Water to become HUGE issue


pam
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When I lived in the desert we stored water in

- old bleach containers (the permeated plastic keeps water safe to drink)

- Wine casks (ditto)

In the Islands... We added rum to the cisterns under the house, and in the rain barrels. Won't get you drunk. Will inhibit microbial growth. (My personal,view is that this is exactly WOW compliant...as the alcohol is being used to clean. I'm sure many will disagree).

In wet places... The ratio is 1 goldfish : 1 rain barrel (for not potable water needs). I usually added 2. So they wouldn't be lonely. Anyhow... They eat any bug eggs (like Mosquitos). A few 50gal rain barrels will keep your garden going -and laundry & bathing & flushing- through the dry months.

In many places I've lived (no running water) I get the 5gal bottles (like for water coolers). Including flushing 4x per day, cooking, and simple bathing... One (or a smallish family) uses apx 10gal per day. Those sterilized / sealed plastic bottles last for months without any noticeable effect......... Wash your dishes & your clothes with water you'll later flush with (aka if you have a machine, fill by hand, and take the "out" to fill into a basin instead of the plumbing. Then flush through the bowl instead of the tank to keep the tank clear. Alternatively, one can always pee in a jar, and poop in a bag. But my standards for civilization make this an unemployed option unless there is no alternative.

...

I sincerely doubt that drought conditions will really merit most of the above.

But it's always good to have supplies on hand/ "Oh! That's how!" in reserve. :)

Q

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  • 3 years later...
On 12/23/2013 at 1:26 PM, pam said:

I used to have a can of dehydrated water. Instructions were "Add one gallon of water" to get one gallon of water.

I couldn't pass this one by.......

Best part of that can of dehydrated water is how light it is to carry!

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On 12/24/2013 at 9:00 AM, applepansy said:

Our summer water restrictions are worse every year. We were told at a water meeting this summer that Utah State climatology scientists said our snow pack will be gone by 2017.

Uhmmm... it's 2017 now and almost over.  Is the snowpack gone yet?

EDIT:

50 minutes ago, zil said:

Hmm.  It's 2017.  Anybody heard anything about snow pack?

Oops.  Didn't see it.  See!!! I'm sleep typing again.

But, great minds...

If only this thread weren't four years old.

Edited by Guest
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Anyone remember comedian Sam Kinnison?  Kind of a dumpy guy, wore a trench coat, had a trademark yell, guest starred on Married With Children once?  Sort of the epitome of a lack of charity.

Back 30 years ago, when Africa was in drought, he had a comedy bit about it.  Something like this: 

"You know why the rest of the world is helping these countries in Africa?  Because the rest of the world lives WHERE THE FOOD IS!  Here - see this mr. starving guy - this is sand.  Do you know what it was a thousand years ago?  Sand.  Do you know what it will be 1000 years from now?  IT'LL BE SAND!"

Not sure why I suddenly remembered this little tidbit from the past, but this part of Pam's article triggered it:

Quote

People considering a move to a new city or region frequently check the job prospects, quality of the schools, crime rates, property values and possibly the shopping or entertainment venues.

Soon, maybe, they’ll have to ask whether there’s enough water.

Here in Colorado, new developments have to ensure a 300 year water supply.  So my neighborhood, which is all on wells, includes the right to drill down into a deeper aquifer because folks figured our current aquifer wouldn't last that long.  

Edited by NeuroTypical
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On 12/24/2013 at 10:00 AM, applepansy said:

Our summer water restrictions are worse every year. We were told at a water meeting this summer that Utah State climatology scientists said our snow pack will be gone by 2017.

4 hours ago, zil said:

Hmm.  It's 2017.  Anybody heard anything about snow pack?

3 hours ago, Carborendum said:

Uhmmm... it's 2017 now and almost over.  Is the snowpack gone yet?

EDIT:

Oops.  Didn't see it.  See!!! I'm sleep typing again.

But, great minds...

If only this thread weren't four years old.

This prediction failed (I'm sure there were several qualifiers given by the source). I investigated* and the snow packs are still there. They're smaller than normal, but they're there.

 

*by "investigate", I mean that thing where you sleep but your body-less form is able to explore freely. @NeuroTypical can tell you all about it - he was there too. 

 

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1 hour ago, NeuroTypical said:

Here in Colorado, new developments have to ensure a 300 year water supply.  So my neighborhood, which is all on wells, includes the right to drill down into a deeper aquifer because folks figured our current aquifer wouldn't last that long.  

Yeah, in Houston we have the problem of TOO MUCH WATER.  Even in a 13 month long drought (yes, not a single drop of rain for 13 months straight) our aquifers were full.  The swamp in my backyard was still a swamp.

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10 hours ago, zil said:

There's snow on the east mountains.  That's everything I know about this area's snow pack.  But no one is yelling the sky is falling, and no one told me not to water my lawn this year, so I assume we're not that bad off.

We ended up with a massively and abnormally wet winter last year, but IIRC things were looking pretty grim through late December.

This year, on the trip from Utah Country to eastern Utah (which I do twice a week) there have been a couple of dustings; but that’s about it—we’re off to a slow start again, I believe . . .

Edited by Just_A_Guy
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7 minutes ago, SilentOne said:

Do I have to stop paying tithing so I can start up again?

That was a reference to the 80s (?), I think, when this really happened, at least, that's what my memory says, but we didn't live here, and I was a teenager.  But if my memory is right, there was a drought and the prophet told the Utah Mormons that if they wanted water, they needed to start paying their tithing.  Then they got a lot of water - there was flooding - and the joke was that they'd have to do something else (pay fast offerings?) to get it to stop.

Maybe someone who lived here and is older will remember.

Edited by zil
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