As it says in the great Hopi prophecy. Do you know where your water is?
We can perish without water before we perish without food. Dehydration is a very quick way to go. Being smart about water is a wise choice anywhere.
Now at first glance , you might say, not enough water in Hawaii? It doesn't seem possible. But, most of our many water tanks are pumped by diesel engines. So if the oil doesn't come ...neither does the water. Last years earthquake reduced the amount of water for farming in some parts of the big island drastically. The giant flume came down. Now the ditch in North Kohala is back part way. But can you access that water? Is it ready for drinking? mmmmmmm? Depends on where you are what tools you have handy..
Most people must get some kind of catchment system on their property to be safe. Dana Moss has some great ideas about that. So, first question how much water would you need to drink, wash your dishes, wash your body, wash your clothes, water your livestock, wash your car?
So right away we see that what we need to drink is VERY SPECIAL but maybe some of the other sources could afford to be less pure. Right? We need our water at many different levels of purity. People in Kohala have bathed in the streams, taken showers from a hose thats been in the sun all day, or grabbed a hot wash cloth from the stove and done the magic bath thing.
For drinking, some people immediately fill their bathtubs at the sign of trouble. Thats enough water for a family of ten for a week, with rationing. So folks, you are gonna have to think that one through. Traditionally farm folk off the grid were used to keeping 3000 gallons in a covered tank. Thats a good way to go and the tanks aren't that expensive to create. Then there are horse troughs and baby pools, and ponds. They can be used or put away depending on the need. There are some very interesting ways to get water from a roof with a tarp and into a garbage can. But if tarp has holes in it and the can doesn't have a garbage bag ... its not going to be too clean.
JUST BE AWARE THAT THERE ARE CREATIVE WAYS TO SET UP WATER CATCHMENT but you have to get creative, practice, and have the tools on hand..
I have ponds and with a touch of clorox that are fine for the animals and plants to drink.. The water hyacinths make them way more sanitary. You can go to Takatas and fill your multi-gallon jugs for drinking water as long as they can keep the supply up. Not a good plan for the long haul..
I have rain barrels (garbage cans) near the edge of the roof which work especially well with gutters either plastic or copper. You can also add a tarp to aim the water into the barrel. This can be drinkable when boiled but is best for washing dishes, clothes, and anything else that just needs a rinse off.
With a pick-up you can drive to a water point or the ditch. There if you have a small hand pump, a syphon, or five gallon plastic paint buckets
you can bring ag water home. Some have mentioned just putting a tarp in the bed and bucketing in a truckbed load about half full. You will soon learn that without any buckets or tarps your options are more limited.
So, for really big needs the water catchment tank, horse troughs, and other things like big or little baby pools help. Here you need to think of mosquito fish (minnows) and screens to cover the water from leaves and flying debris.
Its unfortunate we have done such a bad job by putting water at the mercy of oil. Eventually we must connect the windmills to our water pumps and emergency services like sirens and police and fire stations.
It could be we will need to get up on our hind legs and explain to the county how at risk we are because of this short sited planning. The Puhakaloa training center has a million and a half gallons of water but without trucking fuel it will be hard to get it here. The firetrucks could pump the ditch water to people on a special schedule. if they have some fuel to spare for the pumping.
In the end you had better have some basic plastic containers, tarps, and hoses if you want to be covered. Some may want to spring for the catchment tanks.
For kicks why don't you run an experiment by filling your bathtub or something like that and see just how far you can go without needed a resupply. You might find out the tub leaks!!!! There's no substitute for finding out before its too late.!!! Be prepared or suffer the consequences.
FIVE TIPS FOR WATER SECURITY
1. FILL THE BATHTUB IMMEDIATELY
2. HAVE YOUR BUCKETS AND TARPS HANDY
3. CREATE A REAL CATCHMENT SYSTEM WHEN YOU CAN
4. PRACTICE HAULING WATER FROM THE DITCH OR STREAM
5. GET MORE AND MORE PREPARED AS YOU HAVE TIME.
