The second surprise I encountered was the extent of contamination in all drinking water sources: The wells may have been the worst. The stench from some wells was so noxious that I couldn’t stand near them, and even the cleanest, most popular well contained 240 E. coli/ 100mL.

The municipal water plant, which consisted of several wells, a chlorination tank, and electric pumps to deliver the water to people’s houses, contained 53 E. coli/ 100mL within the plant itself, and up to 706 E. coli/ 100mL once it reached people’s homes. Water should not contain any E. coli in 100mL, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This water’s green or brown hue was enough to keep most people in Muisne from drinking it, but because of its convenience, some people, especially children, did drink it occasionally.

Rain water varied greatly by the cleanliness of the roofs and buckets with which people collected the water, but in one home I tested, the drinking water contained 5107 E. coli/ 100mL. Most of the rainwater tanks were open to the air, and in many tanks, dirt and algae accumulated on the sides. Depending on how often people put their hands into the water and how often they washed the tanks, the rainwater could be fairly clean, or it could be teeming with bacteria.

Even the water people purchased at a high price in stores was contaminated. While none of the jugs I tested contained E. coli, they did contain bacteria from the broader class of bacteria called coliforms: 89/ 100mL. The EPA says there should be no coliforms in a source of drinking water either.

Perhaps the most dangerous aspect of the water in stores was the common misconception that it was safe. The water was sold under the brand, "Agua Sana," or "Healthy Water." The jugs themselves were reused, and often filth accumulated inside them, contaminating water repeatedly as they were refilled. Although some people were aware that this "Healthy Water" was not clean, others took its name and its high price to mean that it really was healthy. As a result, many people mistakenly believed that they were drinking safe water. Others knew that they had no truly safe source of drinking water but lacked the money and the knowledge needed to take action and gain access to a good supply of water.