How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It - James Wesley Rawles [25]
Once you’ve found water, you will need to treat all that water, or face infection. Most families don’t own a water filter. Boiling water is an option, but only if you have natural-gas, propane, or wood cooking stoves, since electric ranges don’t work without grid power. Even folks with well water will face difficulties, unless you have a backup generator or a fully capable alternative energy system.
This chapter will cover water sources and how to filter and treat water so that it is potable.
Plan Ahead
It is important that every prepared family make plans in advance for exactly how they will handle their water supply in the event of a long-term grid-down situation. Buy the gear. Test it extensively. Also locate primary, secondary, and even tertiary sources of water in your area.
If you are unfortunate enough to live in a region that lacks open water sources that are available in every month of the year and within walking distance, then you ought to seriously consider relocating to a region with more plentiful water.
As space permits, apartment dwellers should store lightly chlorinated water in used two-liter plastic bottles. I recommend using two-liter bottles because they are relatively lightweight (easily transportable) and compact (can be stored under beds), and remarkably sturdy. They are even earthquake-proof. Once that supply is expended, it is crucial that you have previously located a nearby open water source such as a lake or reservoir, and that you have both containers to haul water and water-purification and filtration equipment, as discussed later in this chapter.
Sources of Water
Springwater
Gravity-fed springwater is the ideal water supply for a rural retreat. There is no need for power, installation expense is relatively low, it’s low maintenance, and there is little risk of frozen pipes. But unfortunately very few properties are blessed with a spring that is situated to provide gravity flow to a house. When I advise my consulting clients, I urge them to make gravity-fed springwater a top priority when they are evaluating properties for relocation.
Well Water
Grid-powered well pumps are problematic, since most wells use just a small pressure tank. Whenever there is a power failure, the water pressure drops to nil in just a short time. Photovoltaically pumped well water is a good solution, albeit with a fairly high installation cost. With a large cistern that is positioned to supply gravity flow to your house (typically thirty-five to sixty feet of “head”), you can skip putting a battery bank in your system. When the sun shines, it pumps, and when the sun sets, it stops. Simple. A float switch on the cistern will insure that you prevent needless wear and tear on your pump.
Water from Downspouts
I find it amazing that so many people allow copious rainwater from their roof downspouts to go to waste in the midst of a civic water crisis. They just don’t have the survival mind-set. At the very least, they could be using rainwater for clothes washing, bathing, and toilet flushing. With a water filter, they could also use rainwater for drinking and cooking.
You should of course never reuse something like a fuel tank or a toxic-chemical tank for a water barrel. See Chapter 5 for instructions on finding food-grade plastic buckets.
The three questions that the readers of SurvivalBlog most often ask me about rainwater, well water, and springwater are:
Is well or springwater safe to drink?
Generally, yes. And because it is not fluoridated, it is probably much healthier than public-utility-provided “city” water.
Do I have to worry about pesticides, methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), or heavy-metal contaminants in