Search Results for: water

Home Water Storage on a Budget, by KC Seven

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…system for ~only bathing and showers, could also promote Legionnaires’ disease, which obviously creates an unacceptable risk. The bacteria enters the person through the lungs in fine drops of contaminated water. Do your research first. Two links to >start: 1. Legionella (Legionnaires’ Disease and Pontiac Fever) from CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2. Wikipedia article about: Legionnaires’ disease. ********** Water systems treat water for a reason; there are more risks than just Legionnaires’ Disease. … Where I live the tap water is polluted with farm chemicals. [I use a gravity fed water filter system kept in the refrigerator.] KC Seven I used to be a radio announcer… Telesilla of Argos Water! Water! Water! Such an important topic, and an excellent article too. We have stored water in Aqua-Tainers, and those have worked really well. They’re “squared off” and so easy to tuck into corners or along a back…


Big Picture Water and Irrigation Considerations, by Terry Wyoming

…experience in Colorado, and there are variations among the states. As the water demands have increased, water users have developed complex methods to ensure that their water right is available even during droughts.  These methods include augmentation plans where senior water is released from an upstream source to compensate for a more junior diversion at another location; or exchanges where junior water is diverted at an upstream location, but senior water is provided somewhere downstream to satisfy a downstream senior call or recharge ponds where surface water is stored in ponds for the sole purpose of recharging the ground water to compensate for delayed groundwater depletions that result from well pumping; or transbasin diversions where water is transferred over mountains from one water basin to another. As you can imagine, this system can get complicated quickly.  States maintain massive databases documenting water rights and seniority. In Colorado, the Division of…


Building a Backyard Water Treatment Plant, by J.S.M.

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…pristine planet, and though we may have polluted much of the water we have been entrusted with, He has given us the materials and intelligence necessary to purify our water. Most of the modern world relies on municipal water treatment facilities to provide them with clean water. Water flows from faucets and toilets flush with the flip of a lever as surely as the sun rises and sets. By paying the water company every month we are guaranteed an almost unlimited supply of clean water. Most of the time the public shows no appreciation for the system that delivers the water or knowledge of the process by which it is treated and delivered, but most everyone expects to be provided with water as though it were a birthright. The public generally does not question the quality or safety of their water while the nameless, faceless technicians at the utility company…


Retreat Owner Profiles

…stocking powder, primers and bullets when I could just buy more cartridges. I realize everyone doesn’t think this way. Comm: Full HF setup (General class operator), can listen to virtually any freq. Duplicity in all types of comm. TA-1s and 312s Fuel and power: Off grid since late 1999. 1,680 watt solar array with 12KW diesel genset backup. 20 Trojan L16’s for my battery bank, Trace 4024 Inverter. Elevated water tank for water pressure holds 4-6 days water before it must be re-filled. Well pump can be powered from battery bank or from genset. Passive solar does most of the heating needed during winter days. Waterford stove used for supplemental wood heating. 5 cords kept on hand at all times (takes less than 1 per year to heat down here). LP provides gas for oven and water heater. Over did it on fuel storage for genset. Some may spoil by…


A Few Thoughts on Water Storage, by N.P.

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…expect that will be followed by groups of survivors banding together. I think it is vital to have water that will last until you make it through the first and most extremely violent/volatile periods of time. The safest way would be to have a sufficient volume of water stored where you will be (for many of us, likely) barricaded in our homes. Further, in prepping for other situations, such as localized problems that might include a terrorist attack, storm, power outage, or blizzard, a water supply is a good thing to have. Different Water Storage Containers Used for Water Storage I’ll just cut to the chase and say I think you need to get a large tank to store water in. I’ve seen a large variety of water storage solutions, and honestly I just don’t like most of them. A lot of the reasons I don’t like them are because…


Seven Letters Re: Advice on Deep Water Wells in a Grid-Down Era

…50′ and a submersible pump set at least 10 feet below the water table, and another variable, if you pump more water than your well delivers, called “drawdown”, you’ll be setting your pump below that drawdown level of the water table. Submersible pumps are a great way to get water out of your well, they “push” the water to the surface, and produce good “head” with their many impellers, “head” translating to how far up the pump is pushing the water from the water table, to theoretically how far above the point of use is, that’s your water “pressure”a pump that makes 300′ of head will pump from a 100 foot water table and be able to pump 200′ more feet above ground level, that would be more than enough to provide you with 50 or 60 pounds of pressure in your tank and at your faucet. Very efficient, generally…


Be Ready For Infrastructure Collapse – Part 1, by J330

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…with the other regulated chemicals.] And yes, I have a gravity type of water filter, which I keep in my refrigerator. At ~ epa(dot)gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/emergency-disinfection-drinking-water~ there is information about disinfecting drinking water during emergencies and how to do. “In an emergency situation where regular water service has been interrupted – like a hurricane, flood, or water pipe breakage – local authorities may recommend using only bottled water, boiled water, or disinfected water until regular water service is restored. The instructions below show you how to boil and disinfect water to kill most disease-causing microorganisms that may be present in the water. However, boiling or disinfection will not destroy other contaminants, such as heavy metals, salts, and most other chemicals.” An option to print a hardcopy of the information on the EPA site is available. ****** I have and use a Gravity Water Filtration product, which I keep in my refrigerator. +…


Cape Town, South Africa- TEOTWAWKI, by Greg

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…as the water had to be trucked in from other areas. Costs were huge, and people began fighting over water. The trial runs of the emergency water supply system were a total failure, and government fast tracks drilling into the sub terrarium supply. This kept the taps flowing at reduced levels for the time being. Entrepreneurs Selling Water Entrepreneurs began driving into the mountains and filling 1000-litre tanks on their SUV’s, then driving back and selling the water. The government banned this practice and drove the illegal water trade underground. People were paying up to a quarter of their monthly wages to get a tank of water. Those with boreholes began selling their water from their houses, until they also dried up. Wildlife Died Off The water table had dropped to alarmingly low levels and surface dams were drying up. The wildlife that depended on the surface water died off,…


Home Design Choices for the Prepper, by S.L.S.

…podcasts, sometimes the cheapest land may prove to be the most expensive after you take into account all the variables! Fresh Water Water basically comes from two sources, wells and city mains. City water is supplied from wells or reservoirs, is filtered and treated, and pumped into the system. Extra water flows into the high water tanks to provide static pressure for the Town ([roughly]1 PSI for each feet of height (or “head”) when the pumps are not needed or in time of high demand. Typically the tanks hold a day or so worth of water, so even in a power outage with no generator backup at the water plant, water will continue to flow for a day or so unless people hoard it. A very reliable system in normal times, but vulnerable in a SHTF scenario. I prefer my own water system, as I can control it – but…


Rocket Water Heater – Part 2, by St. Funogas

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…I always enjoy your posts and I’ve got cisterns pretty high on my research list this year too. GGHD CDC (dot) gov = Make Sure Water Temperatures Are Right “Legionella grows best within a certain temperature range (77°F-108°F). To keep water outside the range for Legionella growth, it is important to keep cold water cold and keep hot water hot.’ ‘A note about cold water: In warm climates, water in pipes that carry cold water may reach a temperature that allows Legionella to grow. A note about hot water: It is important to maintain water heaters at appropriate temperatures while following local and state anti-scald regulations. Sometimes maximum temperatures allowed by your state may be too low to limit Legionella growth. Engineering controls that mix hot and cold water together at or near the point of use can reduce the risk of scalding while allowing water in pipes to remain…


A Maslow-Like Hierarchy of Survival, by I. M. Learning

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…for toilet flushing. If you have the space food grade 30 and 55 gal drums are great for long term storage but remember you must have a spigot, pump or way to siphon the water out; not being able to use the water immediately causes frustration. OneGuy The 5 gallon water cooler type jugs are perfect for storing water. I choose the type with a screw on top. The water cooler types have a plastic top that is pierced when placed on the water cooler and is hard to seal and use repeatedly. You can buy these empty for about $6 apiece or filled with filtered water for about $11. Handles to help you carry them and a stable flat bottom for storing and of course they store lying on their side too. John C DuBose when a hurricane is coming I fill gallon distilled water jugs. If I fill…


1,000 Bottles of Water on the Roof, by James C.

…that less than 60% of the stored water met the World Health Organizations standards for quality drinking water. How can this be? The study reveals that a very high percentage of households where drinking water is first boiled that re-contamination occurs during storage and results in the consumption of polluted water. Unlike chemical treatment there is no residual treatment of the water after the water is boiled and placed in a container for storage, so bacteria re-growth is possible even with the slightest contamination. It is important to note that boiling water is by far the preferred method for treating water because when done properly it kills 100% of the pathogens. Clasen’s research highlights the importance of practicing proper water boiling habits and the need for a secondary system to provide an extra measure of safety to ensure that your drinking water is safe. Secondary Systems of Treatment I am…


Emergency Water Treatment On The Move, by Tom K.

…1980s I began to treat my backcountry water with iodine tablets. Iodine was the Army’s standard water treatment chemical for individual soldiers (canteen cases even had a little pouch on the outside for the bottle). The tablets are quick and easy to use; just pop two in a quart of water and wait 30 minutes (longer is better, especially with cold water) before drinking. Iodine tablets are cheap, compact, failure proof and lightweight to carry. They also turn your water and water containers brown and do not taste very good. I treated a lot of water with iodine. My wife complained about the taste, my kids complained about the taste, I thought about complaining about the taste but nobody ever got sick from bad water. Iodine still holds some advantages for the prepper. The bottles are relatively cheap ($5-7), readily available at places like Wal-Mart (packaged as Coghlan’s Emergency Germicidal…


Aquaponic Food Production for Long Term Survival, by Stone of Scone

…water). Aquaponics uses low energy water pumps to move the water from the fish tank through a gravel-filled bed to filter the water for the fish, while providing water for the plants growing in the gravel bed. The low pressure water pumps recycle the water for continuous use, and require a very small amount of electricity power which can be provided by a solar panel. The fish in an Aquaponic system are a good survival protein source, but more importantly the fish create ammonia as a waste product, which provides fertilizer for the plants. The fish ammonia is converted into liquid nitrate fertilizer by autotrophic bacteria that reside in the gravel-filled growing beds, which is where the plants are raised. The water pump moves the water from fish tank into the gravel filled grow beds and back to the fish tank, thereby watering all of the plants automatically, while purifying…


Thirsty Are Those Who Do Not Prep- Part 5, by The Grumpy Gunfighter

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…help purify water if no other sources are readily available. If the water in question is particularly cloudy or turbid, let the water settle and filter the water. Directions For Using Liquid Bleach To Disinfect Water The dosage chart below illustrates the appropriate amount of chlorine drops for creating up to eight gallons of purified drinking water. This dosage chart is intended to be used for room temperature water. However, if the water is cold, double the amount of drops, as chlorine is less effective in lower temperatures. Using a clean eye dropper or teaspoon, mix in household bleach that has been kept for under a year in a cool, dry place. Stir in the bleach to the clean room temperature water, and let the mixture sit for 30 minutes before use. The EPA states that four parts per million (PPM) and below is the safe amount of chlorine to…