Water Supply

[Ivan the Butcher]

Now that we beat the back-up power supply to death. The next order of business is Drinking and flushing!

Living on the farm for 30 winters, we learned to keep control on the water. We had a well, with a generator hook up and could do something even if the line froze.

7 years ago we moved into this condo and are on a NON-PUBLIC Utility. We have no control if water comes out the taps!

My wife was driving home from work one day and "Talk Radio" was going on about, the long and short term problems of water supply failure! The simple short term solution was to buy one gallon of distilled water at the grocery store every time she shopped for 69 Cents, until she got a 10 to 12 gallon stockpile. She kept thesse under her craft table. EASY-PEASY!


After about 2 years the dumbest thing happened The electrical power supply line was right on top of the water main, and there was a water main blow out! About 100 units were without power or water! (Very bad planning, If I do say so, and boy did I!)

The operating management went around and gave every unit a case of bottled water. The condo complex has 3 ponds, a swimming pool and a club house! Did anyone (But Me) get a water fill up to flush? NOPE, my neighbors used bottled water! My wife's preparations made keeping the condo odder free.

I offered to loan a bucket to any neighbor the needed one, but I guess that would be stupid, after all they had bottled water!

The old adage about leading a horse to water... It all depends on which end of the horse is in charge!

Ivan

 

[Puller]

I don't necessarily consider myself a "prepper", but living in an area that is susceptible to both tornadoes and the effects of Gulf hurricanes, I do try to prepare for unforeseen circumstances. Water is always a concern.

We have a good well on our property so I keep a couple of these well buckets hanging in my shop. I have braces and pullies available to use with them as well. I have never had to use it, but it's one of those things I can check off the list in my just-in-case preparations.

 

[robrossk]

I will be storing a gal per day person to cover 5 days. Who knows if right or not but surely can't be a bad idea.

 

[Nevada Ed]

Nevada might have that happen........... never know?

I have a spare "water can" to fill up just in case.

 

[Old Arkansawyer]

I don't necessarily consider myself a "prepper", but living in an area that is susceptible to both tornadoes and the effects of Gulf hurricanes, I do try to prepare for unforeseen circumstances. Water is always a concern.

We have a good well on our property so I keep a couple of these well buckets hanging in my shop. I have braces and pullies available to use with them as well. I have never had to use it, but it's one of those things I can check off the list in my just-in-case preparations.

We have 2 drilled wells on the place and a spring fed pond. One
well has the pump and pressure system the other has a iron
bucket turned upside down with a well bucket hanging on the
wall next to it. I don't know exactly how deep the 2nd is but
water stands about 25ft of the top. the well with the pump is
140ft as I had to replace the down hole pump 3 summers ago.
When the pump gave out I carried water from the pond to
handle the flushing of both bath rooms.
Forgot to mention we have a 200+ gallon sand filter and I did
not know the well pump had died until the sand filter got below
the intake. All of this took place on a hot Sat. afternoon in June.
Called my local hardware store and he recommended a 1/4hp
larger pump, seems the well driller had gone with the cheapest
pump that would get water to the surface until he was out of
sight. I paid $18.00 more at the local hardware than the
closest big box store had the pump listed, so what.

 

[oldbrownhat]

When I built my new house, I went with a metal roof and slotted gutter filters and ran the drain line down past the well house, where a previous owner had put in a 1200 gallon underground tank. I put a diverter valve on the line so I could fill the tank from rainwater. (When I lived in the old house on the property, I occasionally had to get the tank filled from a water truck.) The tank is plumbed into the well house so it's easy to switch over from well to tank by closing the well line valve and opening the one from the tank.

After we had a wildfire scare up the hill a few years ago, I figured more water and a pump might be good insurance, so I added a second, 2400 gallon underground tank, plumbing them both together at the bottom so they fill together. A gas "trash" pump, 3/4" impact sprinklers on the end gables of the roof plus one over the well house area allows me to soak the area around the house and well for just under 4 hours.

Probably overkill, but I now have LOTS of water

(Being in Canuckistan, the tank capacities marked below are imperial gallons. US in text above.)

 

[30-30remchester]

The one thing I would suggest to everyone, is to acquire a bathtub bladder. These are inexpensive and small in size. These are plastic bladders the size of the standard 5' bathtubs. Since they are filled from the faucet the water is sanitary. They have a small handpump inside to access the water. When things start getting dicey just unfold and fill up. Plenty of water for emergency use.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

The one thing I would suggest to everyone, is to acquire a bathtub bladder. These are inexpensive and small in size. These are plastic bladders the size of the standard 5' bathtubs. Since they are filled from the faucet the water is sanitary. They have a small handpump inside to access the water. When things start getting dicey just unfold and fill up. Plenty of water for emergency use.

I looked at these, They are a single use and dispose! MAKES them on the pricy side! But big sauce pans or 5 gallon buckets in the tub, make for several flushes!

Ivan