River/reservoir proximity questions

[Chris Mac]

Stock up on rain barrels. Your roof sheds a helluva lot of water - hundereds of gallons in some cases. Put 4-6 rain barrels around your house, around any outbuildings, etc. and you'll have a fairly consistent source of water.

You can also buy caged BPA free cisterns to collect excess water to the tune of hundreds of gallons.

Be careful of roofing materials. Some of the bleedoff into your water can be toxic. We are hoping to build our home in a rural location, and the roof will most definitely be metal. If we buy a home with a shingle roof, we'll replace the roof.

In any event, be sure to have the proper filtration on hand.

Right now, we're taking a serious look at a jobs that allow us to live in a rural setting in GA or in the Pacific NW. We won't buy unless we're permitted to drill a well and build a cistern.

 

[Scooby]

I agree on the rain barrels. Also a good old fashioned hand pump on a shallow water well. I would hate to know that I was depending on a city or county for water in a long term power outage.

 

[Flammenwerfer]

I agree on the rain barrels. Also a good old fashioned hand pump on a shallow water well. I would hate to know that I was depending on a city or county for water in a long term power outage.

^^^^ X100

 

[BuckSlayer30533]

How many of us are thinking about the possibility of long term shut down of civilization? Specifically as it impacts water, no not just drinking water per se but access and major flows of water.

What started me thinking was my own proximity to West Point lake. I'd have to hike a mile each way to fetch water home. Not good. But then I realized that my water source is a man-made lake that only exists because of a dam. If SHTF turned into a post apocalyptic world how long and against how much buildup would that dam be able to handle?

So, in light of the scenario where dams get forgotten or are not able to be maintained I started thinking about possible dam breaks and two major problems that would cause.

1. Proximity - my two mile round trip could well become five or even more. I'd have to check the river/creek channels. What about y'all?

2. There are a lot of people who live in low lying areas downstream of these dams who never even realize or think about it. In the scenario I am thinking about that could well be suicidal. How many of y'all have dams upstream of you?

Access to water will be a major issue in a post SHTF situation. If you already have a well on your property, you can get a hand pump. There are many that will pump water from 200-300 feet, but they are a little more expensive.