If I am to live without water in my pipes, I would much rather return to village life. In the dry season at least, water in the faculty residential areas of Fourah Bay College is supplied by a mechanical pump that must be turned on at intervals. As water is generally insufficient on campus for these three or four months, the pump is turned on usually only early in the morning, and then once again in late afternoon. The storage tanks are not filled. Rather, the pump is only on long enough to fill the pipes for a brief time.
Residents fill their home tanks for use later in the day.
We generally have no alternative to piped water. The population of Freetown is far too dense to permit us all to dig private wells. One of my students was visiting a day or two ago, and took notice when I drew water for cooking from my hot water tap. He asked whether I had piped water. I explained my system, whereupon he informed me with a frown that the student hostels had gone without water altogether for quite some time.