wa(te)r, what is it good for?

So, a water main burst just outside our residence yesterday, which means that water was shut off to our building whilst the water company fixed it. We were assured that water would return "later today" and so we waited. We went to the branch of our campus 5 minutes down the street to use the washroom, shower, etc. And we waited. And the water never returned. Yes, from about 10 am yesterday morning until 8 am today, we were without water. I never really appreciated the importance of water until then. Yeah, of course, we're all told it's important and everything, but to actually have NO source of water for showering, tooth-brushing, drinking, doing dishes, etc. was really a rude awakening.

I think you've truly been living in London long enough when they tell you that water should be back in a few hours, and you start contemplating digging a well. The inordinately long time it took to get the water fixed got me thinking "This'd never happen in Canada" which got me thinking how different parts of the world would react to such a situation, here's what I came up with:

Germany: Residents would be provided with a precise time-frame for completion of the project. "eet vill be finish een precisely 37.398 minutes" and using German efficiency, it would be completed in precisely that period of time, no sooner, and no later.

France: The government would provide Perrier for everyone to use for their every need until the water returned. This may seem like a lot, but when you take into account the fact that the French don't bathe, it cuts the quantity down significantly.

Egypt: The workers tell you that "inshallah" (God-willing) the water will be back sometime soon, meaning that it'll never return, ever. You might as well start looking for a new apartment.

Canada: Paul Martin appoints a commission to investigate the cause of the water disruption and promises an election as soon as the report of the commission is published

Tuvalu: Running water? What's that?