30 Days to better Preparedness. Day 5. Water.

 I hope you had a good weekend and the break gave you time to feel on top of the challenges.  What you can't do, make a note, add things to a shopping list... plan it in and it will get done. 



Todays subject is water.  Mainly by luck this is one of my best areas.  When I started preparing we lived I the city so we were dependant on city water.   At that time I began to store drinking and washing water.   We stacked boxes of spring water and bottles.   I re filled any bottle that came through the house with tap water and stored those.  We added a rain water tank in our yard.  We did not have a huge space but they come in all shapes and sizes now and this meant we had a good amount of rain water at all times. 

When we moved to the farm it was a game changer.   For those not in Australia... farm houses have rain water tanks.  This is usually the main source of drinking water.  There are not water pipes out here.   The animals on the farm are watered by under ground water drawn up, once by windmills, now by solar panels that power a pump.    We are lucky that the underground water is pretty good and very good for stock, bathing, watering the garden and even drinking if needed.   However rain water is much better so we drink that.  It is beautiful.  When you wash your hair in rainwater it is so soft,  an added bonus!

We installed two additional rainwater tanks but there are tanks everywhere.  All roofs collect water, the cabin, the sheds, the shearing shed.  All have huge tanks to hold the water.   So we are totally "off grid" in this regard.   There is emergency water too, also underground, for fire fighting. 


If you see the tractor in the shed this gives you an idea of the tank sizes. 

We all have to work around what we have and where we are.   But I can tell you,  if something happens to interrupt the water supply it is very hard to buy water.  Also the price of a bottle of water goes up ten fold. Just like that!   People are also frantic.  You want to avoid that.

I planned what to do with no water for washing, bathing, drinking, cooking, animals... garden. 

Since not washing before bed would be my total nightmare (and not washing my hair) I purchased a tub.  It is kind of baby bath sized.  I knew I could not hope to bath but with one bucket of warm water I could stand in my tub, wash, pour a bucket of rinse water over my hair and feel clean.   Then that water would go on the garden or flush the toilet.    I had practice at this since the entire state of South Australia had a power outage.  So everything I did to that date got a good test run and my tub bath was actually wonderful.  Again people who go camping have good ideas on this.   There are good set ups for a shower that take a bucket of water or less. 

We are not just storing water we also need to think long and hard about making that water last.   Every drop becomes important.   I do not use paper plates and disposables but in a no water situation I would so I now store some.   I would also cook very simple meals and avoid too many items to have to wash up.  

Water is a very tough one as we can only store so much.  But at least make sure you could get through  a week or more.   It is no use having your pantry well stocked,  a way to cook and not water to drink or cook with.  

In the case of water that is doubtful as far as cleanliness goes and you were in. desperate situation then a good filtration system would come into its own.  Life Straws are a good investment also as they are a portable multi use thing that make water much safer.   The ability to boil water would be invaluable.  

If you are thinking you don't know where you would store water a couple of options are start looking at under bed space, bottoms of cupboards... water is heavy!   Many people these days have low beds that do not have the space underneath they one did.  Look at bed risers.  They give you that extra few inches that make your under bed space fantastic for storage.  If you have a cupboard full of empty canning jars fill them up!   If you know a hurricane or something is coming then fill your laundry tub, washing machine, water bottles, kettle and every container you can think of with water ahead of time.  There are devices called waterBob's  where  you can put in the bath to fill it.  This way the water is not a hazard and it is hygienic.  Also holds a lot! 

Tomorrow we will have a really easy subject to give you time to add some water to your preps and pantry.   

My opportunities also revolve around water.  With Spring and warmer weather in the air I have been out setting containers I have saved to good use as water troughs and bowls. I am trying to get many more watering points established.   If I see an old bath, tub,  bucket... anything that can be filled with water I have collected these to fill up.   I went out today to check on the lambs, they have grown so much!   When the weather is warm daily water checks are important.  When really hot that is twice a day.   I am also adding new sprinklers to the hen houses.  In terrible heat these have kept my chickens going when other people have lost theirs.  So it is long term but still this affects my supply of eggs and is very important. 

See you tomorrow for day 6! xxx




Comments

  1. I don't have enough but have water in juice, pop bottles vinegar containers and half gallon water containers. My problem is changing them out every so often. If push came to shove I wonder what it would taste like run through my Berkey water filter. I have put a lot of them in my freezer so if the electricity goes off to help keep the freezers cold.. I love your nice big set up. Not possible in a courtyard! Nancy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cozy Thyme Cottage,
      You are doing very good with your water storage. Even if you have just a tiny space small bottles stored here and there can be helpful. Spaces like behind the sofa if you have it up against a wall or on a book shelf behind books.
      I like to water the garden with the water we have stored if it has been awhile and then refill them. This helps me to keep them rotated.
      If push comes to shove although it may not be storage per say, but in an emergency if it rains just setting out buckets to catch water to use for washing and cleaning or flushing can really help save on our stored water so there is always that option too.
      XOXO
      Vicky

      Delete
  2. I think water is going to be a big challenge for us in Australia in the future. We bush camp a lot, so living on minimal water is easy for us. The recommendation for survival water is 5 litres per person per day. This is enough to allow for 2 litres for drinking 1 litre for cooking, 1 litre for cleaning and 1 litre for personal hygiene. Not a lot, but trust me when I say you can stay very clean and still get enough drinking water with that amount. We use the baby bath for baths/showers. It's a good size to stand in and I keep all the bath/shower things in it - the solar shower ($19.95 from Crazy Clints years ago and it still works - you can use a couple of black garbage bags and a hose but this is all set up with a shower head and the bag is much stronger than a garbage bag). It takes 2 litres of water. So wet a face washer, add soap/shower gel, wipe over, rinse face washer, wipe over yourself, then rinse - minimal water used. The other thing I use A LOT when water is limited is wet wipes. Hands, faces, feet, morning/evening wash, even wipe over dishes and greasy pans before washing. Paper towel can be used for wiping out pans and plates and then burnt. We have rain barrels on all the downpipes. There is a rain barrel connected to the washing machine and that water goes on the grass - I don't use grey water on the fruit or veggies. Buckets in the shower to catch the warm -up water then that is used to flush the toilet or fill the washing machine or if push came to shove it could be used for drinking/cooking - it's clean, potable water. You can get giant water bladders that install under the house (unless it's on a slab!) and fill from the downpipes. These can be hooked to the garden or to the house to use in the bathrooms/laundry/kitchen - the water isn't recommended for drinking. If you are storing bought water think big - small bottles are more expensive and they take up more space, and you need to get rid of the rubbish after a while because the degrade quite quickly. You can pressure can water and it is then good for a very long time. Fill 2 -3 litre bottles and keep them in your freezer - keeps the freezer chilled, saving power, and you'll have cold water on hand. Research ways to clean water - if you have a creek or river that's a great water source, but you need to make sure the water is safe. You can get water purification tablets, water filters (personal, jug style, on taps), you can add bleach (sounds yuk but if you are thirsty enough knowing how to do this could save a life), learn how to catch water from trees and bushes (basically cover a branch with a bag in the morning, tie it at the top, then the heat of the day causes condensation and it will drip down into the bag overnight). It's not a lot, but again, if you need water, it's there and it is safe to drink. We can last a long time without food, but water is essential, especially in summer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, Cath! You are an amazing source of knowledge. Thank you for sharing.
      Mary in San Diego

      Delete
  3. Dear Annabel and Bluebirds
    gosh I am really going to have to put my thinking cap on for this one! I really need to think this through re capture and storage; and tomorrow heavy rain is forcast for Sydney so it is an opportune topic. All shops are closed in Sydney but some have "Click and Collect" so this will be a
    a time for research and gathering ideas.
    Looking forward to reading other Bluebirds ideas as well
    Virginia

    ReplyDelete
  4. I was just talking to my next door neighbor about this today. She has a ceramic water filter that filters 5 gallons of water at a time. We live on a lake so we would have access to plenty of water but it's not clean.

    We also have a well but it only works with electricity. So we're looking into adding a hand pump to our well. It would be hard work to carry water but much easier from just outside the door than up a big hill from the lake. And our well water does not need to be filtered.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Gallon milk jugs are not good for storing water...at least, not in the house. They deteriorate in 1-2 years and you won't realize it until they start to leak. My daughter-in-law works away from home for two weeks of every month and changing water is hard on her system. She carries water from home in one gallon, clear plastic jugs that originally held water (for those in the US, Arrowhead brand and similar). If you have access to jugs like this, they work well for long term storage. Clear fruit juice jugs, which typically hold 48 to 64 ounces, also are very durable and good for long term storage.

    Living in town on a small lot, I have to say that storing water is the weakest leak in my preparedness plan. It is one of my biggest emergency concerns. Our city water relies on electric pumps, which means that when the electricity goes out, the water soon follows. In case of no electricity, I would immediately fill the bathtub, utility sink, buckets, etc., with water. Short-term water stored in milk jugs (stored in my garage with a cement floor) would be used for flushing...and I wouldn't flush after every use. "If it's mellow let is yellow, if it's brown, flush it down."

    I am acquainted with a person who bought two food-safe plastic drums to store water in her garage. I believe these drums would be used for cooking oils and such. This was a few years ago. I think they hold 50 gallons or more each. They bought them at a commercial supplier--even if you didn't want to buy them online (cost of shipping), I'm sure you could learn enough online to help you find them locally.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thankyou Annabel. You are very fortunate to have access to good underground water. I'm catching up to your preparedness posts, I've sorted the purse, we have checked all our batteries, filled a jerry can with fuel for the genny, we've made sure we have back up for cooking. I've also been watching rain country you tube and have started dehydrating any green in sight (silverbeet, parsley, stinging nettle) and on the weekend we made a vacuum chamber to vacuum seal the jars with the dried goods in them. I've ordered a hand held sealer for the vacuum chamber. I think these posts are very timely, there is some talk of strikes in australia to do with our trucks. I'm not sure if these reports are accurate, but word is going out to stock up for 2 weeks, which everyone here would be anyway. :-D Deb

    ReplyDelete
  7. Happy Monday! I know today’s topic is water but I am very excited to report huge progress on making and freezing seven meals for us ;). I have the counter top full of beans soaking overnight, a pressure cooker and crockpot all lined up…tomorrow’s cooking is a big pot of chili (will make three meals for the two of us) plus beef barley soup (another three)…yeah! The following day will be to cook 24 meatballs to split into three portions for spaghetti sauce. Progress indeed. On the water front, I have 12 cases of bottled water (40 16 ounce bottles) and 10 one gallon jugs, so we should be okay. We also have water in our water heater if we need it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well done! The chilli will be fantastic! Love beef and barely very nourishing. You are doing fantastic! xxxx

      Delete
    2. Well done! The chilli will be fantastic! Love beef and barely very nourishing. You are doing fantastic! xxxx

      Delete
    3. Well done! The chilli will be fantastic! Love beef and barely very nourishing. You are doing fantastic! xxxx

      Delete
  8. You definitely have some good water storage going on at your place. I would love some rain tanks and Bluey is slowly coming around to the idea. As water restriction's are on the increase, I dont think it will be long before he decides we need a tank or two.
    We are lucky that we have a spear. This provides us with water from underground. Our water travels through sand so we end up with very good water. It's not an underground stream but water seeping through the sand. We had it tested in the middle of an intense drought, and whilst it wasnt it's best, the water was still fit for human consumption. At the moment we pump this water for the garden and for the chooks. Our drinking water is town water.
    Should the power and the water go out at the same time, we have the generator that could pump the water for us. We are currently looking at batteries for solar power storage. Once we have some of these we will be able to pump using our own stored power.
    I have requested a birky water system for my Birthday in October. This will add an extra bit of water filtration for both the town water and the spear if needed.
    We have a camping shower that has a simple cigarette lighter in the car attachment for the pump. It has a tent that you can stand up in. This shower uses one kettle of water, that it recirculates. You get very clean and can have a warm shower, and get clean feet. Annabel's horror is not being able to wash her hair and mine is getting into bed with dirty feet. The whole thing folds down quite small. We have another very old camping shower that is a black heavy canvas bag, attached to a shower head. You put water in the bag in the morning and have it in the sun all day. In the late afternoon you hang the bag in a tree, wash yourself and then pull a cord allowing the warm water to flow through the shower head attachment. This gives a good final rinse. It's also something that you could make up if you needed to.
    If you stood in a large bucket whilst rinsing off then the wash water could be used for clothes washing or go on the garden.

    ReplyDelete
  9. This is one area that we definitely need to approve! We live on a large suburban block, and although we have one small water tank for rainwater, it's only 1000L. We have a couple of packs of bottled water for emergencies but that's it. You're right though, what's the point of stocking food if we don't stock the water? Thanks for the nudge to get on this, Annabel.
    Kirsty

    ReplyDelete
  10. We used to live in far North Queensland and whenever there was a cyclone warning, I immediately filled the bath tub, laundry tub, kitchen sinks and every bucket I could find. Currently in the van, I have learned how to have a fabulous shower, as well as wash and condition my hair for less than 5 litres. I know I could bring it down to a lot less if I had to. Terrific series, Annabel. I’m really enjoying it and will be implementing a few changes when we get home. Stay safe and well. 😊💕

    ReplyDelete
  11. We keep some water bottles in the back of the cupboard for emergencies. Not enough to get us past a day or two, so I need to work on this. We invested in a Berkey (and a couple of life straws). The Berkey was a big buy and I am so pleased with it. The water tastes so much better. We have a spring on our property and a well. The well used to supply the house years ago, so it could be functional again. We don't have enough water buts for the garden though. The tub is a great idea, I may see if I can get hold of a metal tub they used to use for bathing as I too would find it hard not to wash/bathe at the end of the day.
    Heidi xx

    ReplyDelete
  12. Solar camping showers are good and easy to hook up. We go to a place 5 minutes drive from home and buy fresh spring water each week. Our water is currently chlorinated which is not nice to drink. They are repairing the water pumps in the city. Once finished they will stop the chlorination. Since the earthquakes my partner keeps us well supplied and rotates them so none is wasted. Mandy(NZ)

    ReplyDelete
  13. We have a wonderful well on our property, and we have a generator so I think water will not be a problem for us. I would however love to find an old fashioned manual pump for our well. They are expensive so I am praying that God will provide one for us.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I also need to improve on our water situation here in the Midwest of USA. We have a creek on our property and a big lake nearby in case of emergency to use with my Berkey water filter but I still need to improve. Off topic but I was wondering if you have heard from Laine at all? So miss her posts.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I'm following along, and have added some ideas to my to do list, such as copying important papers. I have a fair amount of frozen foods, but could add more complete meals to heat up. For lighting, I've got a good amount of candles, and three Aladdin oil lamps with fuel. Also a few glow sticks. We heat with wood, and have several years of firewood in the woodshed, and cook with propane. Though we have a well for water, it tastes and smells bad, so some years back, we plumbed the house for rainwater, and have three tanks which hold 6700 gallons. We do use well water in the gardens, and also use our pond water to irrigate one garden. A Berkey water filter is used for drinking and cooking. We have a whole house generator if needed. I appreciate you doing this series, and all the commenters. There is always more to learn.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Water is crucial and with the climate warming it will be better then gold. I don't waste water, close the tap while you brush your teeth I nagged my son and my husband - everybody is finally doing that. Town water is very expensive so we switched to underground water from our well. It tastes excellent but on electricity so we might have a problem without a generator. Maybe that is next on the list. I have big rain barrels attached to every downpipe and I collect water from all the roofs. Good for my garden and animals and even in the house. In winter I collect snow in buckets and let it in a warm place to melt. All my flower pots and seedlings in January get that water. I have to be careful with rotating the water botles for drinking water and look for a bigger place to store them. Excellent ideea and great reminder. Thank you. Laura_s_world from Romania

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi Annabel,
    Even though I didn't see the challenge posts until Thursday, I am fortunately ahead of the game on most of them. I do have the information in the "purse" one covered. I do have a few days meals ready to go, but I also have the ability to put a number of meals together very quickly. I will need to work on that one some to have more meals finished in the deep freeze.
    Actually, I have the lighting one well covered. I have a large supply of soy candles including big three wick ones that I bought years ago when a company was closing. I also have battery powered lanterns (with a supply of extra batteries), a couple of battery operated candles and tealights, some solar lights as well as solar string lights.
    For the cooking post, i have a Volcano grill with charcoal stored. It can also use wood in the bottom. I have a few cast iron pans that I use on a daily basis anyway and they are perfect on that as well.
    And for today's water. I'm not doing too poorly on that one either. We have big 50 gallons rain barrels as well as bottled gallons stored. I also rinse and fill the plastic gallons vinegar comes in ( I use that with baking soda for daily cleaning). We have a whole house water filtration system, so the water I store has already been filtered. I also have two Big Berkey water filters that you can filter any water and make it potable. You can run pond water through it and it will be safe to drink. I'm with you, Annabel, that I can't stand to not have a shower/bath before bed and to not wash my hair in the morning would be a nightmare. We bought a portable shower that can be filled and hung up outside/over the tub etc. It's meant for taking along camping. It has a foot pump to release the water. It's black and heats up in the sun in just a short time. I bought a number of these back in 1999 in preparation for Y2K After that, storing extra food and water just became a normal thing. I'm looking forward to what is next on the list. Blessings, Laura in Ohio

    ReplyDelete
  18. After numerous water emergencies (usually dealing with electricity to the well pump or a broken pipe from the well), I've been a lot more careful about storing water. Used gallon containers are also refilled with water here. Our problem with outdoor storage is that open containers of water are discouraged here due to them being a place where mosquitoes can breed and we have a couple mosquito born illnesses in the state. I do know one person who has put in a DYI water barrel rain collector so it can be done.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I live in a very large city - in a very small apt. but water can be an issue if the power goes out. I actually checked my supply just a couple of days ago!

    I did note that a couple of my 3 litre drinking water jugs had now hit their expiry date so I marked them to be used for cleaning and moved them to the other side of the pantry. I have also made a note to buy more drinking water during my Sept. grocery trip.

    With Canada having about 20% of the world's fresh water it is something that we tend to take for granted. It is definitely one of those things that I need to work on.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hi Annabel. We have water covered too. Around 33,000 gallons of rain water here that we have collected. We have three new tanks, including a large one for watering my veggie garden. A good investment I think. The only issue will be if the power goes out, the pump won't work. We have a generator but not enough storage on hand for diesel to run it. Will look into that though, definitely something that needs sorting. Otherwise I will build my muscles carrying buckets of water like our previous generations had to do. Great post with lots of information. Thank you, love Tania xxx

    ReplyDelete
  21. Louise from Long Island, NY24 August 2021 at 15:01

    Hi Annabel, I love your site! I was wondering how you keep the water in your large water tanks from going bad and getting moldy. Do you use some sort of additive? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hi Annabel and thank you so much for the preparedness posts we have been away a few days with medical appointments but I am following along :) .

    We have 46 000 odd litres of water in water tanks here with two gravity fed from the tank shed roof that we can get water out of via taps in the home. Having found a pipe that was installed years ago from the front to the back of our property we are going to connect a pump to our shed and pump water from the creek for use in our orchard.

    In Qld as our property backs onto a creek according to law we also own half of the creek and can pump unlimited water from there to our property which is one of the reasons we purchased this property.

    In our storage room we also stock many 10 litre containers of water for backup too.

    Like yourself we reuse as much water as possible around here. Our grey water from the shower, vanities and laundry goes into a grey water tank and that water pumped out onto our fruit trees via grey water hosing so in even the driest of weather our fruit and berry trees are being watered. What is left is used to water our lawns with in dry weather also.

    Sewingcreations15 (Lorna).

    ReplyDelete
  23. A funny topic indeed. Here we always have a stash of water especially in the summer months due to impending cyclones. We have bottled water for drinking and also the 10 litre containers so we can have a wash.

    I remember at our last place which was more rural, we could not drink town water and due to little rain and a dry tank we had to buy water on a weekly basis (this added to the grocery bill each week and you felt the pain) so I am glad that this is now not an added expense as we are able to drink tap water and we just fill up our bottles of water to take out with us. The water we buy is only for emergency use

    Aly xxx

    ReplyDelete
  24. From past experience: I had a car accident and broken bones that prevented my showering daily but like you I wanted that bath and to wash my hair. In rehab hospital, I would request two small beverage pitchers each night, the sort they leave patient water in, of hot water. I used the tiny little patient basin they give you and I would first wash my hair and rinse it and then bath in the water and then shave if necessary and then wait for nursing staff to come pour it out for me. I never used more than 1 liter of water, and could in a pinch make do with half that.
    We have well water and electric pump. I keep lobbying for a covered well with a rope pully like my great grands had but so far no luck convincing hubby. I'm also lobbying for rain water tanks. We'd have had a wealth of water this summer alone!
    In weather situations where we had forewarning, I've filled tubs, every available jug and pitcher and glass jar and did as Cath suggested, freezing some to help keep fridge and freezer cold, used some for drinking cooking and toilet flushing and bathing.
    Milk jugs will work for very short term storage but as noted by an earlier poster those will break down. If that is the only option you can afford for water storage then store them in a bin, so if one springs a leak you don't have ruined carpet or flooring.
    For years I've kept a couple of dozen clear plastic juice bottles under my kitchen sink filled with water. They are frequently rotated in summer when I use them to water plants but in winter, I need to stay atop that better.
    I know some are opposed but do look up how much chlorine bleach (MUST be chlorine bleach the other sorts won't do at all) is needed to help purify water. It's just not a bad emergency product to keep on hand and you do not need much (drops) but it makes the difference in drinkable and non-drinkable water.

    ReplyDelete
  25. We need to work on water storage. In an emergency, we could tap into the 75 gallons of water in our water heater. We have a Berkey that holds 3.25 gallons, about 2 dozen bottles of water and 3 gallons of stored tap water. Husband checked and we can collect rainwater where we live - some areas of the USA you are not permitted to collect rainwater. We are going to look into purchasing rain water collection tanks and getting them setup in our backyard. I will add paper plates, cups, bowls, cutlery and wet wipes to my shopping list which would save using water for washing up in an emergency.

    ReplyDelete
  26. We are on our own well here but if the power goes out we'd have to run the gas generator. I keep bottled water on hand especially in the summer for the guys. I will get more now that the summer is over, the price should go down a bit. I have many quart canning jars and I do not can in that size so will be filling those and storing in the pantry. I will rotate them out when I cook potatoes or other high water dishes to keep it fresh. On my big wishlist is a Berkly water purifier. We have a pond so we could get water from there if needed but it definitely would need purification!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts