Comments | making_a_plan: I'm just curious

interactiveleaf in making_a_plan

I'm just curious

Oct 20, 2009 11:29

So, do y'all store emergency water at home? If not, why not ( Read more... )

water, sanitation, stockpile, household planning

Comments 13

tezliana October 20 2009, 17:14:24 UTC

We keep only a few gallons, but we have a drilled well and backup power for it.

interactiveleaf October 20 2009, 17:26:55 UTC

For the record, a well *can* churn out nothing but mud for days after, say, an earthquake or other catastrophic event. Still, having anything on hand means you're doing better than most.

tezliana October 20 2009, 19:45:45 UTC

Well, yes. There's a year-round stream about a mile from here, and we also have cloth to strain large particulates, a Katadyn filter, and a couple of food-grade 5 gallon jugs for if the water gets seriously cruddy.

interactiveleaf October 20 2009, 19:53:00 UTC

Oh, you're in great shape, then. Congratulations!

preserver3 October 20 2009, 17:24:44 UTC

At the moment we keep 3-5 5gallon water jugs from BJ's warehouse, but we do live on a small lake right now. I've been more than just interested in keeping several gallons of bleach around to extend that supply.

interactiveleaf October 20 2009, 17:27:28 UTC

Bleach + Lake = Potable Water Supply. Awesome!

tezliana October 20 2009, 19:48:03 UTC

If you look around, you should be able to find bleach in powder or tablet form, which has a much longer shelf life than liquid bleach. Check hardware stores and janitorial supply places.

curiousalexa October 21 2009, 01:32:54 UTC

i've been told that swimming pool chlorine is basically powdered bleach. generally easy to find.

slashfairy October 21 2009, 01:15:59 UTC

I rent a room, city water. but in my room itself I have 50 gallons of water (well, what's under the bed for, if not for storage? and the bottom shelf of the bookshelves, for ballast! worked in '89 in Oakland) as well as a box of canned fruit and veg (all water-packed), solio charger for phone/ipod, radio and batteries, warm clothes, water purifying stuff, candles, journal and pens/pencils, scissors, tape, basic tools, bandage/first aid stuff, and meds for two weeks. Bookcases are bolted to the walls, too, and nothing heavy hanging on the walls, either.

I've got enough for 4 days in the car, too. Just in case. I lived and worked in Oakland in '89- drove over the Cypress, the Bay Bridge, worked at Children's Oakland. I'd rather look a little bit nuts to people than be unprepared.

interactiveleaf October 21 2009, 01:50:04 UTC

Oh, wow, using it as ballast in an earthquake zone is a lovely idea.

(We don't get much in the way of moving earth here in Central Texas. I'd never given it much thought before.)

slashfairy October 21 2009, 01:54:24 UTC

but you could...no? or is all of central texas one big single tectonic mass? i know very little about texas, yet- it's on my list of states to visit, but haven't gotten there yet.

i dunno, i was a little tiny girl in southern indiana (tornadoes) moved to santa monica (earthquakes and atomic bomb test practice, lol) then palo alto, sonoma county, oakland... earthquakes, floods, earthquakes- none of them bad enough where I was to stop everything for me but i've seen plenty just stopped.cold, and i'd rather be a bit prepared. even though i know shit happens, and there's no 100% preventing/being prepared for everything life's got to throw at us.

interactiveleaf October 21 2009, 13:57:08 UTC

Oh it could happen, shernuff. We're near enough the Balcones Fault and all that it's a possibility. It just never (in recorded history) actually has happened.

re: water anonymous March 1 2011, 13:51:24 UTC

Only enough for convenience, 4 L of water that I rotate out to my houseplants.

I'm in Toronto, and we have Lake Ontario. In the unlikely event that LO is contaminated, we still have a lot of little fresh water sources.