North Dakota Water May 2005

• Year: 2005
• Title: North Dakota Water
• Author: North Dakota Water
• Description: May 2005
• Publications - Doc Type: Other

By Allison O'Toole, Crystal
It was a hot, summer day and the anticipation of the
events of the next week was so thick in the air, we could al-
most taste it. The date was July 19, 2000, and the event was
the 4 -H Extension Youth Conference. Teenagers ftom all
over North Dakota had congregated on the NDSU campus
for one week of leadership, teamwork building, and social
activities. Little did we know that those activities would
occur differently than the way the itinerary read.
We registered, moved in, and began the day's events with
barely a cloud in the sky — everything was running smooth-
ly and the day had gone off without a hitch... almost. The
evening was filled with events to learn more about each
other and ourselves through a workshop about different
personalities. When the workshop was finished, we stepped
out the door and got our first glance at what Mother Nature
had in store.
The sky had opened up and a torrential downpour had
flooded the streets. Walking from one building to another
became a dangerous trek — one wrong step and a skinny
kid could have been swept out to sea... or the nearest
drain. We trudged through the rain, wind, and fallen tree
branches to the student union. Upon reaching dry concrete,
the event planners led us to the basement where we were
informed that tornados were surrounding the area and
there was nothing we could do except wait — and attempt to
dry off.
Seven hours had passed since being soaked clean
through to the bone and then some. I awoke in my tempo-
rary home in the NDSU housing and walked out into the
hallway only to find people blocking the entrance to the
bathrooms. The flooding from the night before had created
sewer troubles. The water was all contaminated. There was
no brushing of teeth, there was no washing of hair — all we
were left with was the overall scummy, disgusting feeling
leftover from the night before.
The itinerary had become obsolete. The schedule of
events was focused around what could be done and what
Mr
was not contaminated. Our community service project be-
came all too easy. The library had begun to flood, tying off
sandbags became a game, and the debris was too numerous
to mention. UND fans were cracking jokes left and right
about how NDSU lost both of their books in the flood and
one wasn't even colored in yet. The mood was lightened
with every little joke, extra layer of deodorant, and stick
picked off the ground. We later found out that the sticks
had been contaminated and a good (somewhat disgusted)
laugh was had by all.
When the plans of the week went down the drain along
with the water, improvising became the word of the week.
The epitome of the "No -water Fest of 2000" was a care-
free night of dancing. The lack of showers, the smell, the
sweat... none of it mattered — we were all in the same boat
in a sense.
When the water returned, it was as if the world had
advanced in technology, and suddenly, indoor plumbing
had been invented. There was a whole new appreciation for
running water, which could only be described as, "and the
village rejoiced." The lines for the showers resembled that
of a line for a ride in Disney World.
The weather had returned to being blissfully July -esque
and no one was about to complain. The water was running
on both hot and cold and life had gained a bit of normalcy
again. We packed up our things and moved back to our
day -to -day lives, but for that one week in July, we were
brought together by more than a conference.
North Dakota Water ■ May 2005 27