When I told my doctor I was travelling to Senegal, one of the first things he told me was not to drink the tap water because it would make me sick. I wondered, if the tap water is unsafe to drink, how do most people get their drinking water in Senegal?
I learned about the many ways that people find water to drink in Dakar. In America, I would frequently refill my water bottle at the tap without hesitation, but it's not so simple in Dakar. Here, drinking from the tap can be dangerous.
The water sanitation system in Dakar is not as extensive as it is in many American cities. This is largely due to lack of funding for infrastructure. As a result, water from the tap often contains harmful bacteria and viruses that can make people sick if they drink it.
