E-Mail 'Thirsty Are Those Who Do Not Prep- Part 1, by The Grumpy Gunfighter' To A Friend

12 Comments

1. Good series coming here!

   I offer what we did on purchasing our place…..when the guy was testing the well we asked for the phone number of the laboratory that would test the water. I called them and asked what additional parameters we should test for in our area.

   The answer? Nitrates and Arsenic. As more wells are drilled across the west, and intensive manure/water mixtures go into the surface, lowering water tables evidently are exposing more of us to these.

   We have trace arsenic in our well, but it tested far lower than what the level of concern is. Still, rain barrels and water troughs are being set up under our building downspouts. We have mapped local creeks for access, stocked emergency water, and keep our small pond full. Wish I could afford a large concrete cistern.

   I have a sump pump, and an inverter for the pickup truck. In dire circumstance I will drive the truck to a water point, hook up the inverter and pump, and fill barrels with raw water which requires treatment before consumption. But that will not be a great solution.

   Thanks for writing this series. God Bless.

2. Make sure you check on your state and local laws if you live in a “water rights” state. It is, I kid you not, an illegal theft of water to even set up a rain barrel in some jurisdictions because you’re stealing the water from whoever owns the water rights under your property. Mostly an issue for townies, maybe, but you still see properties sold to folks without water rights attached.

   1. No I will not check. God causes the rain to fall on everyone.

      1. Wheatley FIsher, I agree that rain water should not be “owned” by anyone, however several states claim that right. Water rights are serious business in some states; you can be fined $25,000 a day and face jail time for violating water rules.

         One of my BILs and one niece are water rights attorneys out west. There are hundreds of incidents where average people think they are doing the right thing and are screwed by the state, the BLM, or other folks because they did not check both the state and federal government requirements and get everything in writing.

         1. Thank you for your comments. I am experienced in MT ongoing water law disaster, and worked for BLM for 22 years in WY. My decision is an informed one. Water is life. Molon Aabe.

3. “If you don’t fall into one of those two categories, maybe try averaging the two numbers.” Thank you for that! Lol needed a good chuckle this morning 🙂

4. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

5. Excellent topic, and one that is sometimes taken for granted.
   I live in part of the Southwest as well, and understand the water issue. We have some unusual situations where some people are having to water haul, and yet others that live pretty close by can drill a well and have access to good water.
   I had to look hard to be sure I found a property where a well could be drilled and have access to a good water supply. I was blessed with what I eventually found.
   Access to water is a major issue, and some of the rural communities that have sprung up in my area are on community water, which is very problematic. The people are always being told to watch how much water they are using, and if they exceed the amount designated for the number of people in their residence they get warnings to cut back, or the water will be cut off.
   Like the Old West saying; whiskey is for drinking, and water is for fighting over.

6. I have neighbors with advanced water preps in place. They have a Grey water recycling system in place. Additionally they have 5 ibc containers networked together under the back deck. These discretely catch and hold rain water from the house. The Grey water system could be attached to them etc as needed. Only a skirting was be needed to obscure the setup in a water rights state. Additionally they could be moved to the high end of the crawlspace further out of sight.

7. North Texas here. 100 acres of land we live on. We have a spring fed creek, a well and 2 ea 10k water catchment tanks. One inch of rain provides approximately 3 K gallons of water from our metal barn building. We currently use the well for irrigation. The rain is plumbed into the house via a Grunfos pressure tankless pump, 2 sediment filters and final stop is a UV filter. We have extra water catchment tanks downhill from the big tanks that will one day feed our raised beds. Fortunately, Texas is an extremely pro rain catchment state. Amen!! Water is life. God is good!!

8. Big Dan, same here….great laugh!!!!! thanks for that.

9. What is the name of the silver (stainless steel?) hand pump at the start of the article? Is that a Flo-Jak? Where can I find info on it? I have a well already in place.
   Thanks,

Comments are closed.