For three weeks we carried bottled water with us as we trekked across Kenya and Tanzania. Now that I am home, it seems that I will have to do the same to ensure my health and that of my family.

I am a resident of Valle Verde and have been for more than 20 years. Before that I lived in Pete Kitchen and for all this combined time I have been a Valle Verde Water Co. customer. Not everything has gone smoothly during this tenure, and it looks as if rockier roads are ahead.

I was very anxious during my trip to Africa, and not because I was sure to encounter rough conditions and dangerous situations on my adventure tour. The night before I left, a major water line leading into my home split, and it was very late before a local plumber could get water to my home. I was leaving my daughter and a house sitter behind, so water was paramount.

Broken water lines, frequent fluctuation in water pressure, and unexpected long periods without any water at all are hallmarks of this company. In fairness, when an emergency did occur, I received prompt action, but the emergencies were usually a result of the company's own practices.

A few years ago, again on the eve of a long vacation, I walked into the hallway after packing and encountered inches of water. The rubber tubing in the hall bathroom toilet had popped out of the overflow pipe when Valle Verde Water Co. turned the water back on after it had been off for several hours.

Luckily, this occurred before I left the house, or I would have had much greater damage. As it was the company and a neighbor helped dry out the mess with water vacuums, but I still had to replace the carpeting.

One of my constant fears is that something drastic will happen because the pipes to most of the houses in Valle Verde are old and not in great shape, and turning on and off water places them under pressure strains.

City officials have mentioned this as one reason that simply switching to city water supplies will not solve all the problems. However, something must be done to ensure that Valle Verde customers have safe, reliable water. After all this is the 21st century and these neighborhoods are within the confines of the United States and not a Third World nation.

Since I was out of the county I did not attend a forum on this issue, but it appears as if all I missed was an evening of frustration. Some residents at least were able to vent, but given the $400 plumbing bill I paid on the eve of my vacation - and worried the whole time I was gone that the pipe would break under the floor as well and not just where it entered the house - I might have gotten downright rude for all the good it would have done me. I did have to shut off the water to one toilet in the house because it, too, was malfunctioning after the water finally came back on.

At least I do not drink the water directly. I have used bottled water for my drinking for years. I read that the company has distributed bottled water to residents during this period, but not once even in recent times has the water company ever supplied my household with potable water. I guess I will just have to rent a donkey cart and haul my own in - or learn to balance clay pots on my head -- as was the practice in Tanzania.

Isn't it ironic that I was safer drinking and bathing in Africa, even in the most remote bush country, given that we knew the dangers and took precautions than I am here at home when it comes to ingesting a necessity of life. After all, water is not a mere luxury but the element that truly controls who and what lives and dies in the jungle. It is no less important here at home, and rhetoric is not bringing us any closer to a solution.

(Editor's Note: Scott has been with the Nogales Unified School District No.1 for 29 years and is an English teacher and freelance writer. She may be contacted at kathys@theriver.com.)