The Water is the Life

         

        Water Resilience is critical. Of course, we all need water everyday to survive. Immense infrastructures have been built throughout history just to supply water to quench thirst, basic sanitation, and irrigation.  Where is no water there is no life. In most situations the systems that are currently in place meet our daily needs for water, but what are our options if there is a systemic or localized failure?

 

Storage

            The most simple and direct solution to a temporary or localized disruption to the water supply system is to simple store up water in quality containers. A quality container would be best described as opaque, composed of food grade plastic, and equipped with a valve to extract water. I prefer to use 5-gallon carboy style containers for personal consumption stores. It is best to store approximately one gallon per member of your household per day. This is just enough to meet the drinking requirements. It should quickly become obvious that storing up water is a space intensive endeavor. It certainly becomes clear when we realize that the average household utilizes between 80-100 gallons per day in developed countries. Not only does water storage require space, but it is also heavy. Still, this is the quickest and easiest method to ensure that you have adequate amounts of drinking water in a short-term emergency. If the water that you set aside for storage is not from a municipal supply then it would be prudent to add a small amount of bleach (1/8 teaspoon, 8 drops per gallon of clear water) to ensure the safety of stored water. It is recommended that stored water be labeled as “drinking water” and should be rotated out every six months. Also, it should be stored in a cool location, ideally between 50-70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Well

            Another option to provide water is to install a water well. Obviously, this is not an option for those people living in a dense urban setting, but for many people living in rural and sub-urban locations it is a wonderful solution to water resilience. This is not as simple as setting aside water to cover a short-term emergency, but it can significantly improve your peace of mind regarding having sufficient water for yourself and the needs of your family. Wells come with other considerations that should be prepared for in advance. For example, most commercially installed residential water wells require electrical power that is supplied by a national electric grid. Of course, we can plan to establish systems that are designed to work on solar power systems to provide some level of anti-fragility. We also have options to install a hand operated water pump to ensure that we have access to water even in the event of power failure. It is beyond the scope of this primer to delve deeply into the considerations of water well installation, operation, and maintenance. This is a subject that we will explore further in future articles.

 

 

Rainwater Collection

            Rainwater collection is a step that can be taken in any location. Even arid climates can collect rainwater, and the case can be made that it is an even more critical activity in environments with low rain fall. Rainwater collection is more complex regarding planning then even a water well installation. First, unless you have an abundance of resources it is unlikely that you will be starting with all new components. Of course, if new components are within your means it will save the time required to locate suitable used components such as IBC totes or 55-gallon drums. It is most likely that most of us will be utilizing at least some used components. It will involve a fair amount of time to locate, procure, and thoroughly clean the water containment, and that is one of the difficulties with establishing a rainwater collection system. It will take considerably more time to set up and ensure proper function as opposed to the water well which can be set up easily in a day. It would be best to plan for a large system that can be added to in a modular way. Fortunately, much of our modern plumbing lends itself to this type of build. If you are in an arid environment, then it should be your goal to capture as much rainwater as you possibly can. The entire process is far to immense to attempt to take up at this time but will be explored in greater depth in future articles. Although, it will take more time an effort it is also one of the most sustainable systems that can be established. Once the catchment is in place and plumbed in it should provide many years of service.

 

These are just a few thoughts on the idea of Water Resilience. This is a subject that can be easily over looked in our modern world where water appears to be available abundantly, but if we want to mitigate potential risks to ourselves and our families then we must consider when things get outside of our expectations. We can not become a totally independent bastion of preparedness, but we can take steps to make us Resilient or Anti-Fragile to unexpected changes. Taking just one of these steps will certainly improve your Water Resilience and help to bring you peace of mind in the event of a loss of water services.

 

Victoria Favet Paratos- Victory Favors The Prepared