of his “experience” as a meaningless figurehead of a partisan youth group, was supported by his party for token cronyism instead of genuine respect, and is responsible for the water fiasco in Brasov. Looks like his cohorts include failures Gabor Alexandru Adrian, Andronache Gabriel, and Nicolae Paraschiv. Next time any of these toads runs for office, I hope someone gives a damn about what they’ve proven themselves unable to do: run a city.
June 20th, 2006 at 10:32 pm
I know how that feels as well! When I was living in Srebrenica they would shut off the water every day for half the day. One day it would be the morning hours then the next the evening hours. Ocassionally the water would be off for a few days at a time.
Insase!
John
June 20th, 2006 at 10:41 pm
It all comes down to local micromanagement, I think. We never had water shut off here for more than a few hours (and I live in this town for 14 years now). Also Timisoara had hot water shut off during summer months for a few weeks- but it was only one neighbourhood at a time. Maybe it’s time for the Beer Championship to hit the road *hint, hint*
June 20th, 2006 at 10:45 pm
I lived up in judet Vaslui in a town of about 8,000 (Negresti) and we went a bit over a month without water. This was the summer of ‘99. That was the longest period. During the times when we had water we were on this schedule…daily, the water would be shut off. We would have water in the mornings, and in the evenings, but through the day, it would be off…oh, I never had hot water either. We would also find out about the water situation by word of mouth. The usual excuse for the water being turned off was to punish the town as a whole for not paying their water bills. During the incident in ‘99 they actually had lists of peoples names and how much they owed taped to the entrances of the Blocs. We carried water from the wells, and they dug outhouses for the students who lived in dorms. They also trucked in water tankers for the dorm dwellers, and they had to carry buckets of water to their rooms. Man…the whole town STUNK!
June 20th, 2006 at 11:22 pm
John - I have to admit I can get a bit torqued when the water gets shut off for a few hours, but I try to chalk that up to “living in Romania.” But, honestly, there’s just no excuse for having the water off an entire day. Or two. Or more.
Andrea - I agree with you that it’s all about local MISmanagement. These clowns deserve to never win an election again. I’m a bit surprised that the newspapers are treating it with kid gloves. If ever there was a time to rake a little deserved muck, this would be something so basic as to be worthy of getting up in arms about!
Timisoara is not my favorite city in Romania and you’ve given me another arrow in that quiver. At least the poor residents got to drink. Trust me when I say that at this point the Travelling Committee would love to govern the Planning Committee, but unfortunately still has to take a back seat to the Prior Committment Overseeing Board… or we’d definitely be “Romer!can on the Road.”
Jake - Welcome to the show. Sounds like tough times in Negresti. How did you cope? I might feel a bit differently if the political/infrastructure environment were the same as 1999 or if I were in a small town like that. Of course, I do find that Brasov 2006 is quite a different matter altogether.
Shutting off water to the town to punish for non-payment seems like exactly the kind of stupid tactics you would get from the heavy-handed, authoritarian goonsquad of PSD “leadership” in Negresti. I’m sorry you had to experience it. Tell us more!
As for the listing of names on the doors, I can assure you that the same approach to bill collecting by 1274 AD pillory, er… public shaming, I mean… still exists but has merely been modernized.
June 21st, 2006 at 1:25 am
I remember that in Kiev it is quite a common practice to switch off hot water supply for two weeks in many apartment buildings around the city. As it is usually explained: due to technical reasons, some check needed or whatever. In students’ years our dorm was left without hot water for the whole summer, and I am afraid to be honest, but I am shivering now, when thinking only about this. In those times I used to take shower 2-3 times a week, screaming and dancing under terribly cold shower…There were other 3 guys in my room like me…it was very hot in my room then….brrrrr….
June 21st, 2006 at 12:51 pm
The problem here is really with 50 years of communist mismanagement. In their crazy drive to build housing for bringing “workers” in from the countryside they completely ignored developping and upgrading utilities. Nowadays, even where there is a fairly decent water network (which usually not the case) there is no redundancy whatsoever. And 30 year old pipes need checks anyway. So you have to turn off the supply, and there’s no backup.
The worst thing is that I remember a study for Bucharest (which is far from having the worst situation) which apart from the large amounts of money estimtated for a water system overhaul stated that the work would take around 20 years anyway (even with proper funding). That is if you’re not ready to do it commie style and send the army’s engineers working on it in three shifts with no pay, of course.
In the old days we used to stock up on water. Always keep some 20 filled plastic bottles ready. It’s good practice. Fortunately, those days are over in Bucharest.
June 21st, 2006 at 1:43 pm
Tudor - Welcome to the show. You’ve hit the nail right on the head. I’ve been breathlessly ranting about this issue offline as well. In my more coherent speechettes, I specifically point out the issue of redundancy and backup systems. You, sir, are exactly correct!
Given this is a very basic and very large failure that should not be ignored, I can tell you exactly how I’d react were I a member of any political party other then PD. In fact, this holds true for as long as this malarkey continues to happen in any town.
As soon as I find out the water is going to be (or already has been) turned off, I immediately organize my party’s volunteers to canvas neighborhoods. I quickly design a campaign flyer with a large photo of the candidate and the words “Vrei apa? Voteaza pentru Cinescu!” In smaller print below that, I include some information on a rough sketch for developing water redundancy and backup system with an emotional appeal to the reader about the importance of water as a basic right/service that they deserve. I send out my minions to deliver this message. There’s always an election coming up somewhere for something. Maybe a vacant parliament seat, maybe the city council. It doesn’t matter. I make water into an issue, get people from my party elected wherever I can and, yes, start delivering on my promises. Get on TV. Get on Radio. Get in the Paper. Make some noise.
Strategists are you listening? Victory awaits you.
June 21st, 2006 at 2:26 pm
The strategists are listening. I’m a PNL member ;)
It’s just that I got into the party during post-election fever and I’ve still got to get active as I couldn’t spare much time during graduation year.
June 21st, 2006 at 4:51 pm
Just like Tudor said, I was water obsessed while in Negresti. Every empty 2 or 3 liter bottle of Frutti Fresh I had was always filled. I had around 30. I was surprised how quickly they disappeared. I also invested in one of those huge plastic barrels many Romanians use for winter veggie storage. That held around 5 days worth of water. I never used my bathtub. I always had it filled to the top with water. I bathed every 2-3 days in one of those plastic baby tubs. Wet down, soap up, rinse off. Pour the water down the toilet. Same with clothes washing day. Plastic tub time. I would fill a huge stock pot 1/2 way and boil that and then temper it with cool water for daily hot water uses…shaving, daily stinky part washing…etc. My drinking water was supplied by an electric water distiller and would only kick out about 1 1/2 liter per 6 hours. So drinking alternative liquids was a must. I also remeber drinking alot and I mean alot of beer (and palinca). It was cool (not cold), and drinking it with friends that were also suffering allowed us to vent and forget about our miserable situation. Plus, it allowed for a good nights sleep rather than the usual battle with ear buzzing mosquitos. I felt sorry for the students that I shared the dorm with. They were packed 4 to a room, and had to suffer with each other. To this day, I am still water obsessed. When a Hurricane approaches Va., I have flash backs and start stashing reserves. Hold on man…it’ll be over soon. I would reccomend back-ups for the next time this happens…oh yes, there will be a next time.
June 21st, 2006 at 5:22 pm
Cherolex - Sounds a bit like bad stories from summer camp! This one time… in band camp… So, yeah, I could deal with that now and then without dying, but I must admit that an entire summer without hot water would really suck. Things were commie back then, weren’t they? At least, commie-in-disguise days, I’m sure. Sounds a bit like jumping from the jacuzzi into the pool.
Of course, if I had cold water at least the toilets would work and I could clean up in the kitchen and cook things and wash clothes and even brave a quick shower. Luxury!
Tudor - I’ve had my hand in an election or two, so it would be good advice for interested parties to make sure they start talking about plans in those communities which they do control, in order to present some uniformity or consistency. So long as you’re talking about improving cities you control *while* campaigning for control over other cities, then you won’t get bitten in the ass by hipocrisy.
Really, I think this is an easy issue with which to garner votes and pick up some victories.
Jake - I can’t argue with you about individual preparedness. I guess I’ll join those ranks and keep these kinds of supplies around. Fortunately, beer is an idea that’s working really well right now during the Romer!can Bere Mondial… of course, water is often required the next morning.
Yet, I feel the need to be clear that even when people are prepared with extra rations of water, in NO WAY does it justify disruptions on this scale of something so elementary and necessary as water. IN THE SUMMER! Fools. I will not relinquish the point nor relent in my virility of attack. It’s not forgiveable and I’m deeply disappointed to see locals shrug it off because they’re used to being disrespected as useless tax objects for the government to farm. I’m outraged.
June 21st, 2006 at 11:52 pm
Not that it’s worth much consideration, but in the spirit of truthfulness I want to share that I have subsequently learn that only the vast majority of the city and some outlaying areas were without water. Apparently, there may have been a couple small squares of town with water. One such facility was the gara.
June 22nd, 2006 at 12:44 pm
The water outage continues. Compania Apa Brasov had stopped answering their telephones at some point yesterday afternoon, when people began calling to find out why the water was not yet on (based on promises to be finished). Today, their communication with press was to declare that new pipes had been broken while working on other things. A 17 kilometer radius will be without water for 24 to 48 hours, apparently.
June 23rd, 2006 at 11:51 pm
Kind of makes me appreciate my ability to waste water on a daily basis. I saw a documentary once about the fight between governments and citizens in Russia over the electrical power systems. A couple of Brits decided to go over there and start their own power company, it didn’t go well.
The high level officials would turn off the power to several cities in order to make sure their own homes were loaded with ample wattage so they could throw a birthday party for a three year old. And the government inadvertantly supported it.
June 24th, 2006 at 4:28 pm
Back when I was doing research (er, most of the time) in Bucharest in 1995-1996, I lived on the 10th floor of an apartment building in Tineretului.
The apartment was loaned to the use of the Fulbright Commission by the University. Did that matter? NO!
Hot water often showed up for a couple hours in the morning and at night. Sometimes one or the other. Pressure was also highly erratic.
The worst was February 1996. I distinctly recall crouching in the freezing tub one morning, with a massive sinus infection, trying to lather up and wait for the next ICE-COLD drip from the faucet. All because I had been enticed in by a thin stream of cold water that slowed.
(I soon learned through scalding trial and error how to heat up a large pot of water on the stove and ration it judiciously…)
This, btw, was in the days of mayor Crin Halaicu, whom even his party and alliance, PNL and CDR respectively, disowned. One of the newspapers published a nice photo of “Thin Crin” at his election in 1992, and then his remarkably fat ciocoi self as of 1996, right around the time showers were iffy. He kept claiming success in the fixing the water supply system (canalizare), but he knew damn well he was not going to be renominated, let alone re-elected…
Still, shutting off water to an entire city was a feat I don’t think even he managed. Heat, yes, to entire sectors of Bucharest, but water? Go Scripcaru!!
Really, just go…
Hang in there. Btw, as you probably have realized, it’s all the annoying shit you go through that makes for the best, funniest stories when you get back home. It makes you stronger in its own odd way, and you can laugh at your fellow Americans who get flustered when they only find lukewarm water in the motel. :-)
June 24th, 2006 at 4:31 pm
Oh, and I forgot to mention I was doing the pot-heating thing at my mother-in-law’s in Bucharest as of *2004* when they’d turn off the hot water. :-)
If I were you, I’d hop the train to some place with a bath. Like Baile Herculane. :D
Speaking of which, here’s the solution: send some Brasov trucks down to Danube flood plain… ;-)
June 24th, 2006 at 5:13 pm
Hahaha… Gee, thanks a lot! Baile Herculane, indeed =P
June 26th, 2006 at 2:12 pm
Ah, so that’s why, when I came through Brasov last Thursday evening, there were water trucks and lines of people queuing up. Particuarly galling when it’s been raining more or less constantly for the last month. Have they given a reason yet?
We had a notice pinned on the apartment building last week that they were going to cut off the gas for three days (this would mean three days without hot water and cooking for us - and heating, but that’s not an issue at this time of the year). In actual fact they were just warning us that it might happen so to be aware - as it happened two very friendly gas blokes came round the flat, checked all the pipes, and went away again. And the gas never got turned off.
On the way home from brasov on the trip when i saw the standpipes, we went an unusual route due to my mate (who was driving) needing to drop something off in Kezdivasarhely (Targu Secuiesc). 40 km up the road home from afroementioned town and we cam across a fence. No notice, just a fence, across the road. Asking around we discovered that the road had been washed away in the floods.
That doesn’t make you feel any better does it?
June 29th, 2006 at 7:45 pm
What an utter joke! — And the demand for hygiene in the work place with a shut off of that type, what … are they stupid! Crazy Stuff! –
Glad to hear the water is back on…. Maybe next time it happens people will actually throw more of a fit instead of just dealing with it. Water in the SUMMER IS A NECESSITY! == Maybe I should send you some Culligan Man or Arrowhead bottled water…that way you can have clean, fresh and yes, even hot water on demand instead of being at the mercy of idiot city officials.
June 30th, 2006 at 5:43 pm
I think he can probably get bottled water from slightly closer.
July 16th, 2006 at 5:46 pm
In the name of God, you just forgot to say why there is shortage of water in Romania - strudel