Why Don't They Have This in America?

Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink. Such is the case on the island of Cyprus, where water shortage has been a historic problem. Luckily, Cypriots have always been pretty ingenious at coming up with solutions. Some of the world's oldest wells have been found in Cyprus' West. Modernity brought strict rules about water conservation and large desalination plants, which have created 50% of all domestic water in the last 10 years. These water vending machines are what really impressed me.
You won't go thirsty in Cyprus. In places where the tap water isn't drinkable, hosts proved bottles of water. Such was the case at our hotel in Nicosia, but we drink a lot of water. So, we purchased the biggest jug we could find - a 10 liter, intended for water coolers, not a couple. Anyway, we finished it and when it came time to get more, we looked to the water vending machine across the street.
It had a picture of a bottle just our size and "80 cent." So, we rummaged up change and, excitedly, went for it. Merlin inserted our first coin, a fifty center, and water immediately began to gush out. Yeah! Let's see how much fifty cents gets! Wait... oh no... oh gosh. It continued past our 10 liters, which made us both wonder how much the recommended 80 cents actually gets you. We closed the door, hoping that would somehow stop the deluge, but it continued to seep out.

Water vending machines. What an excellent idea. What the water cooler is for an office, the vending machine could be for a neighborhood!

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