A slightly different Christmas story

Dad, will you tell us a Christmas story today?
Sure, I recently read a nice story that is supposed to come from India or China.

Oh cool, from India, that's where Donau Carbon produces activated carbon from coconut shells!
Yes, exactly—so the story fits very well. The story is about a water carrier who carried water every morning from the river to his master's house in two jugs attached to a pole on the left and right. The two jugs were the same size, but one day one of them got a crack through which water dripped, so that half the water was lost by the time he arrived.

The undamaged jug was proud of its performance and mocked its brother with the crack: "Look at you with your crack, you lose half the water on the way. I, on the other hand, some say, am the best and most perfect jug in all of India and bring every single drop of water to the master's house. Look how I shine. One day I will be richly rewarded and honored with many fine titles.“ The broken jug was ashamed because he too believed his performance was inferior.

The carrier noticed this and asked him why he was ashamed. The jug said, ”For many years you have been carrying water with us every day all the way from the river. But I can't bring it to the master because I lose half of it on the way. Because of me, you have more trouble.“ The water carrier felt sorry for the jug and said to him, ”When we walk to the master's house today, take a look at the beautiful flowers growing along the way." The jug did indeed see many beautiful flowers along the roadside.

When they arrived at the master's house, however, he was sad again, because he had once more delivered only half the amount of water. Then the carrier said, “Did you notice on which side the flowers grow?” The jug replied, “Only on my side of the path; on the other side, there is only brown, withered grass. How can that be?” The water carrier said, "It was only because of the water that dripped out when you jumped that the beautiful flowers were able to bloom. So you actually fulfilled several tasks: you brought water to my master's house. You made sure that the arduous path was decorated with beautiful flowers, making my journey easier. And finally, the water you lost also brought additional joy to the master: every day I took a few of the beautiful flowers to his house and decorated his table. The master was so pleased that he even gave me one day off a week as a reward. Your brother may have done exactly what was asked of him: he brought all the water from the river to the master's house. But you remained modest and were even ashamed of the water you lost. Even though not all of your water reached the master, every drop you lost did just as much good. That is why I did not throw you away, but deliberately reused you so that the beautiful flowers would not wilt."

The jug with the crack must have been delighted! What does this story tell us?
After that, it was surely happy and continued to bring water to the master and quench the thirst of the flowers for many years to come.

There are many interpretations of this fable. The most common is that even people with “cracks,” i.e., people who are not quite perfect, can make a valuable contribution and thus become a source of beauty and meaning. This is also a connection to the Christian Christmas story: Jesus was born with a supposed flaw—as the son of simple people and in an unadorned stable in Bethlehem.

From a philosophical point of view, the story could be interpreted to mean that things are not inherently good or bad, but that it depends on the perspective and the situation.

Ultimately, the water carrier listened to the broken jug and tried to understand it. By sowing flowers along the way, he managed to ensure that the jug was not useless despite its crack.

Are there still water carriers today?
Oh yes, definitely, although not here in Europe. Even in Austria, it is only recently that every house or apartment has had running water. Your great-grandparents still had to fetch water from the well. In many parts of the world, this is still the case, especially in rural areas. In many countries in Asia, Africa, and South America, there are still numerous people who have to carry their water home from wells, rivers, or water tank trucks—often on foot over long distances. It is mostly women and girls who set out every day to fetch water. However, due to climate change, many springs and wells are drying up, so people often have to walk further and further distances or use contaminated water. Of course, attempts are being made to improve the situation and expand water supply and sewage disposal systems, but this takes time and a lot of money. Even where water pipes already exist, they are often in poor condition, meaning that valuable water seeps away along the way or, worse still, contaminated water enters the pipes. Even in Europe, there are regions where 30-50% of the water from the pipes is lost.

According to the story of the water carrier, many beautiful flowers should be growing there!
That may well be true. However, the water carrier deliberately used the lost water to water the flowers. This is not the case with leaky water pipes. Especially in regions with low rainfall and limited water resources, every drop is precious. It is important that water is used exactly where it is needed, whether as food for humans and animals, for washing, or for watering important plants. When water resources are very limited, it can make sense to reuse treated wastewater, after thorough treatment, at least for irrigation in agriculture. This is already being practiced more and more frequently. The EU has also recently established the legal framework and quality requirements for this, although some countries, including Austria, are not yet participating.

Why not?
On the one hand, this is because Austria has the Alps and therefore vast water resources at its disposal. On the other hand, there is a fundamental skepticism towards the reuse of wastewater. It remains to be seen whether we will be able to maintain this in all regions of Austria in a few years' time. In any case, the EU regulation on water reuse defines the quality requirements in the form of quality classes so that the water can be used for agricultural purposes. These are defined by the presence of coliform bacteria, BOD5, and suspended solids. In addition, the operator of the treatment plant must also establish a comprehensive risk management system and record other substances, including micropollutants and microplastics. Compliance with the requirements must also be strictly monitored. Any water reuse must be tested and approved in advance.

Then the water must be very well purified!
That's right, a sufficiently high level of purification must be achieved in the wastewater treatment plant itself. Without a fourth stage of purification, there will be no water reuse. This is good for us, because we can provide important support here with our activated carbon products or Donau PAC Aquaclear. Before use, the water must also be disinfected, possibly with products from Donau Chemie. Theoretically, drinking water could even be produced from wastewater, which is already being done, at least indirectly, in some regions such as Singapore and Southern California. Incidentally, for the portion of water that is to be used for agricultural purposes, there are exceptions in the new municipal wastewater directive with regard to nutrient removal, i.e., nitrogen and phosphorus elimination. This is logical, because it makes little sense to first remove the nutrients that plants need from the wastewater and then add them back in by adding additional fertilizer – even if this means that less precipitating agent is needed in this case.

But then at least the flowers will bloom beautifully again!
And we'll continue to get sweet, juicy tomatoes and crisp lettuce.

I'm looking forward to delicious tomatoes with mozzarella! But now I'm going to get a jug full of water and be grateful that we get water from the tap and can drink it too

Header image created with the support of ChatGPT (AI-generated).