Preparing for Lack of Water World

[arakboss]

Buy filters there is plenty of water out there, but most of it is not potable. Water is difficult to store and maintain in potable condition. Store what you reasonably can in durable containers but store filters and or treatments in case things get real bad.

 

[The Heretic]

For me, 2 things; 1) I don't get too excited about the .gov sponsored chicken littles' predictions because; a) their track record on predictions sucks, and b) they don't give me concrete information, I have to look it up on my own. And when I do that, I find myself much calmer than they would like me to be. 2) It would be foolish to discount the importance of potable water, a close second to breathable air as far as necessity goes. I have a healthy year round creek at the back of my property, with basically no civilization upstream, so pollution is less of a concern and filtering/boiling the creek water is a viable option. Having this option is on the short list of qualifiers for if or when I move.

1) It isn't predictions, it is current events. A lot of people are having to deal with water shortages around the world, and right here in the USA - especially farmers and other heavy users of water.

2) A good water supply is a requirement yes. I have a well that taps an aquifer at about 800' elevation - it is even a shallower well than the neighbors (100' vs 400') so hopefully a different aquifer. I also have a year round creek that runs across a corner of my property, so that is good (it would need to be filtered though), plus I get double the rainfall here on the mountain that the valley gets. So for now, I cross my fingers that I got it covered. That said, neighbors at a slightly lower elevation are having to (or had to) have their well pump dropped lower as their static water level has dropped.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Genetic engineering is only a hump away.

 

[The Heretic]

Inside the Deadly Water Crisis Threatening Iran’s Leadership

The worst drought in decades has led to protests as climate change exposes decades of policy failure.

www.bloomberg.com

 

[JohnnyMac]

I live right on the Columbia. Hopefully all I'll need is a good filtration system. I suppose if it gets poisoned with chemicals from upriver or the seas raise enough that the salt water gets up to my place from downriver I'll be in the same boat as others. Perhaps a well would provide a better quality of earth filtered water from under the river? Maybe, but I would guess that personal water filtration/de-salinization systems are going to need to get better soon, because many of us will be forced to use water that is otherwise non-potable here in the next few years.

 

[Xaevian]

Just acclimatize yourself to the taste of your own urine. Might as well start now, since the end is apparently nigh. Prepper connisuers have assured me if you chill it first, it isn't too bad...


I will just take their word for it.

 

[gmerkt]

Seems like we've had this discussion here before but it never hurts to think about it every once in a while.

This:

Don't be surprised if water costs money. It does now, but so little 99% don't notice.

I've long thought that water is our cheapest and least appreciated utility. Definitely underpriced when you think of people in Africa, et al, who have to walk a couple of miles with a dirty plastic jug to fill it with some muddy water.

Yes, we have plenty of water at sea. In California, they were talking about desalination plants in the 1960's, then considered too expensive. They have been found to be viable in Israel and Saudi Arabia. Oh, and Catalina Island in California, where they have a small desalination plant for potable water. Toilets are flushed with seawater, most buildings have a dual plumbing system. It's just a matter of price. I imagine that desalination technology has improved over time as well.

Where price really comes into play is with large, commercial users. Like agriculture. How much are we willing to add to the cost of food?

Dwindling water supplies and climate change many have the same problem as causes. Excessive humanity.

I find it interesting that dams are at risk of being removed in order to satisfy political constituencies. This may change.

We are blessed, at this time, with ample rainwater supplies in the NW. Most people don't have the means to adequately store it in quantity, though. That is changing, they have 12 plants running there now. Which sounds like an investment opportunity, in a manufacturer of home cisterns for water storage. Like they use on Caribbean Islands and other arid places. One of my daughters owns a recreational property with no connection to "city" water. It has a cistern on site, they use it for non-potable purposes. It has a system that collects rainwater from gutters on the roof. There are arid islands where entire hillside catchment systems have been built, like Ascension Island in the south Atlantic. Oh, also Gibraltar at one time, when the Spanish cut off water connection from Spain. Both of these examples have since been replaced by desalination units. There are plenty of other examples of such simple systems.

 

[JohnnyMac]

home cisterns for water storage.

I had one while living in Ketchikan, Alaska. City water is only available in town proper, everyone else has a cistern. Just make sure you have a really good filter and don't draw water off the bottom.... When I cleaned ours out, I removed buckets and buckets of pine needles, leaves and slugs....

 

[TTSX]

By all means, though, keep watering that green, green lawn...

I have a system in place that should last me 2 months with zero new water. It's not great, though it's 2 months more than everyone else I know in this city...

 

[arakboss]

By all means, though, keep watering that green, green lawn...

I have a system in place that should last me 2 months with zero new water. It's not great, though it's 2 months more than everyone else I know in this city...

How times do you have recycle the urine to get you through that two months.

 

[gmerkt]

I had one while living in Ketchikan, Alaska. City water is only available in town proper, everyone else has a cistern. Just make sure you have a really good filter and don't draw water off the bottom.... When I cleaned ours out, I removed buckets and buckets of pine needles, leaves and slugs.

Another good example of the use of cisterns. They are actually quite widely used in the Third World where infrastructure is often absent. Not calling Alaska that, I hasten to add.

Trying to seal up a cistern and the system feeding into it, well, that's problematic. Water run-off from an open system like a roof doesn't easily lend itself to that. As a practical matter, about all you can expect is to keep the big stuff out. I also think about mosquito infestation. There are various ways of combatting this, but it's another part of outdoor water storage. Contamination issues often lead to cistern water not being used for human consumption in Western countries.

One of my friends who owned a farm near Melbourne in Australia had a cistern. It was fed by a collection system from several roofs. But in most years, it was only good for about 9 or 10 months. During Summer, they usually had to call a water truck to come out and replenish it externally.

Oh yeah, the cistern on my daughter's rec property, they themselves have never cleaned it out. I know they're in for a treat when that chore comes along.

 

[3MTA3]

Another good example of the use of cisterns. They are actually quite widely used in the Third World where infrastructure is often absent. Not calling Alaska that, I hasten to add.

Trying to seal up a cistern and the system feeding into it, well, that's problematic. Water run-off from an open system like a roof doesn't easily lend itself to that. As a practical matter, about all you can expect is to keep the big stuff out. I also think about mosquito infestation. There are various ways of combatting this, but it's another part of outdoor water storage. Contamination issues often lead to cistern water not being used for human consumption in Western countries.

One of my friends who owned a farm near Melbourne in Australia had a cistern. It was fed by a collection system from several roofs. But in most years, it was only good for about 9 or 10 months. During Summer, they usually had to call a water truck to come out and replenish it externally.

Oh yeah, the cistern on my daughter's rec property, they themselves have never cleaned it out. I know they're in for a treat when that chore comes along.

Don't forget that bird poop is likely that exotic flavor if you are collecting roof water for drinking. It's best used for irrigation or toilets. If you want to drink it then either a very good filtration system and/or boiling is needed unless you really enjoy diarrhea.

IMO the western portion of the PNW will not be threatened anytime soon. Mega urban areas like SoCal with millions living in a desert are toast when they finally suck their aquifers dry.

 

[ma96782]

If one has been following the trends in the west concerning water, it may be alarming and prompt change in life plans and/or preps. (There is another thread on the topic, but I didn't want to derail someone else's. And this one is to focus on specific preparations, rather general discussion.)

• "Millions of drinking wells around the world may soon be at risk of running dry. Overpumping, drought and the steady influence of climate change are depleting groundwater resources all over the globe, according to new research. As much as 20% of the world's groundwater wells may be facing imminent failure, potentially depriving billions of people of fresh water." — Harvey, C. (2021, April 27). "Millions of groundwater wells could run dry. "Scientific American. Retrieved November 7, 2021, from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/millions-of-groundwater-wells-could-run-dry/.
• "The western United States is suffering from perhaps the most widespread and severe drought in recent history. As of early July, more than 98 percent of the American West was suffering from drought, with more than 80 percent in severe drought or worse. Extreme heat has struck several times since June, breaking records throughout the region and putting more than 20 million people under heat warnings from Canada to Mexico. Portland, Oregon broke a new record high of 115 degrees Fahrenheit; Seattle set a new record high of 108." — "Dying from the heat." Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. (2021, July 16). Retrieved November 7, 2021, from https://thebulletin.org/2021/07/dying-from-the-heat/
• "Along the Oregon-California border in the Klamath Basin, taps are running dry. Federal officials decided not to divert water from a lake to farmers and ranchers after a year with little rain or snow. From Jefferson Public Radio, April Ehrlich reports that now businesses and homes are competing for precious little groundwater ..." — Ehrlich, A. (2021, August 27). Wells are running dry after farms and homes in Oregon compete for water. NPR. Retrieved November 7, 2021, from https://www.npr.org/2021/08/27/1031...hern-oregon-farms-and-homes-compete-for-water.
• "Aquifers provide us freshwater that makes up for surface water lost from drought-depleted lakes, rivers, and reservoirs. We are drawing down these hidden, mostly nonrenewable groundwater supplies at unsustainable rates in the western United States and in several dry regions globally, threatening our future." — Dimick, D. (2021, May 3). "If you think the water crisis can't get worse, wait until the aquifers are drained." National Geographic. Retrieved November 7, 2021, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/...ter-california-drought-aquifers-hidden-crisis.

Queries:

• The trends in mind, what are you, or will you, do on an individual or family level to meet this challenge?
• What practical steps, preparations, and equipment acquisitions do you have in mind?
• Are there any books or other literature you have found helpful?
• If implemented or planning systems to capture, store, and purify large amounts of water, what is being used and how is it going? On the other hand, what didn't work?
• If a relocation from your present location is something you have planned or are contemplating, how much does the water situation factor in to the planning?
• With the possibility of migrations and social unrest due to the aforementioned, how do you plan on addressing said? How do you see it shaking out?

Thanks for sharing.

Which begs the question......
Why is CA (and some other states) so adamant about importing more illegal people from south of the USA border?

Aloha, Mark

 

[gmerkt]

Don't forget that bird poop is likely that exotic flavor if you are collecting roof water for drinking.

Anything that lands on the roof, likely some portion of it will get into the cistern. This is a given. As a practical yet economical matter, I don't know how you'd use cistern water for drinking without some form of treatment. However basic. First of all, the systems are difficult seal. And, anything close to effectively block microbial contamination wouldn't allow efficient passage of water. A fancy filter would need an accumulator to allow perc time into the cistern. The more ambitious the project, the more involved it gets.

 

[BrentN]

Which begs the question......
Why is CA (and some other states) so adamant about importing more illegal people from south of the USA border?

Aloha, Mark

Because the person or entity that controls the bottled water supply suddenly becomes the boss. When you are surrounded by swollen lakes, streams, creeks, reservoirs, rivers, etc, yet the conversation revolves around drought.....you have already lost.

 

[Cavedweller]

1) It isn't predictions, it is current events. A lot of people are having to deal with water shortages... right here in the USA - especially farmers and other heavy users of water.

Many of these "water shortages" that farmers are having to deal with are artificial, created by environmental legislation and litigation by special interest groups that prioritizes habitat for frogs, minnows and certain "sacred" species above the production of food for humans.

ETA: if it's such a big problem, I agree with a previous poster who asked why we keep letting more people in.

There is a big difference between climate and weather. Mostly what we are dealing with in this country is short term variations in weather that certain political interest groups have portrayed as climate change. No doubt the climate is changing. It has changed throughout the world's history. You can't stop it from changing any more than you can stop the continents from drifting. But long term weather forecasting is an inexact science. Only one thing is totally predictable - no matter what the weather is like this year or next or the year after that, certain groups will be demanding we restructure the economy because of "climate change."

Rant over (for now).



PS. Right now it's raining like he11, has been for days, and no relief in sight. I'm not too worried about water shortages.

 

[gunfreak]

I'm building my own Berkey water filter.

 

[3MTA3]

I'm building my own Berkey water filter.

Build Berkey Better (now that BBB is up for grabs again)?

 

[JohnnyMac]

I don't know how you'd use cistern water for drinking without some form of treatment.

You know, we would just dump a cup of bleach into the tank every couple weeks when we changed out the filter. I drank that water for 3 years while stationed there in the CG and don't recall any ill effects from it. The filter was a pretty simple cartridge type and I believe we ran a 1 micron filter into the house and another .5 micron under the kitchen sink for the drinking/cooking water which kept most of the bad stuff out. The 1 micron into the house plugged up pretty quickly with all of the "extras" that flowed in. That said, and knowing what I know now, If I were to do it again I'd look for something a little more robust that could remove all bacteria and/viruses.

 

[3MTA3]

You know, we would just dump a cup of bleach into the tank every couple weeks when we changed out the filter. I drank that water for 3 years while stationed there in the CG and don't recall any ill effects from it. The filter was a pretty simple cartridge type and I believe we ran a 1 micron filter into the house and another .5 micron under the kitchen sink for the drinking/cooking water which kept most of the bad stuff out. The 1 micron into the house plugged up pretty quickly with all of the "extras" that flowed in. That said, and knowing what I know now, If I were to do it again I'd look for something a little more robust that could remove all bacteria and/viruses.

Berkey black filters will work to the virus level, and they have finer as well.