Water is our most precious element. We need it more than food if we are to survive every day of our lives. We need it in every aspect of our lives, from staying hydrated to keeping clean to producing food. There is no way a person can survive without water.
Here in America we waste more water each day then some other countries do in a week, a month or even a year. We act like we have an endless supply of water that will never run out but that is not true. California has a water shortage right now and just look at how long Texas had one too. Lakes dried up and became dust bowls just like they did in the great depression.
Here in my own state our one big lake level has dropped 5 feet in the last 20 years. Now five feet may not sound like much when it comes to a lake but when the lake is as big as this one that means it's lost trillions of gallons of water in the last 20 years. Sound like a lot now?
Droughts can happen at any time. They can last for a few months to a few years. You never know when one will happen or how long it will last or even where it will happen. A once water rich state can suddenly find itself a water poor state at any given time in it's history. Once lush areas can suddenly become nothing but dried up dust bowls. Top soil is lost and erosion sets in causing all the vegetation to die out which in turn causes loss of wildlife. Losing grazing land causes a loss of livestock for farmers. It is an endless cycle that causes nothing but hardship for anyone and anything living in the area.
Droughts prove one thing very glaringly. There is no such thing as an endless supply of water. We can lose our water at any time in any place. Even though it is a renewable element we can never tell how long it will take for it to renew itself. It can take weeks, months and some times even years. We really need to think about conserving water.
Now with all the above think of how things will be if SHTF and the power grid goes down. Water would no longer flow through the pipes of cities to the homes. Wells would no longer work since there would be no power to run the pumps that bring the water into the home. Humans would be in dire straights then, especially those that depend on a city water supply.
If you are lucky enough to have a well on your property or a stream, pond or small lake you will be lucky. If not you will need to haul water and collect rain water in order to survive. You can not depend on either way alone as there will be times you can not safely haul water and times when there will be no rain fall for long periods. Having both means of getting water will make life easier for you.
Another thing you will have to do is learn to conserve the water you do have to make it last as long as possible. Hauling water and cleaning and treating rain water takes a lot of time and more resources that you can not afford to waste. Learning to conserve water now will help you later and also now. If you are on city water and learn to conserve it you can lower your monthly water bills. Woudn't that be nice?
Below is a list of things that I do now to lower my water bill and conserve water. They are also ways you can use to collect water if a SHTF event does happen.
You turn on the hot water to run a sink of water to wash dishes. You have to let the water run for a bit before it finally gets hot and in the mean time all that cold water is just going down the drain and being wasted. I put a big stock pot or a clean mop bucket that is only used for collecting water in the sink and save that water. Why waste it? All that does is waste money out of your pocket in cost of water bills or the electric it costs to run pump. I save this water to fill the other sink with rinse water and if there is any extra I will either fill more water storage containers, use it to fill the washing machine, water my house plants or water the garden. My kitchen sink is a long way from the water heater and it can take up to 5 gallons of water running before I get any hot water. Next time you are running water to wash dishes collect the cold water coming out first to see how much you let go down the drain. You might be very surprised at just how much it takes.
When we take showers or baths ( mainly showers ) we put a 5 gallon bucket in the tub to collect the cold water and use it to flush the toilet a few times. Or if I am going to wash a load of clothes that day I pour it in the washer. I keep one of those small plastic tubs that you get when you are in the hospital in my bathroom sink. When washing our hands we let the cold water run in that and then add the water to the 5 gallon bucket. Once the water is hot we wet our hands, turn off the water, wash our hands well with the soap and then turn the water on long enough to rinse our hands.
When brushing our teeth we fill a small glass half way with water. Wet our brush, add toothpaste, brush our teeth, rinse our mouth and use the rest of the water in the glass to rinse our tooth brush. A quick rinse of the glass and we are done. We each have our own glass in the bathroom and they are color coded.
When taking showers we turn the water on long enough to wet our hair and body then turn the water off. Shampoo our hair and completely wash our bodies then turn the water back on to rinse off. We use 1/4 of the water we would use if the water ran the whole time we were washing up. My son works in a factory and gets pretty dirty so he needs to take a shower every day when he gets home but my husband and I are disabled and unable to work so we don't need showers every day since we don't really get dirty. Every other day we take a sponge bath and on the other days we take a shower. A gallon or two of water is plenty for taking a sponge bath.
When I am canning I save the water I use in the canners to water my house plants or the garden. I can get double use out of it and save on my water bill at the same time. :) If you use vinegar in your canning water then you might want to reuse the water to kill weeds that you do not want. Make sure the water is hot though as there is not enough vinegar in it to kill weeds but might harm house or garden plants. I am not too sure if the vinegar will or will not harm house plants and garden plants.
One more way to conserve water is to collect the gray water from your home and use it to water a garden. This one can be tricky because if you live in a city that has regulations against it you will have to find a way to do this without the city knowing about it. I will let you decide if you want to do it or not and come up with your own way to do it if you decide to try it.
When it comes to watering your lawn and flowers it can take a lot of water. The best way to conserve on water is to plant trees and shade loving plants in your yards. Even small trees can make enough shade to keep your grass and plants green and in need of less water. Mulch will also help the ground around plants retain water and keep it from drying out so fast. The bonus is less weeds to pull. :)
If you have sunny areas in your yard, why waste money watering grass that is of no real benefit to you? Put some raised beds in that area and use it to grow your own food. You will still have to water the area but by using mulch around the vegetable and herb plants you will use less water and save on your food bill too.
Set up a rain water collection system. Hang rain gutters on your house, garage, and even sheds if you have them and collect the water in rain barrels. This water can be use to water your gardens saving you money on your water bill or electric bill. And if SHTF the rain water can be used for drinking, cooking and cleaning once it has been treated. There are many places on the internet where you can learn all you need to set up a good rain water collection system. You can go big or you can go small, either way will be of great benefit to you.
One more important step is to learn how to make any water safe for drinking, cooking and cleaning. Again there are many places on the internet that can teach you all you need to know about how to do it. Check them out and learn. If SHTF and you have to haul water from some where or use rain water you will need to know how to make it safe or you could kill yourself or others or at the very least make someone really sick for awhile.
So for your sake and the sake of future generations learn how to conserve water, how to collect rain water and how to purify water to save on your water bills and water levels now, increase your water storage and have save water at all times.
Prepping Granny