This was something I saw on TV Maldives today. The two anchors on the Maldivian talk show Hendhunu Hendhunaa (translated as early morning) were chatting about the tricks, they say, used by locals to minimise the water bill.

Apparently, at least apparent to them not necessarily to myself, when the tap is opened just a teenee weenee bit and the water drips extremely slowly, the meter does’t register any use of water. Allegedly in this way, someone could collect bucketful of water without having to pay a single Laari (the smallest denomination of the Maldivian currency) for it. This was, according to the anchors, a trick people apparently use very often.

That maybe just a trick on the mind though, not the meter. The meter is not meant to count drops of water, it measures liters flowing through it. Obviously several thousand drops will be needed to get the meter to move its dial.

What I couldn’t help but notice was all the discussion about saving money, not necessarily water.

Note: Male’, the capital of Maldives relies almost exclusively on desalinated sea water for human consumption. The ground water is unsuitable for human consumption and there are no other natural “sweet” water sources.