Posted: 10/6/2007 6:53:35 AM EDT
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Where I live I feel comfortable about my abilities to survive with no government assistance. We have plenty of food available as my area is surrounded by farm land, live stock, wild game, etc. I live in a small (12 house, ea. with 1+ acre, non-gated, 1 means of access) neighborhood. I am slowly building up my dry bean/rice/wheat stock, as well as fuel. However, I was looking at my topo maps and I noticed there is not a natural source of water for miles if it's not been raining a while. I don't really have any ideas about what to do once my water stockpile is gone. There's a couple of pools in the neighborhood, but I don't have one myself, and I don't know what I'd need to do to make that drinkable. My AO is directly on top of bedrock, which is 4-6" below the top soil. I don't have a clue how far down the water table is. Any ideas for me fellas? |
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If that farm land and live stock isn't yours, don't plan on it being there when you need it. And if you aren't hunting/trapping the local wild game currently, don't pretend that you'll be able to when you need that also. As for water, you could put filled 55 gal. barrel under each rain gutter and then refill them whenever it rains. Filter that water through a gravity filter such as a Big Berkey and you are good to go. So long as it rains. Also, if you have a well, depending on the depth you could get a hand pump from simplepump.com or get a well bucket from Lehman's. |
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+1 to every thing Toyota said. Also look at getting a tank, stick it under the back deck, I have a 375 gal tank just for this. Keep a 30 or 55 gal drum around with a furnature hand truck and a hand pump. You could then load the tank into your truck drive to the water suply fill up then take the water back home and transfer to your tank. |
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sorry, forgot to mention that. The farm land directly next to my land isn't mine, but less than a mile as a crow flies is my father-in-law's 300 acres that he actively farms and keeps live stock. I also have a .75 plot directly next to my house that is flat as a sheet of paper and could be very easily plowed/tilled. I actually plan on starting a small plot next season. I've never gardened but would like the experience. Also, i have no deck, but a slab that's maybe 12x12 at the back door. my wife is ok with the preparedness; she understands the need, but she doesn't want a lot of tanks next to the house or a lot of barrels in our 2 car garage....working with her on that one.... |
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The rain barrels under the downspouts can be had in different colors, so they blend right into the home or landscaping. Are you sure there's not even a small brook nearby? My solution was rigging up a landscape cart with a 12v battery and a 12v bilge pump to pump water into two five-gallon jugs on the cart. The brook is close. The final step will be a Big Berkey filter. It beats having to store water. A tiny brook may not be on the topo map. (?) Just be sure it flows during dry weather. |
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You don't say where in TN you are, but I picked up a 1500 gal. FDA drinking water approved tank at a farm supply place in Huntingdon, TN for $325 in 1999. Hauled it 375 miles home. Looks similar to this. |
I did that in 1999 too!. Got great water. Had the well drilled first, poured a 10'x10' slab (put plumbing & electrical stubs in first) with the well in the corner, put the 1500 gallon tank on the slab and plumbed it all to the house with a 3-way isolation valve. Wired the power from the transfer switch to the well; and then built a 10'x26' storage room on the end of it. Later put in an inverter/charger & battery bank w/battery backed pump so we would have pressurized water without having to run the generator Can't tell from the outside there's a well anywhere. |