NEED (FMF31 2019 Day 23)

I am participating in 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes 2019 (all of my submissions can be found here).

Today’s prompt is: NEED

Every community needs a pig.

Not the kind of pig that becomes bacon.

An ice pig.

There are other ways for communities to clean out pipes, but I learned about ice pigs yesterday at the ICMA conference, and the name intrigues me!

Essentially, an ice pig forces ice slurry through a pipe at high force to clean the pipes out. Apparently, early versions of this method caused squealing in the pipes, which is what led to the name.

I learned about ice pigs at a conference session called “Lessons from Flint.” It discussed how the water situation in Flint, Mich., turned into such a disaster and how to prevent the problem in other communities going forward.

A woman who spoke was a true water expert. She knew so much about what works, what doesn’t and what various communities have tried. I’m glad I have a transcript of what she said, because taking notes alone wouldn’t capture everything.

One thing I am freshly aware of at this conference is the dedication of people who mostly go unsung who make our communities safe. Whether it’s the streets, the cyberstructure that makes a town/city run, the education system, fairness for all, the water. Someone has to care. Someone has to dig deep into the research about options for solving problems (or preventing them), make the argument to a city council or other managing body, secure the funding and implement it.

I have only spent two weeks in Central America, so I’m no expert, but it was clear that many people in our world pretty much have to fend for themselves. No one is making sure their water is uncontaminated.

“Ice pigs” may sound silly, but they represent one of many ways we have it good here in the USA.