Story Going Dry

[notyoung]

Prologue


This story Copyright © by the author as of the date of first posting or of publication.


Wednesday, 1 November, 06:00


'This is your talkradio news at 6AM. If you noticed the ground shaking a bit around 10PM yesterday, Dr. Thomas Logan, head seismologist at the state university, has notified us that the area experienced a small earthquake. At 2.8 on the Richter scale, it's so small that many people probably didn't notice it. Dr. Logan said the epicenter appeared to be at the North end of Morgan Lake - that's the end away from the dam - so there should be no disruption of power from Morgan Lake Dam. In other news...'



"You were right, Mr. Wilson - we did have a little earthquake."

"Thank you, Mrs. Wilson. My copy of an ancient Chinese 'earthquake detector' did work and it did point in that direction."*

"The urn with eight dragons?"

"Correct. The trigger mechanism releases the ball from the dragon's mouth to the mouth of the toad below it in the direction the 'shake' came from."

"We'll have no aftereffects, Jack?"

"Sarah, any time there's an earthquake near a lake - even a small earthquake - there's the possibility of the lake's bottom being cracked or split or otherwise damaged in some manner and the water beginning to leak out. That's something the Cherokee County Water System could check easily enough, as there are 'fill level' markers every few hundred yards around the lake."

"The white posts with black numbers on them?"

"Correct. The numbers are feet of water at that point. Any sudden change should be a red flag."



---



Wednesday, 1 November, 13:30


"Didn't I tell you NOT to take any more from tunnel seven?"

"Grandpa Lem, you said not more than one wheelbarrow load. Jake's first little charge didn't give us that much so he doubled it…"

"And what did I say about the size of the charges?"

"Nothing more than that little one that no one ever notices but Jake saw more silver…"

"And Jake's actions were noticed across the county and on the talkradio station this morning! You're both restricted to the property for three months. This has to have time to settle down and be forgotten before anyone goes back in the mine."

"Yes, Grandpa Lem. You want me to tell Jake?"

"No, Jethro. I told him first and I took away all his keys - even the one for the horse barn - so he'll only leave the property on foot."

"He ain't gonna like that."

"You're right. I'm certain that you won't either. Your keys."

"But…"

"Keys, Jethro."

"Yes, Grandpa. What about the water and the fish in the mine? And the skidsteer?"

"We'll have to investigate when things quiet down enough. Meanwhile, neither of you is to be off the property unless with a trusted escort…"

"One of the out-of-work gorillas from the former 'civilian security forces' in the Middle East?"

"Whatever is needed to keep the family safe."



---



Thursday, 2 November, 07:00


'This is your talkradio news for Thursday morning. Our top item this morning is the announcement from the Cherokee County Water System that problems with the pumps will require instituting limited water availability to allow additional maintenance to be done between midnight and 6AM for the next week. Hopefully these hours will cause minimal disruption to most personal and business water users. And now to other news...'



"Jack, is County Water trying to cover up a problem with that announcement?"

"Possibly. Their system has less pressure and flow than usual which could be a pump problem or a problem with the intakes in Morgan Lake."

"Was something affected by that 'little shake' the other night?"

"I'm sure that's a valid possibility but we'd need a lot more information to have a definitive answer."



---





Tuesday, 14 November, 05:00



'This is your talkradio news at 6AM Tuesday morning. Our top item today is the Cherokee County Water System announcement that problems with the system will require all users to boil their water five minutes before using it for the next 72 hours in addition to the limited water availability between midnight and 6AM. The Boil Water order will be rescinded when the problems are resolved. For public safety, we'll be repeating the Boil Water order every hour until that order is cancelled. In other news...'



"Jack, they're talking about the bit of cloudiness in and the odor from the water?"

"Yes, Sarah. The 'cloudiness' is more correctly called 'turbidity' and there are federal limits on that and other things in potable water. I'm wondering if the lake's level is so low their floating intakes are no longer high enough above the bottom of the lake. We need more water backup than the eight 5-gallon jugs so I'll put the WaterBOB in the bathtub in the basement and also bring the 150 gallon tank into the basement and then sanitize both of those with bleach and boil enough water to fill both of them."

"You'll be doing that all day?"

"A good number of hours when I'll be boiling just 5 gallons at a time."

"We have enough LP to do that?"

"Both LP tanks are at 70% but I'll call Buddy Dean to come fill both of them Friday."

"After you're finished with this session of boiling water."

"I'll call while I'm waiting for a watched pot to boil..."

"You goof!"

"Anything to keep you smiling, love. If the 'Boil Water' order lasts more than a couple of days, I'll set up the Sawyer Point Zero Two filter that traps bacteria, protozoa and viruses and an activated charcoal filter for just about everything else. I'll also add 500 mesh and 1000 mesh filters to the input of the filter system to collect most of the small particulate matter and then stack some coffee filters to catch the rest of it."

"Where will you put all that?"

"All of it will fit on a 2' X 4' piece of plywood so it can easily be moved if we must use the water from the 250 gallon tote that collects rainwater for the flowers."

"You think it will get that bad?"

"I don't know for certain, but the 'maintenance between midnight and 6AM for the next week' is at the end of its second week. Either County Water doesn't know what the problem is or they're not telling us the truth. I need to check that all the pieces I bought to hand drill a well after having a dowser out to locate the best places to drill are still usable."



---



* Ancient Chinese Seismometer Used Dragons and Toads - Kids Discover












Chapter 1



Tuesday, 28 November, 20:35



Whoosh!

Splash!

Gurgle!

Whoosh!

Gurgle!

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.



"Jack, did County Water finally die?"

"Yes, Sarah. I think that's the death knell for Cherokee County Water. We've had a supposed '72 hour Boil Water' order for the past two weeks and a 'Limited water availability between midnight and 6AM for a week' notice for most of the month. The 'problem' has been reported to be 'pump maintenance', 'pump problem', 'damaged seals', 'worn pump', 'damaged pipe', 'bad pump motor' and 'frozen pipe' - none of those 'problems' apply to a failure that didn't respond to any of their 'fixes'. I suspect that I'm not the only one who didn't believe them by the third time they 'found the problem'. A little research online finds many aerial and from-the-shore pictures of Morgan Lake over the past month and the lake's level has been dropping visibly from day to day. That's not something you'd expect from a water source that County Water has in their 'Water System Facts' handout as 'Minimum of 90 days supply without additional rain at the County's average usage of 4 million gallons per day' - that works out to 360 million gallons available."

"Jack, we're not in an earthquake zone - it's at least 300 miles to the New Madrid Fault Zone. However, we did have that barely noticed shake of 2.8 on the Richter scale on Halloween night. Is there a connection?"

"Perhaps it's time for me to do some geological research online?"

"Keep me informed. I'll bring up the first of the 5-gallon water jugs while you do research."



We're impacted by the loss of water but we're not in immediate need, as the eight 5-gallon water jugs are filled, the 80 gallon WaterBOB was placed in the tub in the basement bath and filled when the "Boil Water" order was issued and I cleaned the 150 gallon tank, moved it to the basement and filled it the same day - nice to have some big pots when you need to boil that much water. The bigger containers have either a siphon pump for small amounts of water or a small on-demand 12 volt pump that's powered by the battery bank on the solar backup system to get water to the kitchen and bathroom. Those containers add up to 270 gallons. At two gallons per person per day plus 10 gallons a week for a sun shower for each of us, there is more than a month's water that's been filtered, boiled and stored - plenty for the two of us. There are also multiple 12-packs of generic "spring water" from the grocery store for drinking and cooking. The tote for outside watering has 250 gallons of rainwater that could be filtered and made useful but runoff from an asphalt shingle roof needs some serious cleaning to be drinkable - maybe County Water will be back in 30 days and I won't be doing the hard work of cleaning the stored rainwater in that container?

I'll guess that every store that is open at this hour is being swept clean of bottled water - possibly every beverage of any type. Nothing like the "Whoosh!", "Gurgle!" and "Drip." of empty pipes to panic the sheeple. Anything on the TV news...



Bee-Doop! Bee-Doop! Bee-Doop!



That's the SAME weather receiver. What problem are they reporting?



'This is a Civil Emergency Alert. The Cherokee County Water System has been shut down due to water flow and pressure problems. If your faucets are still delivering water, the water should be boiled for five minutes before using it. The current estimate for the water system to be back up is 10PM Tuesday. National Guard water trucks will be at the parking lots of all County parks and library branches at 8AM and 6PM tomorrow to provide 5 gallons per family. ID will be required and addresses will be checked. You will NOT be allowed to get water at both hours and armed County law enforcement will be present to enforce this limit. These are 10,000 gallon tankers, NOT a truck loaded with 12-packs, so you must take your own containers. That needs repeating: YOU MUST TAKE YOUR OWN CONTAINERS!! County offices including the County Courts, welfare offices and public schools of all levels will be closed until normal water flow is restored. Because of the lack of water, only limited care is available at Cherokee General Hospital. Check with your place of employment before reporting to work in the next 48 hours as many will be closed because without running water they can't provide mandated sanitation facilities. Most private schools and childcare facilities are also affected - call to determine their status. Grocery and convenience stores are temporarily exempted from their usual sanitation facility requirement so people can obtain food and water or other beverages. Their restrooms will be locked and sealed by order of the County Commission. This message is also being sent out by Amber Alert and Reverse-911 where available. The local radio and TV stations should have lists of closed facilities before 11PM. As the various businesses, organizations and schools notify the County, their status and hours, if open, will be added to the online list at cherokeecounty.gov/water/outages. This message will be repeated each hour.'


Sounds as though they expected this if they'll have a partial solution in place in less than twelve hours. The big question is - how long have they been expecting this and why didn't they notify the public sooner? Unless this is also affecting the surrounding counties, all of whom get at least part their water either directly from Morgan Lake or from the Cherokee Water System? The next question is where did they find enough water to fill a dozen or more 10,000 gallon tankers? Seems I have more questions than answers. Time to share my notes.



"Sarah?"

"Jack, you have that 'don't shoot the messenger' tone in your voice."

"That would be correct. Here's a written summary of what I've found."



---



"Three other counties have similar status?"

"That's what I found via radio and TV news, listening to the primary NWS weather radio frequencies in the other counties, a few minutes listening to CB channels 9 and 19 and a quick check on the two meter ham band."

"That 'little shake' was a major event? All those counties get at least some of their water from Morgan Lake or Cherokee County Water so I'd expect similar announcements there as well."

"It appears that way right now. I need to do more research on the underlying geology of the area to see if that might actually be the case."

"Your friend at the university?"

"Dr. Thomas Logan is our resident seismologist and geologist and can probably tell me more about the underlying layers of the county and what effects that 'little shake' might have had than anyone else. I'll text him and ask for his opinion - or that might be his confirmation of my analysis."



{Tom, is the loss of water related to the 'little shake' on October 31? If so, how? If not, other ideas about what happened? Thanks, Jack.}



Our only local expert might be very busy so I don't expect an answer soon. Meanwhile, I should sort through the pieces needed to filter and pump the rainwater and be sure we have everything needed and that it's convenient to that 250 gallon tote, when or if it's needed - which I hope is not the case.



---



"Grandpa Lem, where we gonna get water?"

"The pond on the north 40."

"But it's muddy from the pigs getting in there."

"Pigs? I never allow pigs in that area! Who let the pigs in there, Jethro?"

"Jake did."

"Go tell that boy I want to see him NOW!"

"Yes sir!"



---

 

[notyoung]

Chapter 2



Tuesday, 28 November, 23:40



OK, I have my list and it's basically moving the 2' X 4' piece of plywood with the Sawyer filter and the activated carbon filter to the wall beside the door nearest the big tote. The barrels, buckets, pipe, hoses, pumps - including the float collar which will hold the pump's intake so it's pulling water from two inches below the top surface of the water in that tote and water level switches as appropriate for their parts of the filtration process - are also at hand as is the five gallon still if we need to boil that water.

I'm still waiting to hear from Tom but the rumor mill has been grinding out some interesting stories. Alien UFOs pumping the water out to Mars or Alpha Centauri? Sorry, but the pipes would have no support and the cold would freeze the water before it left Earth's atmosphere unless they're heating many millions of miles of hopefully insulated pipe - and you need some serious articulated joints plus pipe that can stretch and shrink because the Earth and whichever "destination" they've chosen are both moving very fast in three dimensions. It seems some people will believe almost anything, as the local talkradio station has had four callers with some version of that rumor in the past ten minutes. The locations of the people calling in did confirm how big an area the water outage affects but I don't want that noise in the background any longer so I'll slip a CD into the under-cabinet clock-radio's slot and have some Christmas music since it's almost December. What are my choices? Two CDs of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, two of Mannheim Steamroller and two of Appalachian hammered dulcimer. How about one of each, dulcimer first?



Bzzt!Bzzt!



A text - and it's from Tom.



{The 'little shake' did damage in a very bad place. Maps, diagrams and spreadsheets on the private section of my website. Don't share these with anyone other than Sarah until I tell you - the powers that be are almost hysterical that no one has ever paid serious attention to a partial geologic survey that was done in 1913. Hope you're OK on water for a month or more. The National Guard's source will likely begin drying up in less than a week. Even the military's reverse osmosis filters can't get clean water from mud. Details on those pages.}



"Sarah, I heard from Tom."

"You still sound like 'don't shoot'."

"Effectively the same status. Read this text while I login on his site."



"His 'a month or more' is not positive - and I don't think the local population will hold together that long."

"I agree. We might be seeing martial law in some areas very soon. Come here and have a look at what the 1913 survey described."



"There are mines and a cave system under Morgan Lake - the lake that all four counties use for at least part of their water source? Isn't that a lake collapse just waiting to happen?"

"It often is - especially if the cave system is made of limestone or gypsum, but there's no info on the cave system's rock type in anything I've seen so far. If it's all limestone or gypsum, we can expect things to disappear into sinkholes all over the area as the on-going rain and runoff erode the rest of the porous rock. However, silver and lead are often found in or near granite so that would be a very good non-porous rock under the lake. We need to know the composition of that rock before anyone makes serious plans. If they're made of some durable rock, Tom's exploration of the possible water capacity of those caves and mines and the expected in-flow from the streams and rivers which feed the lake plus the average monthly rainfall will be useful. My guess in that instance is months for the caves and mines to fill and then the lake will begin to refill but it will also take weeks to months to get the water in Morgan Lake to a useful depth - assuming the caves and mines don't have an outlet which can drain them as fast as the runoff comes in. Some 'we-know-best' County Commissioners had the entrances to the caves concreted over in 1914 'to keep the children safe' so the cave system was never completely mapped."

"We're OK with using the 250 gallons of rainwater collected for the flowers until you can add collection from the much cleaner metal roof of the barn so we could eventually have almost normal quantities of water available... but do you have pumps to pressurize the house plumbing?"

"Two 12 volt on-demand pumps - think RV water systems with only one shower on at a time."

"So shower versus dishwasher versus clothes washer?"

"That's pretty much what you get with one 4.6GPM pump. I need to work out the square footage of the barn's roof and see how much water we could collect from each inch of rainfall and then check the 30-year rainfall records from NOAA and see how much water we'd collect each month. We may not be able to support our typical monthly gallons of usage from County Water."

"No more letting the hot water run until it gets warm before washing your hands?"

"Probably keeping some empty gallon jugs handy to collect that water for other uses."

"If it means having warm showers, I can learn new ways of doing some things. How long until County Water is back?"

"Tom's working on that, but it could be months - if it can be done."

"IF?!?"

"No one knows how big the caves and mines are or whether they have any outlets or how much outflow those outlets might provide - or if the caves are limestone or gypsum and will continue to dissolve from the rain and runoff water going through them and then the lake collapses completely."

"So months before they know if the caves and mines are filling up?"

"Possibly - unless someone wants to try blasting to create some dams in the caves 'so they'll fill up sooner' but that could potentially collapse other parts of the lake bottom or the caves and possibly provide new outlets from the caves. It would be best if someone knowledgeable explored the caves to determine the type of rock and then see whether they are partially filled and if some as-yet-unknown amount of rain and runoff could fill them or if they're just a tunnel to another place - and hopefully before someone in the dot-gov starts making plans to build a new lake on what might be an unstable footing."

"They don't know what they're doing but they want to be seen as doing 'something'?"

"Unfortunately, it wouldn't be the first time in this county - in 1913 they didn't want anyone to explore the caves."

"True. You'll be working on collecting rain from the barn's roof?"

"I'm making my list of parts from the measurements of the barn. I'll hook the big trailer to the 4WD pickup in the morning and go looking for heavy plastic or aluminum gutters and downspouts and a 5,000 to 10,000 gallon water tank - after calling to verify who's open. I expect Perry Lumber will be open, as they use portable outhouses so they can re-arrange things in the yard by season."

"Those don't need running water. Good place to start."

"Thank you for the positive review, Mrs. Wilson."

"You're welcome, Mr. Wilson."



---



"Jack, how is it that we still have electricity if the Morgan Lake is running dry?"

"Because only 6% of this state's power comes from hydro sources, with the dam on Morgan Lake producing about half of that. That 3% of the state's electric power is only noticed if another plant is down for maintenance or during the seasonal peaks of heating in January when Morgan Lake is full and the dam runs at full power, and cooling in August when the lake may be at its lowest and the dam only produces about half as much power. Any shortfall from the hydro plants is currently more than covered by the nuclear plant about 100 miles north of us, the coal-fired plant 30 miles east of us and the natural gas-fired plant about 20 miles south of us. That missing 3% from the Morgan Lake Dam may become important for heating in January when the highs are in the 30s and the lows are in the teens - even more so if we have another January with a week or more of lows in single digits..."

"I remember that! That's the year the furnace died in January and the '3 day' turnaround on the control board took two full weeks. We used the gas logs and the kerosene heater plus some strategically placed fans to make the most of the heat - but we had power for the fans. What if they don't have power from Morgan Lake Dam in the January that's just weeks away?"

"I'd expect they'd either let the power brownout down below 110 volts or they'd do rotating blackouts with six hours on and two hours off - neither keeps you warm all the time but neither lets you freeze to death, although you may have to adjust your usual mealtimes if you cook with electricity."

"We'll not be affected?"

"We'll be inconvenienced but we won't be cold, hungry or in the dark. The solar backup system can easily handle the fridge, freezer and furnace for six hours a day - three blocks of two hours without power every 24 hours. Remember that my solar backup design was for at least twelve hours of backup power. Other than the need to walk down the stairs to the basement and switch things over, it only takes a minute or so to set it up. If we'll be doing that frequently, I'll leave everything connected and we'll just need to turn the inverter on and off and flip the breakers on the transfer switch when power goes off and comes back on."

"You can't automate that?"

"I chose not to automate it so it wouldn't switch over every time there's a hit on the power. Out here, we get trees or limbs in or on the distribution lines with almost every high wind or thunderstorm and two or three lightning hits on the distribution lines every year - the primary reason I installed that whole house surge protector on the breaker panel - so I made the switchover manual. It's only sixteen steps down and sixteen steps back up, so I'll do it if your ancient body..."

"'Ancient body'? I'm only two months older than you!"

"That's such a good target for teasing. Chamomile tea and some Walker's shortbread cookies on the counter by the stove."

"Peace offering accepted - you know I can't resist those cookies. What if there is no sun?"

"We have 20 gallons of treated gasoline in one of the sheds and the small inverter generator runs six to eight hours on one gallon. We 'fill at half' so the gas in our vehicles would be another 20 to 30 gallons depending on which days we filled up. With no sun and the power off continuously, the gen would be needed about three hours in the morning to recharge a full night's usage and perhaps up to three hours late in the day to have the battery bank at 90% or better before dark. But we're looking at just six hours a day without power so the recharge times would be much shorter than when there's no power."

"Forty or fifty days and nights? Should I be thinking 'Biblical level of chaos'?"

"Gas for forty or fifty days and nights if power is off continuously and there is no sun. With rolling blackouts, the battery charger could easily replace two hours of power used from the batteries in the six hours of commercial power before the next power cut if there is no sun. With normal sun, the charging would happen normally during the day and we'd not have to do anything. I hope it doesn't become a 'Biblical level of chaos', but should I tell Noah Grayson to have his boat stocked with food and water, fully fueled and ready to float off the trailer?"

"You goof! We're talking about a lack of water, not enough to float that cabin cruiser! Speaking of fuel: where would we get gas during a blackout?"

"The truck stop at the interstate is about 40 miles away but they do have backup power for their pumps and probably more diesel for their backup generator than anyone else in the state - and remember that we are discussing a 'maybe' event. Let's see what 'The Old Farmer's Almanac' has for our weather in January."

"They're how accurate?"

"About 85% - pretty good for that many months in advance."

"Then I'll see what the Almanac says about January's weather before I decide we're going to be in the dark."

"That sounds like a good start on dealing with 'maybe'."



---




Chapter 3



Wednesday, 29 November, 00:45



Bzzt!Bzzt!



A text - from Tom.



{Best guess as of now: 90 days of "normal" rainfall to finish filling the caves under Morgan Lake, then about 90 days to get it up to a useful level for drinking water supply and then perhaps 3 to 6 months to get the lake "full" for the season and full enough to produce some level of power. Worst case is the counties will need to create at least one new lake which can be fed by the existing sources and install culverts or canals to get the water to that new lake or maybe more than one lake - if they can find enough bentonite to create lake bottoms that can retain water. I'm leaning toward 6 months to know the status of Morgan Lake and then working from that. I think there's a good chance the lake can be repaired - the most recent pix only show one hole at the end of the lake away from the dam so a new dam or levee at that end of Morgan Lake would retain about 70% of the lake's original capacity. I hope you're well armed and supplied for at least a year. Tom.}



"Sarah, you need to see this text."

"Jack, it's after midnight."

"It's important."

"OK. I'm here. What's so important that..."



---



"Next to you, Tom's the most practical and unflappable person I know. If he sees months before water is restored and has already mentioned 'well armed', I think we may be headed for an event of SHTF proportions in this area."

"Unless the state and the feds can provide enough water to keep the people going - and enough money for some major construction - much of the area could be like the Dust Belt of the 1930's: the farms and businesses will just dry up and blow away."

"Jack, I don't think even your jack-of-all-trades abilities will be able to help much with this."

"You're right, Sarah. We can take care of ourselves but we can't provide for every family on this road and certainly not everyone in the county. This flyer from County Water says 80% of the residents get their water from County Water - that's probably every drop they use other than bottled water - and the Guard's '5 gallons per family per day' may keep those families hydrated and fed but they'll be dirty and unable to water even their kitchen gardens next Spring if there isn't enough rain, plus Tom said the Guard's source may only last a week. There are maybe a dozen farms in the entire county that have a small stream or creek on the property but most of those sources don't provide enough water for growing much more than a family garden, and without question not enough for a working farm. Almost none of the businesses can be open without water for sanitation and having 'Johnny-On-The-Job' facilities won't work for most businesses - those are very cold 'facilities' in the winter and there's no place to wash your hands. A lot of people in the county have little or nothing put back for bad times so they'll be looking for new jobs and new places to live in a few days. I suspect the nearest towns with decent water supplies will be getting a lot of wannabe new residents as soon as the 'six months until normal water' announcement is made."

"I agree. We start going visibly armed in addition to the usual concealed?"

"Correct. Better to be safe than sorry. I need to turn on and verify all the electric fences and gates plus the motion sensors."

"Ten hours to walk the fences with the beeper in your hand?"

"About that, but it can be done in segments with the enclosed area closest to the house and outbuildings done when I get back from shopping - after tonight's somewhat short sleep hours - and the other fencing checked the next day."

"Yes, it will be a short night. You ready for bed?"

"As soon as I check that the cameras are all set for 'Record on motion' and 'Alert on motion'."

"Remember to brush and floss."

"You too."



---

 

[notyoung]

Chapter 4



Wednesday, 29 November, 07:45



"Hello the house!"



"Who's there, Jack?"

"Sheriff Pete Dawson, from the logo on the SUV and the size of the guy at the gate."



BZZT!



'Gate's unlocked. Come in, Pete.'

'On my way.'



knock. knock.



"Awfully soft for a law enforcement knock, Pete."

"First, you knew I was there. Second, it's not an official visit. The electric fence is hot from the little flashing light by the gate and you're both visibly armed so you probably have some idea of how bad the water outage is and will be."

"I got my water status info from Tom Logan last night. Coffee or Earl Gray tea from the Keurig? That's something we'll miss during potential future power outages."

"I'll do that. The official announcement of 'possibly three to six months to restore normal water supplies' will be made at 5PM today. I see that you have the big trailer behind your pickup so I'll assume you have a large shopping list."

"More that it's a shopping list for large things - gutters, downspouts, first-flush filters and a 5,000 gallon or larger water tank to make use of the barn's metal roof for rain collection. Some quick calculations from a spreadsheet I found online* plus the county's 30 year rain records from noaa.gov tell me that rain collected from the entire barn roof should provide near-normal water usage for the two of us and a 10,000 gallon tank would be filled in six or seven months. That spreadsheet even has a place to add the amount of water used for outdoor irrigation and that usage can be keyed to the average amount of rainfall in a given month - think water for our garden. I'm planning to put the tank in the equipment area of the barn and run some one inch pipe underground. The irrigation pipe plow should work fine for that and leave minimal evidence behind."

"Just shopping for that?"

"No, I'll also be looking for another kerosene heater and a lot more kerosene - as fallback if we can't get the propane tanks filled next summer - plus several types of fencing and a couple of spare fence chargers. Sarah has her own list."

"No seed?"

"We've always saved the seed from the heirloom plants we grow so we'll have an equally good garden next year and the years after. I may drop the trailer at Perry Lumber so they can load it while we run the other errands. We plan to be back well before that announcement is made."

"Good thinking. Do you think the loss of Morgan Lake will affect electric power?"

"Less than 6% of the state's power comes from hydro but the 3% from Morgan Lake Dam might be important in January when we have a couple weeks with highs in the 30s and lows in the teens."

"Brownouts or rolling blackouts?"

"I'd guess either or both, depending on who yells the loudest. Don't think anyone will be out protesting if the temperature is 31F and we're getting freezing rain. If there's enough freezing rain, neither brownouts nor blackouts will matter until the lines are back up."

"Leave it to Jack to up the ante on how bad things could get!"

"Pete, all I did was answer your question."

"Maybe I was hoping for a more positive answer than I got from the manager at the power co-op about 30 minutes ago?"

"They know their equipment and the area's weather from experience. We've lived here 20 years so I expect my answer was about the same as theirs. I don't yet have a horse in that race - we have enough solar backup power to handle potential rolling blackouts. We can switch things that a brownout could damage over to solar or generator power - or just turn some things off for the short term - if the line voltage drops too much. One UPS alerts on a 10% up or down change in nominal line voltage so we will be notified to switch the fridge, freezer and furnace to the backup system. The clothes washer and dryer just get stopped in mid-cycle as neither the solar backup system nor the inverter generator is big enough to run everything."

"Slight fallback in convenience but you'll still have lights and heat?"

"Correct. We might be using some portable LED lighting, oil lamps or even candles part of the time so we look no better off than most of the county."

"I saw the 'candle lantern' on the counter. How long do those candles last?"

"Their ad says nine hours per candle and I have ten of those candles. Possibly 90 hours of candlelight - that's an hour a day for three months - is a long time when we won't have much light in the areas of the house that are visible to the outside if power is off."

"I'll guess you set the kerosene heater on the tile floor in here and use a ceiling fan to blow warm air down on the tile to store heat."

"You guess correctly. The ceramic tile makes a good heat storage bank, as does the masonry fireplace."

"You'll be using 1-K kerosene?"

"More likely a mix of 1-K and red kero. The more-than-a-dollar-per-gallon difference in price makes it worth my time to do the mix and the heater has a fiberglass wick so it can handle red kero. Before you ask, all the kero is treated with Pri-D to preserve it."

"How much Pri-D?"

"What I remember is just under 2ml/gallon for kero but the exact numbers are on the Pri-D label."

"I can get small syringes in the animal meds section of Tractor Supply?"

"Correct."

"Add that to my list of things to do before 5PM."

"Paper list?"

"People steal phones. No one cares about a scrap of paper in my shirt pocket."

"Sounds like a cop's response."

"I've heard that one from you before, Jack."

"I'm sure you have, Pete. Remember to fill your mug with something warm before you go; it's cheaper here than at any drive-through."

"Better coffee, too. If things don't warm up today, I might stop by for a cup on my way home - if I get home after the announcement. I have most of my deputies scheduled for a 5PM to 1AM shift tonight. If we catch a majority of the troublemakers the first night, things in the county should be much better for the good guys."

"Good plan, but you may have a long night."

"I'm aware that no plan survives contact with the enemy. I have a three day bag in the SUV, complete with self-heating MREs, some Mountain House pouches, a 12 volt coffeemaker - what I’ll use to get hot water for the Mountain House pouches, a sleeping bag with self-inflating pad, three changes of clothes, spare boots and two 5 gallon water jugs."

"How much ammo?"

"Six loaded magazines for the Glock and ten for the AR. Six rounds of 00 in the 12 gauge and six slugs in the sleeve on the stock - plus plenty more of everything in the boxes."

"Plates in your vest?"

"On the seat beside me. They go in before the announcement starts."

"Remember that Alice and the kids would like to have you home tonight."

"They would. Me too. You'll be available until midnight?"

"That sounds like a tactical question but I will be here. I might even be putting the current situation into story format when I'm not otherwise busy."

"How much are you making from ebook sales?"

"Yearly average over five years is almost enough to pay the property taxes."

"That's maybe $900 per year so it isn't much by the hour - but more than when you give the stories away online."

"I do have some loyal readers online - including one who goes by 'SouthernLEO'."

"You would recognize some of the incidents I've mentioned, wouldn't you?"

"Yes, but most of those things could have happened anywhere within 200 miles of here because the 'Sunny South' covers a lot of square miles. I just recognize certain landscape features and some colloquialisms that are specific to the area."

"That's what I get for having a 'spook' for a friend."

"Now, now, Pete. The proper term is 'intelligence analyst'."

"At your level of analysis, that's more correctly 'spook'."

"You stay safe. Stop by if you need chamomile tea or some 'spook' work."

"Probably both before daylight."



---



* www.jecarter.us/files/RWH-calc-modified.xls

The original spreadsheet was from the Rainwater Harvesting Group's files on yahoo.com but Yahoo decided some time ago to dump the thousands of useful files they once hosted. The original author may not appreciate my changes, but a copy of the spreadsheet is still available online.






Chapter 5



Wednesday, 29 November, 17:01



'This is your local talkradio station bringing you breaking news on the hour at 5PM. Our top story is the water outage in Cherokee County and the surrounding counties. The Cherokee County Commission provided the following statement to all news outlets for broadcast at 5PM.'

"The water problems at Morgan Lake have been traced to damage done by the almost unnoticed earthquake on October 31. At 2.8 on the Richter scale, it was tiny by comparison to most earthquakes, but this one did damage to the floor of the lake which caused the lake's water to drain into the large cave system under Morgan Lake. Dr. Thomas Logan, head seismologist and geologist at the state university, has determined that the cave system, which was sealed for public safety reasons in 1914, will have to be opened and explored well enough to determine whether it is a closed system or if it has drains which the water from the lake could exit through. If the cave system is closed, estimated time to fill the caves is a minimum of three months and possibly up to six months. Once the cave system is filled, Morgan Lake will need another three months to fill enough to be useful as a water supply and at least another three months before Morgan Lake Dam would be able to produce power. If the cave system has drains which cannot be plugged, the responsible government agencies will need to either repair Morgan Lake, if possible, or build a new lake large enough to provide water for all four counties and to power Morgan Lake Dam. Construction time for a new lake is estimated to be 24 to 36 months plus the months for the rain and runoff to fill it to a useful level. The Governor has declared all four counties to be disaster areas and has requested assistance from the federal government. At this time, there has been no response from FEMA so there is no time frame for that assistance to be made available. The Cherokee County Commission will provide updates as they are made available by the Governor or FEMA."

'Folks, I think that means we won't see normal water supplies in Cherokee and the surrounding counties for six months to a year at best and for three or four years at worst. Meanwhile, the National Guard water tankers will be in their usual places at 8AM and 6PM each day this week. You must bring your own containers! And now this word from our sponsor.'

'"Need to move to a place with water and jobs? Call us for the best prices on moves under 100 miles. That's 'Two Men and a Truck Moving' at 866-555-MOVE."'



---



I didn't expect anyone to find a positive in the problem this soon but it seems that moving company did. There is water less than 100 miles away but jobs might be a bit harder to find. I'm not sure how many jobs at the "You want fries with that?" level will be available elsewhere after the first day or so of people moving out. Probably not that much housing available either unless the state or the feds bring in some trailers or rent all the motel rooms. The "no time frame for that assistance to be made available" means the folks wanting to move elsewhere had best send out a search party with cash for the deposit and the first month's rent - but most of them probably don't have that much cash or credit. Cherokee County is in third place on the list of the state's ten poorest counties.

Maybe my jack-of-all-trades outlook can help a few people - a tarp, maybe even a shower curtain, could be hung from a clothesline or maybe a tree limb or two to catch dew or rain or snow and take it to a 55 gallon barrel or even a Number 2 washtub - a clean washtub is something that might be more readily available out here than a clean barrel, partly because some folks still bathe in those washtubs. Not a lot of water but maybe enough each month for one or two people? I'll sketch that out in LibreCAD and show it to Pete when I see him again. Those who have a place to stay could collect a little water. I should plug the useful area of a 6X8 tarp in that configuration into the rainwater harvesting spreadsheet and see how many gallons it would provide in a typical December...



OK, with typical yearly December precipitation one tarp can provide two gallons per day, which is double the minimum for survival for one person - some of that may have to be melted but it is water, even if in a somewhat-harder-to-use form. Certainly not as easy as turning a faucet but better than no water. Doubling the number of tarps will double the amount of water collected. Wonder how many will complain when the National Guard tankers stop showing up? Tom did say their source would be dry in less than a week. Maybe have Pete arrange for copies of this to be available during the remaining days of water distribution? I'll suggest that the next time he's here.

The number of calls I've heard on the Sheriff's dispatch frequency in the 30 minutes since the newscast tell me many people were NOT happy to hear that water won't be back Tuesday night as they were originally promised - and a number of them are looking for something to drink: a dozen calls so far about stolen beer. I suspect the current County Commission should be glad this happened at the end of November and not the end of May or all of them would be looking for work - people wouldn't care who made which bad decision, they would just want change if the next election were only a few months away. However, some locals have long memories and they will remember for the next election. Hope those now on the Commission have other opportunities for employment in the future.



---



"Sarah, what smells so good?"

"The beef stew seasoned with white wine..."

"Comfort food!"

"Most certainly. There's also a banana pudding which just needs the meringue browned..."

"More comfort food!"

"I thought we'd both have a better outlook if we had something better than usual and enough of it to have leftovers for a few days."

"Days of comfort food! I'd marry you if you were single!"

"I'd marry you for planning to keep our food stocks high enough that we can have things like this with only trips to the pantry, freezer and basement. The freeze-dried banana slices worked better in the pudding than I expected."

"You rehydrated them with the pudding filling instead of water?"

"Yes. It took much longer but..."

"That gives them more body so the final product tastes and feels more like it was sliced today."

"Texture sometimes makes a big difference in how food 'tastes'."

"Very true. How much longer?"

"About 20 minutes - enough time for biscuits or cornbread since the oven is hot."

"Cornbread - any shape."

"That simplifies things, so four ingredients and a fast stir with a fork and it's into the greased and pre-heated cast iron skillet and then the oven."

"You already had the skillet hot?"

"You want cornbread with the stew 95% of the time."

"You know me too well."

"After 20 years, I should."



---

 

[notyoung]

Chapter 6



Wednesday, 29 November, 23:45



Ring! Ring!



'This is Jack.'

'It's Pete. Need some First Aid before I head home.'

'Gate camera is set to alert on motion so I'll know when you're out front.'

'Plan on being my other leg.'

'Then you need both of us.'

'Probably. Two minutes.'



"Sarah!"

"Sounds important, Jack."

"Pete needs 'First Aid' which probably means our version of an ER - and help getting from his SUV."

"Plastic sheet on the eight foot workbench with the good lights over it."

"Our unofficial 'surgery' yet again."

"Just many fewer times since you retired from being an 'analyst'."

"That job did require some 'hands on' work."

"Hands and a few other things..."



Beep!Beep!



"Camera motion alert. Cover me?"

"You got it: scoped rifle and a 12 gauge."



"How much help and where, Pete?"

"Left side. I think the bullet hit the fibula. I can use the leg a little but can't put my weight on it."

"I think you need County General's ER and an X-ray machine."

"County General was hit by a mob with sticks and rocks. The Guard is camped near there and responded to the noise with loaded weapons. The riot is over - the Guard responded to shots and Molotov cocktails with deadly force: shotguns with 00 buckshot and automatic weapons. A dozen dead people plus several dozen on the ground bleeding and screaming in pain do tend to discourage most riots - but the ER was trashed. None of the survivors could explain why they were there other than 'getting away from the aliens'."

"Maybe you should have gone to Cochise General in the next county?"

"They were also hit - similar explanations."

"Is someone handing out water with LSD in it?"

"Jack, only you could put tonight's impossible events together and come up with a logical answer! Help me inside. Doesn't that Walabot wall scanner detect plastic pipe?"

"That's something I don't remember. It's on the workbench, along with Galaxy S6 phone that works well with it. We can try scanning with it and see what, if anything, we find. Expect to get another dose of the third degree from Nurse Sarah."

"Having an experienced ER nurse in residence is the primary reason for stopping here. What smells so good? I may want to eat before anything else."

"No food for you until after my exam, Pete Dawson!"

"Yes, Nurse. Otherwise I might find myself on chicken broth and Jell-O for two days."

"You still might find yourself on a limited diet. Jack had the FRS radio on VOX so I heard your conversation. Back up to the workbench and we'll help you lie down. Jack, cut the leg of these trousers away so I can get to the wound."

"Yes, Nurse."

"Then get that scanner. Pete, I have some morphine so I'll dose you a little before I start exploring the bones to see if I can feel the damage..."

"Two minutes to la-la land?"

"Not that much morphine. Probably only one 'la' until I know more."

"Still better than I was."



"Here's the scanner."

"Scan the right leg first so we have a good baseline on Pete's bone structure."

"It's ready."

"Knee to ankle, but slowly. OK, I remember when he got the plate on the right tibia from that skiing accident so the scanner does show big things. Plastic bag over the scanner to keep it clean when you go over the bullet's entry wound. Left leg, same speed."

"Ready."

"Scan it. Stop! Back up about an inch. There's a notch in the side of the fibula. Maybe 30% of the bone's thickness? If we were in an OR with an orthopedic surgeon available, that would get at least a plate over it with some screws to hold the plate in place and reinforce the damaged area of the bone. Here, I can clean it out thoroughly, use antiseptic solution to complete the flush, put in some drains, sew up the holes on the front and back of the leg and splint the leg externally while it heals. Pete, you will stay off the leg for at least 48 hours and I have the same crutches you used last time. I'll suggest that you wear some tall boots with side zippers unless you can find a brace somewhere. That bone will have perhaps half its normal strength and one wrong move that you still consider 'normal' could break it. It will hurt to put weight on the leg for at least a week - possibly much longer. The surgeon could also tie you to a bed with a hoist to keep that leg up for several days. I suggest you find some pillows you can use to do that whenever you're sitting down - which should be your primary position for the next week. Or I can talk to Alice..."

"Write me a list of 'Do's and 'Don't's. Alice will tie me to the bed for the next month if you give her a list."

"Good that we understand each other, Pete. Now, here's the rest of that morphine and you can try using the crutches to get to the table. I will refer you to an orthopedic surgeon in a county that still has water. You still might get that plate and screws but that will be the surgeon's decision."

"Don't think I can stop you, Sarah, and Alice probably won't be satisfied until I have it X-rayed. Jack, keep me vertical. I'm not hurting but the morphine has affected my balance."

"Nurse Sarah, I think he gets the guest bed after he eats."

"I concur. After we eat, you can also help him to the spare toothbrush and whatever else he needs and then to bed. I'll put some oral pain meds on the table by the bed. I expect him to wake up hurting after a few hours of sleep. I'll also text Alice that he's alive and semi-functional but that we're keeping him overnight."

"Good enough. I'll call Dispatch and let them know we have him."



---






Chapter 7



Thursday, 30 November, 06:00



'The biggest item on talkradio news at 6AM is the number of people rioting at Cherokee General Hospital and Cochise General last night. National Guard troops responded to both places with automatic weapons as the people kept advancing and throwing rocks. When the rioters started shooting and throwing Molotov cocktails, the Guard returned fire. Medical treatment for the injured was by Guard Medics in hastily erected tents as the rioters had trashed both Emergency Rooms. This morning's count is 73 injured, including Sheriff Pete Dawson who took a bullet to the lower leg, and 16 killed - all the dead were members of the groups that were rioting. Interrogation of the survivors got reasons of "Getting away from the aliens", which got a response of "Is someone passing out water laced with LSD?" from one expert. Cherokee General estimates damages to the building and medical equipment plus the value of the lost or damaged medications and supplies at almost a million dollars. They estimate 90 days for repairs and shipping of the replacement equipment, supplies and meds but the current shipping slowdowns may extend that time. Cochise General estimates their damages at $400,000 but with a similar time for repair and replacement. If you need ER services, you'll have to go to the hospitals in other counties. The Guard water tankers will be in place at 8AM and 6PM today. You must take your own containers. Let me say that again for the people who haven't understood it the previous 50 times it was announced: YOU MUST TAKE YOUR OWN CONTAINERS!'


I guess Dispatch added the Sheriff to the list of wounded before that list was forwarded to the radio and TV stations. Sarah said she heard Pete getting his pain meds around 3AM and that's about when she expected him to need them: she does sleep lightly when we have a "patient" in the house. I expect Alice will be calling soon to check on Pete. I should go wake Sarah so she can handle that call; better to have first-person information for a family member.



---



Sarah did have time for half of her first cup of coffee before Alice called, so my timing was good. Alice spoke to Pete for a minute or two - Pete's responses were "Yes, Dear" about a dozen times. You can probably guess what Alice was saying as well as I can.



---



Ring! Ring!



'This is Jack.'

'Mr. Wilson, this is Chief Deputy Simms. I need to speak with the Sheriff if he's available.'

'Simms, he's awake but I don't know how functional he is on the pain meds. Let me check with him.'

'That's fine, sir.'



"Pete, you up to a call from Chief Deputy Simms?"

"If I don't have to walk far."

"Cordless phone, so you can stay where you are."

"Very good."



'This is Dawson.'

'Sheriff, we have people here wanting to bail out their relatives who were arrested last night.'

'We don't handle bail. That's through the court system and the County Court system is closed while water is off. Tell them to call Judge Taylor at 555-BAIL or 555-2245. He might have thought it funny when he asked for that number but he may regret it today because it's easy to remember. If he gets enough calls, he'll probably set up shop at the jail just to get the calls to stop.'

'I'll do that. We need you back soon.'

'Probably a couple of days. I've already been threatened with two days of chicken broth and Jell-O.'

'You're in serious trouble.'

'Correct.'



---



"Eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage and some five-star coffee. What are you folks looking to get out of me today, Jack?"

"Just doing a meal of comfort food, Pete - Sarah's typical response after a day like yesterday."

"Then I shall enjoy being comforted, at least for a little while. Sarah, will you let me drive myself home?"

"Not before tomorrow and maybe not that soon. I want to be sure no infection has occurred in that hole in your leg which was why you had a temperature check before you were allowed out of bed - and you'll get further checks every two hours."

"Yes, Nurse. I can't fault the care or the food at the 'Wilson Clinic' so I understand why Jack usually wanted me to get him here instead of County General. If only you had an X-ray machine..."

"There's one in the barn, covered with plastic while awaiting replacements for its electronic 'film holders' which are coming from China, apparently by rowboat. I did order twice as many this time."

"But Jack, Sarah still wouldn't have an orthopedic surgeon on staff."

"True, but she could send a consulting surgeon whatever views that doctor wanted and go from there - including tying you down and taking you to the Trauma Center in the state capital."

"If she used morphine, I probably wouldn't care where I was being shipped."

"That's one reason it's a 'controlled substance'. You don't want just anyone having easy access to it."

"Saw more of that than I ever wanted in those kidnappings a couple of years ago. Jack, keep me steady as I crutch my way back to bed. I've eaten enough to make me sleepy in spite of two cups of coffee."

"I think Sarah would say that your body is telling you it's working hard doing some healing and you should go rest."

"For once, I agree."

"You're easy today."

"No, I'm starting to hurt again and the pain meds are by the bed - excellent reason to go there."

"We'll wake you if Alice and the kids drop by or when lunch is ready."

"(yawn) Sounds good."



---



"He's out, Jack?"

"Tired enough to go back to sleep before he took the pain meds. He should sleep OK for a few hours. Do I need to bring up more water?"

"Two more of the 5-gallon jugs. Then go check the electric fences and gates and then work on collecting rain from the barn's roof. If you need help with installing the gutters, I put batteries in the baby monitor and its remote so I can keep tabs on Pete while I'm outside."

"I'll bring up the water and then check the closest sections of fence. Probably be time for lunch then, so after lunch for the water collection project. All four batteries are charged for the drill/drivers so we should make good progress. The ten-day forecast has rain Thursday and Friday so we need to have the collection system in place before then. I can take the empty jug down as I go and fill it from the WaterBOB later."

"You'll wait until after the rain to use the irrigation pipe plow?"

"Somewhat easier to get it through even slightly damp earth."

"True."



---

 

[notyoung]

Chapter 8



Thursday, 30 November, 14:17



"Sarah, I have the first screw in the gutter bracket here. If you can lower that end of this section to the red mark..."

"It's there. You have this run of gutter high in the middle and down a half inch every ten feet to the ends?"

"That's recommended for runs of 40 feet or more. Easier to do things by the book than to have to come back and fix them later."

"I noticed you bought the almost leaf-proof gutters."

"No reason for me to be cleaning these gutters out every year if I don't have to - and they'll keep the water cleaner."

"Good reasons, Jack. Three more screws and I'll be done with this section."

"Then the other half here and the downspouts. You want to check on Pete before we start on the other side?"

"That works for me. Nicer to be doing this at 55F in November than in the blazing sun at 95F with 65% humidity and a heat index of 118 in August."

"I agree. I don't mind doing some things in gloves and these thinner work gloves have a great sense of 'feel' when I'm getting the next screw started."

"They're worth $27 a pair?"

"They are today."



---



"Temperature check, Pete."

"Yes, Nurse."

"Be glad this is the commercial version which reads in 30 seconds or less."



"I am glad. And?"

"You're 98.5. Close enough to normal when you've been in bed the past couple of hours."

"I can leave?"

"Maybe this time tomorrow. I know you won't stop for 'a little achy' so I must be certain you don't have any infection."

"Yes, Nurse. Anything I can do for the next couple of hours? I'm tired of being in bed."

"There's a rake and a shovel for the straw in the barn stalls..."

"I'll read for a while."

"That's what I thought."



---



"Last screw on this end, Jack."

"Now to get the downspouts in place on this side and take them to the end of the barn the tank is in."

"I was surprised that the two of us could move a tank that big."

"Sarah, it helps that the 10,000 gallon tank is relatively thin plastic around a lot of air. It weighs just over 1800lbs so I put the two-ton chain hoist in place above where the tank would be placed, backed the trailer under the hoist, lifted the tank, you moved the truck and trailer out and I lowered the tank down on the platform I had welded up. If you do your homework, you know the height, diameter and weight of the tank you'll be using so you know where it can be placed and how to get it there."

"Yes, Mr. Shadetree Engineer. You should go back to college and finish those few courses you need to get your degree. You'd be happier with that piece of paper on the wall - even if it might mean very little to the people who get everyday engineering solutions from you because 'Jack's ideas always work'."

"You're probably correct on both counts, Sarah. Maybe when my next month's planned project doesn't get disrupted by yet another End-Of-Civilization-As-We-Know-It event in someone else's life?"

"I think that schedule starts on The Twelfth of Never."

"Now who's the goof?"



---



"First-flush diverters in place with their 'dirty' outlets outside the barn. The inlet pipe for the tank stops three feet above the bottom of the tank so any trash in the water will be taken to the bottom of the tank but the inflow doesn't greatly stir up the trash which will accumulate down there - that might be a yearly cleanout chore. The pumps have float collars that will keep their intakes two inches below the top of the water so any floating trash won't easily get into the pumps. There are water level switches three feet above the bottom of the tank to prevent the pumps from drawing 'dirty' water from there and just above the level of the overflow pipe at the top of the tank to alert us that the tank is full and the overflow pipe isn't effective - more likely we'll see that in January when the overflow pipe might freeze overnight. The pumps are powered from the grid when available but they also have what should be about 72 hours of solar-charged battery power when needed."

"Two pumps?"

"If there's a problem with one pump, I won't have to immediately start dumping the water in the tank via the bottom drain to get that water to a manageable level for working in the tank. We'll still have running water and I can bring a collapsible tank to move most of the 10,000 gallons into so working in the rainwater tank will be easier."

"And the filter system for this?"

"In the house, so it doesn't freeze in January. The size of the tank means it probably won't freeze solid and the pipe to the house being about 18 inches below ground level means it won't freeze in our typical winters. I will run the filtered water to the 150 gallon tank in the basement as our 'working' water source so we'll have some level of fallback if everything outside freezes or both outside pumps fail or the big tank has a leak."

"I think that's belt and suspenders more than once but that's totally acceptable - just like having solar backup plus a generator for power."

"My thought also - possibly influenced a bit by having the entire county going dry in a matter of days."

"So now we wait for rain?"

"For this part of the project. I'll put the filter system together in the house and plumb it to the 150 gallon tank and put the pumps from that tank to the house plumbing."

"We'll have running water outside?"

"Yes, but remember the flow will be much less than when on County Water - the outside hydrants were right off the County's meter and at their 'street' pressure of 80PSI or so. That won't be the case when it's all our water."

"No watering from 30 feet away?"

"Only a tiny stream will get that far."

"The soaker hoses and drip irrigation will still work?"

"If we have enough water to use them."

"'Enough water'?"

"The 10,000 gallon tank won't be full the day after our first rain and even when it is full we won't have the seemingly 'unlimited' water of the 70,000 gallon water storage tower a few miles down the road. By the way, that's the oldest and smallest of the half dozen water towers in the county."

"There's some type of water level gauge on our tank?"

"I put some strain gauges into the platform the tank sits on so the tank can be "weighed" electronically and there's an ultrasonic distance-measuring device mounted inside the top of the tank to determine the water level - but I've never used either system before so I'm sure there'll be a learning curve and probably some calibration needed to get useful measurements from either. The strain gauges sound simple as they're just weighing the tank and its contents so why not just say 'Weight of the tank plus water minus 1800lbs for the tank divided by 8.3lbs per gallon of water' but we also have the weight of the plumbing and the pumps - and the tank will expand and contract with changes in temperature and that will have it pushing on or pulling against the relatively immobile plumbing which could change the effective 'weight' the strain gauges see - plus the possibility of rain-carried trash building up in the bottom of the tank."

"You'll include temperature measurements and a 'fudge factor' for them in the software you're writing for the microprocessor that will be driving the 'You have 4,736 gallons remaining' display?"

"As much of that as I have info on now plus any additional corrections after taking notes for a year. Expect the initial gallons display to be only to the nearest hundred gallons - something like 4700 or 4800 - until I have all the calibration data."

"A year? You don't expect any of the 'quick' fixes to work?"

"No, I don't. I think the Cherokee County Commission will try the easiest and cheapest things first - such as the 'wait and see' - and then hold 'hearings' on the other possible fixes and finally, when there is nothing else left to try, they'll call for a vote on a bond issue to cover the major repair on Morgan Lake. I don't know that they'll be able to sell enough bonds to finance that as this county's bond rating is only slightly better than Angola's. Think bake sales and getting grants from the feds a bit at a time. Maybe a year to have enough money to get a formal design started and then three to five years to have money to start construction and then three to seven years to complete construction."

"More than ten years?"

"That's what this prophet of gloom and doom thinks. Can you see any source of millions of dollars that I don't know about?"

"Maybe a gold mine in the caves?"

"And maybe elephants fly in places other than in kids' cartoons?"

"About as likely."



---








Chapter 9



Thursday, 30 November, 18:20



"Leftovers OK tonight, Jack?"

"Always, love, when the 'leftovers' are that great stew."

"Then you go see if Pete's awake and get him to the table."

"Will do. Anything on the 6PM news?"

"A fire flared up at County General while they were clearing out the mess in the ER and they're estimating about $100,000 in damages to the kitchen area and maybe another 30 days for those repairs. Meanwhile, they'll be having meals catered by Sonny's Diner and the fried chicken place."

"If those places can get enough water."

"Both of them have wells that were grandfathered when County Water came in. There's a move on to make private wells legal again and the number of people protesting at each Commissioner's house look to be enough to vote in an entire new Commission. The County Attorney has taken that request 'under advisement'."

"I'd advise them to act quickly or face a recall vote - that doesn't take many signatures and I'll certainly sign their recall petition and vote for the recall. The dowser we had some time ago found several promising places, including one that he thought could easily be reached by hand drilling or jetting a sand point drill. Now seems like a good time to have our own well."

"It would take you a day or two to drill that well with tools you have?"

"Maybe six or eight hours if the water is less 30 feet down as the dowser thought."

"You already have the parts?"

"Of course. Those things last for decades if they're stored correctly."

"Outside pump?"

"The best dowsing location is between the kitchen garden and the house and close enough to the house to plumb it to the house in addition to having a hand pump out there. I can pour a concrete pad around the well casing and build a shed over that pad. With solar panels on the roof of that shed, we'll have another source of pressurized water and we can have a little light in the shed."

"Just like having County Water again?"

"Not if we're using a solar-powered pump. Putting in a grid-powered pump would get us County Water pressure but only if the water source I tap can support that kind of flow rate. That rate could be as low as 3GPM which won't support a high volume grid-powered pump."

"Something you won't know until the well is drilled and the pipe is in place."

"Correct. However, that pump can also feed the filter system in the house and be used to fill the 150 gallon tank so there's always some fallback. If the County Health Department says the well water is safe, its water could go directly to the 150 gallon tank and we'd only need to filter the collected rainwater which would extend the lives of the various filters."

"Sounds like belt and suspenders."

"I agree, but that's much better than a 'Boil water' order or a 'No water' announcement."

"How will you hide a pump house?"

"Put old garden tools along the inside walls so they're obvious when the door is open and lean an old wheelbarrow against the outside - it's just a tool shed that's convenient to the garden."

"You are a sneaky 'spook'."

"No, I'm just hiding things in plain sight. Supper warm yet?"

"Yes. Go get Pete."



---



"Mm-mm! Leftovers!"

"Pete, that's not something most people ever hear."

"Sarah, most people never serve anything as good as this stew as 'leftovers'."

"You might be correct."

"I can go home after I eat?"

"Even with that buttering up, not until tomorrow."

"You're a tough nurse."

"I had to care for Jack multiple times."

"You had on-the-job training in being tough."

"That would be correct. You want your banana pudding cold from the fridge or nuked just long enough to be warm?"

"Warm sounds great! I'll try not to be that excited when I tell Alice and the kids about eating here."

"She might tell you to A) get the recipe or B) rent a room."

"Sarah, I think I'll just say the food was better than typical hospital food."

"She'll accept that, Pete. Mickey D's is better than some hospital food. Meanwhile, look over this sheet on water collection and see if it's something appropriate to distribute at the Guard's 'watering stations'. Tom did say the Guard's water source could be dry in a week."

"Jack, I remember hearing that but hadn't thought about there being no other sources. Enough water for drinking, cooking and limited hygiene - better than no water but some will complain about 'too much work'."

"They probably will. If they're too lazy to do this much, perhaps they should be encouraged to move elsewhere."

"If power was out across the county, the EBT cards wouldn't work and they'd move to a county with power."

"Don't think we'll be in that situation so someone will be dealing with those too lazy to care for themselves."



---



"Anything important on the news, Jack?"

"Pete, they had additional damage at Cherokee General when a fire flared up while they were cleaning out the mess in the ER. Their kitchen is closed for maybe a month and the two local food places with grandfathered wells are catering - good for those businesses."

"I'll bet other people want to get wells now."

"There's a request for that before the County Commission - probably something they should approve immediately as there were enough protesters at the Commissioners' houses today to have all the signatures for a recall petition."

"And you know almost everyone would vote for that recall. You planning to drill a well?"

"As soon as it seems legal. The County Commission has two strikes against them - they didn't immediately tell the people the cause of the water problems or how soon the water would be gone - so they had best accede to the request for private wells or begin looking for new jobs."

"Hungry and thirsty people who can't go to work are very likely to go to the polling places."

"And those voters will not be kind to the incumbents."



---

 

[notyoung]

Chapter 10



Wednesday, 1 December, 04:42



Beep!Beep!



Motion alarm? In the dark?



Wham! Screech!



Hammering and tearing sheet metal?



Time for night vision and then the 12 gauge with the big light. OK, the noise is from the silo by the barn and I see two people there. One of them looks angry. I should get close enough to hear them...



"Bo, I thought you said he had water here!"

"Chuck, I saw them putting up gutters yesterday. The water's gotta go somewhere."



KER-SLACK!



"Oh, sh..."



"Bo and Chuck Jones! Hands behind your heads and interlock your fingers! The first round is 00 buck and the next two are slugs. You run and I'll shoot. Both of you know that I do what I say I will do."

"We do. But where's the water? I can see the gutters but where'd the water go?"

"What water, Bo? It hasn't rained in over a week. Where'd this water you're looking for come from?"

"I'm sometimes stupid when I'm thirsty."

"I think your first three words might be the most truthful thing I've ever heard from you."



"Jack! What's going on?"

"Stupid people trying to get water out of an always dry silo, Pete."

"Sounded like Bo Jones."

"And his cousin Chuck."

"March them over here. I'll cover them while you cuff them. Maybe to that barbed wire fence until a deputy gets here to take them to jail? Shouldn't be more than an hour or two."

"Sounds good to me, Pete."



"Bo, I told you that was the Sheriff's SUV out front!"

"How was I to know it was? I can't read."

"You didn't see the blue lights on top or the star on the door?"

"Maybe I was only looking for water?"

"Maybe you're stupid?"



---



"Back to bed for you, Pete?"

"Maybe after breakfast, Jack. I need to let the adrenaline run down some. Guess I was almost awake from the pain and that 'KER-SLACK' just came through like someone yelling 'INCOMING!'"

"Might have something to do with your time in the Sandbox?"

"Might at that."

"Then chamomile tea instead of coffee for you this morning and some good oatmeal instead of the full spread."

"'Good oatmeal'?"

"Cinnamon, sugar, a bit of nutmeg, some raisins and pecans plus a little orange marmalade on top for decoration..."

"Sounds like another five-star breakfast to me."

"Go wash your hands and we'll have food in five minutes."



"OK, time for me to take the pain meds and go back to bed. Sarah will release me today?"

"If your temperature is in her acceptable range."

"That's the best I'm likely to get. When I called Dispatch, they said about an hour to have someone here to pick up the Jones boys."

"After the first couple of 'OW! That's sharp!' and 'Move right!', 'No, your other right!' they did quiet down. Don't think they'll turn up here again - this isn't a place they expected any law enforcement, let alone the 'big guy' himself."

"'Big guy'?"

"Who else in your organization is six four?"

"I guess 'big guy' is the street reference."



---



Wednesday, 1 December, 06:30



"Pete's not up yet?"

"Pete was up for the excitement just before 5, then he ate a mild breakfast, took his pain meds and went back to bed."

"Excitement?"

"Check camera 3 about 04:40."



"I can't believe they were that stupid!"

"That's why I told you to watch it. I'm not sure anyone would believe me if I just told them what happened."

"Looked to me like both of them became incontinent when they saw Pete on the back porch with his AR."

"Smelled that way also."

"You'll be fitting in a nap during the afternoon?"

"Probably. Might just be time stretched out in the recliner."

"It sleeps OK for an hour or so. Not as comfortable for overnight but it does work for 'Sleep on your back after surgery' because you can't turn over."

"That's a great description of my recliner."

"I'll look for you to disappear for about an hour."



---



Wednesday, 1 December, 12:03



'Your talkradio station has a bit of good news. The Cherokee County Attorney provided this news release for distribution at noon today.'

"The Cherokee County Commission has overruled the Chairman and approved a request for the reinstatement of private wells in the County Water service area. Those with an existing well should have the water tested by the County Health Department. Those wanting to drill a new well should have the well driller contact the county for a permit. Hand dug or hand drilled wells are exempt from the permit requirement but should have the water tested."

'I'm certain that will please some thirsty and possibly dirty people in the county. No word yet from the other counties affected by the water outages. Perhaps the protests and picket lines at the Cherokee County Commissioners' homes earlier today were a factor in this decision?'



"That, and the fact that people were talking about a recall vote. It seems our local politicians would like to keep their cushy jobs."

"Now, Jack..."

"Don't 'Now, Jack' me about this, Sarah. That request has been presented over and over for the past ten years and it's always been denied. This time the request was granted in less than 24 hours - that's pure CYA politics."

"I guess the County's never had that many people directly affected by lack of water - certainly not that many off work - and the commissioners had no idea of how many people were in favor."

"The 'how many people' was very obvious when it took two deputies nearly 30 minutes to clear the road at each Commissioner's house this morning so they could go to the Commission meeting."

"Nothing scarier to a politician than organized voters who are organized against him. How'd you know about the roads needing to be cleared?"

"On CB and two meter ham - some of the people describing the scenes were laughing so hard they could barely talk."

"Anyone get video?"

"At least a dozen people said 'Check my Facebook for a video link' so I think it was well documented."

"Something the commissioners' opponents might use in the next election?"

"The one with the chairman telling the deputies 'Get those idiots out of my way!' might get a lot of airtime just before the next election."

"I think you just described the-soon-to-be former chairman."

"Very possible if the rest of the commissioners don't want to be painted with the same brush."

"You'll start drilling the well today?"

"More likely that I'll start in the morning and have a full day to work on it. I will do all the measuring today and ensure I have enough pipe, fittings, glue and so forth - and some bags of concrete mix for the pad. Perry Lumber should be open and have anything I need."

"Shed construction materials?"

"Plenty in the barn, even some green fiberglass panels for the roof to have at least a bit of no-fuel-or-power-needed light in the shed during the day."

"Tell me when or if you need a hand."

"Will do. You are my favorite gofer."



---



"Jack, why was the dowser's 'less than 30 feet' important?"

"Sarah, that's about the limit of driving a well manually. I do have a Millie sewer jetter head* for the pressure washer and fifty feet of pressure washer hose so 'drilling' 30 feet with the pressure washer is an obtainable goal. I may also be using a mud pump for some of the flushing. The pressure washer only puts out 2.6GPM at 2200PSI but that's adequate for 1.25 to 2 inch pipe. There are some videos on YouTube, such as

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udGhHFv0sTI
. That guy drills down just over 30 feet but he's working hard to keep turning the pipe. In this case, 'less than 30 feet' means it's a DIY project that doesn't need a well drilling rig."

"And you've always been 'the DIY guy'?"

"Since my late Dad gave me a set of tools and a tool belt when I was about five years old."

"He twisted your mind when you were too young to fight back - and you've never looked back."

"Very true. It's nice to have things that work and that I can work on, such as the solar power system."

"How much water will the well provide?"

"Could be a low as the 3GPM** Bob mentioned, but we have a 150 gallon 'pressure tank equivalent' so we won't have a problem with providing the 12 volt pump's 4.6GPM for as long as it's needed. There are very few things which will require having that flow for more than 30 minutes because every faucet and shower head has the EPA 2.5GPM rating and I think each of us will be aware when the other is in the shower."

"True. We'll have to do some educating if we have guests."

"True, if the jetted well is our only source. If the 10,000 gallon tank is even half full, we'll have what appears to be 'unlimited' water for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene."

"Not flushing?"

"I might set up a 1000 mesh filter and pump the flush water out of the rainwater tote. We'd probably be fine using that but it might have a bit of a swampy smell to it from decaying organic matter."

"I guess we work that out when or if we encounter it."

"We could put up 'If it's yellow, let it mellow.' signs."

"We could, but that's not my first choice."



---



* amazon.com/Millie-Pressure-Stainless-Durable-Connector/dp/B082V5XPCP

It uses one jet forward to displace whatever is in front of the head and six jets backwards to flush the displaced material back to the outlet. It's sold for cleaning sewers but appears to have other uses as well. See the previously listed video.



** 3GPM doesn't sound like much water? 3GPM * 60 minutes/hour * 24 hours/day = 4320 gallons/day.



From How much water should a cow drink every day? "There are many factors, but a dry cow should drink 9 to 12 gallons a day. A lactating cow should drink 30 to 40 gallons day." On that basis, 4320 gallons could support 4320 / 12 = 360 dry cows or 4320 / 40 = 108 lactating cows - more than enough for a houseful of people.

 

[notyoung]

Chapter 11



Thursday, 2 December, 05:30



"You'll be drilling the well today, Jack?"

"More correctly, Sarah, I'm 'jetting' the well because I'm using a jet of water - from the pressure washer - to make that hole."

"Yes, Mister Shadetree Engineer."

"If someone else hears you say 'drill' and 'well' in the same sentence, they'll think I have the truck with the tall derrick on the back and can drill wells several hundred feet deep. The dowser was very specific about which areas of the property went to bedrock and which areas had sand or gravel water-bearing layers. I'll be working in his 'mostly sand' area where a 'sand point' well - or a DIY jetted well - is possible."

"The same as 'measure twice; cut once'?"

"Same idea - be in the right place before taking action. The dowser's map is very specific in directions in degrees and measured distances in feet and inches from more-or-less-permanent objects such as the foundation corners of the house and barn. I'll measure to be working in the center of that area."

"You said 3GPM?"

"Could be better but it depends on the water table and the type of material at that level. Bob Hanson obviously thought it was a good location as he guaranteed 3GPM if he drilled and primed the well - or no charge. Great deal at the time if private wells had been legal. I expect Bob will be busy for quite a while now that County Water is officially dead for months and people are again allowed to have wells. If I do the work, we should have a well today. No guarantees but I'll hope that the water table here hasn't changed since Morgan Lake started going dry. I guess it's possible for the local water table to be a little higher with multiple millions of gallons disappearing somewhere underground over the past month."

"How many millions of gallons?"

"Let me think. From memory, Morgan Lake covered about 50 acres at an average depth of about 25 feet and that gives us 1250 acre-feet of water. A quick check online tells me there are 325,851 gallons in one acre-foot so a ballpark number of something over 400 million gallons of water were in the lake. Most of that water has now run into the caves and mines and run out of any drainage outlets those areas may have. Any future rain or runoff will reach the lake's bottom and run out in the same manner until either the caves are filled or the holed end of Morgan Lake is patched or dammed off."

"So you'll only be digging 20 feet?"

"No, I'll go with Bob's number and take the hole down 30 feet to allow for seasonal variations in the water table. I have ten feet of the slitted sand point pipe to filter out the sand from whatever amount of water is down there. We'll start with his 3GPM assumption and that means we'll need to use the 150 gallon tank as in-house storage to always have water available. If the well delivers 8 to 10GPM, we could have two showers and the dishwasher running at the same time if I set up separate pumps for the kitchen and each bath."

"You could do that?"

"If https://www.goldmine-elec-products.com still has the Rule IL280PG submersible pumps or something similar in stock, I can have them in a week or so. Cost is about $35 each including tax and shipping. I'm not aware of the internet, USPS or UPS being down, even if this county seems to be headed for third world status without clean drinking water."



---



Ring! Ring!



'This is Jack.'

'Jack, it's Tom. We've opened up one entrance of the cave system and I could use your expertise if you're available.'

'Now?'

'If possible.'

'What gear should I bring?'

'Mostly your knowledge, but a spelunking setup would be helpful if you think a first-hand look would be better than my pictures.'

'Which entrance?'

'Off the parking lot on the North end of the lake.'

'About an hour OK?'

'I'm burning your time, so whatever works for you.'

'See you as soon as I'm kitted up.'



"You're headed where, Jack?"

"The caves under Morgan Lake. Tom Logan wants an opinion."

"You'll be exploring the caves?"

"He said to come prepared to do so if his pictures didn't provide enough info."

"Our well is delayed?"

"At least until after lunch. We have rain in the forecast for the afternoon and most of the day tomorrow, so that delay might be until Saturday afternoon. I won't be working on the well in the rain because that rain will be filling the big tank and we'll have some amount of running water as soon as I run the pipe from that tank to the house - maybe bury the pipe Saturday afternoon and start on the jetted well Sunday morning?"

"You do well with instant revisions to your work schedule."

"I had lots of practice in my former job."

"So you did."



---



"Well, Jack? Evidence of old mining techniques or something else?"

"Definitely pick and shovel for about twenty feet in from the original entrance. Then what may have been hammer and star chisel work drilling holes for black powder, then dynamite, then more modern explosives put in place using a more powerful modern boring tool - maybe some type of hydraulic-powered drill mounted on a mini skidsteer starting about here? The mine shaft slopes down as it heads under the lake. I want some small chips from the walls and ceiling for assay. You can get the assay done quietly?"

"Absolutely."

"How much dynamite or C4 is needed to create a 2.8 on the Richter scale?"

"Not much... You think someone was mining down here that late at night and got too close to the lake bed?"

"No one at the lake after 8PM unless by special arrangement. Commission Chairman Lemuel Lepinski's family has 'always' been well off and his great-great-grandfather founded The Bank of Cherokee County. We need to check some property records going back well before the river was dammed and Morgan Lake created. Who owned which property and what did the deeds say about mineral rights?"

"You think there's gold down there?"

"More likely silver or something else, based on the historic mine info I've read about this area - the state's history tells us that the Confederate Army made bullets from lead mined in this county."

"OK. I know there are diamonds for the picking on the surface in Arkansas..."

"You're the 'ground layers' guy. What's the structure here and what valuable thing might be found up to 90 feet below the surface?"

"Looks like I have some research to do, but your 'lead mine' reference makes me think 'silver mine' as silver is often found with lead or copper or antimony. I have a couple of grad students who are curious about the area so I'll give them the task of running down property records in the dusty boxes in the basement of the County Courthouse. There's nothing newer than 50 years in digital format - the County Commission 'didn't think it was worth the cost to go back any further'."

"The entire Commission or just Lepinski?"

"That's also worth searching in the minutes of the Commission meetings where that was discussed."

"I'm bringing you to the 'spook' way of thinking?"

"Maybe it's just that you're pointing out what should be obvious. Lepinski inherited that big farm but all they raise appears to be enough corn, oats and alfalfa to feed their fancy horses. I doubt that the income from a small bank covers all their expenses. The County Extension Service might have records of who was growing what and when?"

"They probably have at least some narrative comments, if not official records with actual numbers of bushels or bales."

"How far back do the County Assayer's Office records go?"

"That office was closed about 1960 because 'it was no longer needed' per the County Commission and the records were boxed and moved to the basement of the courthouse."

"Maybe there's work for another grad student?"

"Maybe more than one. I have a Czur page scanner with a foot-operated 'scan' switch so two of them could scan a lot of documents in a day - one looking through the docs for names and locations and the other scanning any potentially useful docs."

"Remember to check for any name related to the Lepinski family - wife's maiden name, mother's or mother-in-law's maiden name, daughter's husband's name, son's wife's maiden name and so forth through each tree."

"Most of the Commission members appear to be proud of their families' long histories in the county so they have at least a five generation genealogy chart in the 'About Us' page online. Those other names should be easy to come by and each researcher will get a printed list in alphabetic order by first and last names."

"Then answer me this Tom: why are we in a dark, damp, cold cave in December?"

"Only until we can get back to the entrance. Thanks for the help, Jack. We keep this quiet until we have a solid case?"

"Yes. Until we know all the family connections to local law enforcement and the local judicial system. This is at least a State Bureau of Investigation case and it might be FBI. Would dynamiting the lake which powers a hydro plant be 'domestic terrorism' and a case for the FBI and/or Homeland Security?"

"Sounds like a good question for my friend who's the FBI's AIC in the next state. He's from New Hampshire, so I don't think he has any connections here. Based on your frown, we'll check his ancestry against those of the commissioners."

"Good choice."



---



"You're back, Jack. The dust and 'sparkles' on your jacket tell me you were underground. Supper will be ready in ten minutes, so go wash up and change clothes and you can tell me while we eat."

"Sounds good, and 'while we eat' is a good time as it's a long story."



---



"You said there were dead fish in the water?"

"That definitely points to Morgan Lake emptying out into the tunnels of that mine or possibly more than one mine - we may need a lot more exploration. Tom will have some grad students doing research in old dusty boxes of paper records in the Courthouse basement to look for assayer's records, old land records and anything else that might point to who has mineral rights where."

"Too much explosive that was too close to the roof of the mine/bottom of the lake?"

"That's the conclusion Tom and I came to. Keep it quiet; we'd like to get the FBI or Homeland Security involved in arresting whoever did that blasting. I don't know that the Lepinski family can cover the cost of a new dam at the North end of Morgan Lake but if they're the ones who've been mining down there, might they find it worth a million dollars a years to not be in prison? I'd guess the minimum sentence might be 30 years and $30 million could be a good start on design and construction."

"Making the punishment fit the crime - I love it! When will we know?"

"Tom took some pieces from the mine ceiling and walls for assay. That should tell us what they were mining. If there's a way to get to the hole at the North end of the lake, maybe see what's under that area and see if an explosion occurred there and get more samples?"

"Sounds good. When will you know more?"

"Whenever Tom does. Might be days to months."

"Then we wait."

"And work on finishing the barn's water collection system - and anything else we think may be needed with County Water possibly off for months."

"I made a list while you were working outside."

"Thank you."



---


Chapter 12



Friday, 3 December, 14:50



Ring! Ring!



'This is Jack.'

'Jack, it's Tom. I had another geologist go with me to explore the hole at the North end of Morgan Lake…'

'And there's been too much erosion from the millions of gallons of water that ran out through that hole to be able to tell what caused the initial damage.'

'You're correct. However, there is a small skidsteer with a hydraulic drill caught at the junction of two tunnels near that opening. Any explosives or their residue would have been washed downstream - wherever "downstream" is - so the skidsteer is the only evidence. We did get the skidsteer's serial number so its ownership can potentially be traced and the FBI is pursuing that as we speak. The analysis of our samples indicated galena in the edge of the hole. The Lepinski's have the mine listed as deposit of galena (lead) and its lead output and associated income have been reported to the IRS in some years.'

'Timeframe for more details?'

'Unknown at the moment but the initial skidsteer sale was easy to track. That skidsteer is more than ten years old so its ownership history may be convoluted.'

'Understood. Lots of loans and trades that go on out in the country and there is zero documentation on many of them.'

'Exactly. More when I know more. You have that well dug yet?'

'On my list for Sunday. But jetting instead of digging.'

'Jetting?'

'Using a "Millie" sewer cleaning head on the pressure washer to blast a hole in the dirt and then pump that fractured dirt and mud back up the pipe.'

'How long?'

'About a day. My dowser said there's water less than 30 feet down between the house and the kitchen garden.'

'Tell me how that works. I may want to do the same. How much water?'

'Dowser said he'd guarantee 3GPM if he put the well in so he expected a useful amount of water.'

'You have his number?'

'Have his card in the house. I'll text you the number when I find the card.'

'Thanks.'



---



I see Bob Hanson's card under a magnet on the side of the fridge. I need to text that number to Tom while I'm thinking about it.



{Tom, dowser is Bob Hanson. 555-WATR or 555-9287.* Jack}

---



Bzzt!Bzzt!



Text from Tom.



{Jack, the assay indicates the silver content of the ore makes it worth mining and smelting. The FBI has involved the IRS to check for any reported income from the mine's silver production. The original purchaser of the skidsteer is a distant relative of the Lepinski family. Tom}



That should produce some results when the IRS turns up on Lemuel Lepinski's doorstep. That part of this little drama might be fun to watch.



---



* Telephone keypad layout: Telephone keypad - Wikipedia

 

[notyoung]

Chapter 13




Sunday, 5 December, 13:30


"Jack, you've been out here for hours! Time to stop for lunch."

"Sarah, jetting the well here has been a slow but relatively easy job. I'm down about 20 feet and starting to get a lot of sand in what's being flushed back up."

"Flushed?"

"I'm collecting the returned water from the jetting operation in that kiddie pool and doing limited filtering so I can use that water to flush the hole at low pressure but high volume to wash the bigger stuff up to the top."

"Another three or four hours?"

"Good guess. When the sand point is down 30 feet, I'll flush and prime with clean water for a few minutes and then put a pump on the pipe to the sand point and see how much water the well can provide."

"And you'll do that how?"

"With a five gallon bucket and a stopwatch. The seconds to fill a five gallon bucket can be converted to gallons per minute."

"Makes sense. Come eat and take a break of at least an hour. Your ears look very cold. Maybe wear the 'Sherlock Holmes' hat with the ear flaps when you come back out?"

"Perhaps the deerstalker hat is appropriate today. The position of the flag tells me the wind has been increasing…"

"And the wind chill temperature has been decreasing. Inside for hot soup and hot tea."

"Yes, Nurse."



---



Sunday, 5 December, 17:30



"Jack, do you still have enough light?"

"The rechargeable Feit LED work lights are more than adequate. I need to check for a 12 volt pump with higher output than this 4.6GPM pump - the five gallon bucket was filled in 65 seconds which converts to 4.6GPM so that's all the pump can do. If I don't have a bigger pump, I do have another of this size pump and I can connect both of them to the well pipe via a 'Y' fitting and see how much water the two of them can pump."

"Do you need a gofer?"

"Yes - and I'm always glad to have you in that job."



---



"Well, the time to pump five gallons with both pumps running works out to 8GPM. The sand point well can supply a shower and the clothes washer or two showers at the same time with a little cushion."

"How much cushion?"

"Getting a glass of water probably won't affect the flow. Flushing a toilet at the same time two other outlets are at full flow is more than the well can supply but we have the 150 gallon tank as a cushion. With separate pumps for each shower, the clothes washer and the kitchen and bathroom sinks, and using the flower bed water tank for flushing, we'll have what seems like 'normal' water flow. We'll just need to be aware of how much water we're using. I think the 150 gallon tank needs a remote level meter."

"You have that?"

"I still have a replacement gas gauge sender and float for the pickup I sold a couple of years ago and it can be adapted to work. It will be a 'Press to read" gauge so it's not using power continuously. I should add an audible alert when that tank is down to 50 gallons or less."

"Power requirements for that?"

"It can run off a couple of AA cells for whatever their shelf life is."

"Couple of years?"

"At least."



---



"Jack, is there any news about Cherokee County's water status?"

"Try the talkradio station, Sarah. Clock says it's 7:59PM so they should start their 'News on the Hour' in a minute or so."



'This is your talkradio news at 8PM. Tomorrow the National Guard will begin bringing water from Lincoln County, the nearest source that can fill their tankers daily. Water will be available at the same parks and libraries at 8AM and 6PM and you must have you own containers. Let me repeat that: BRING YOUR OWN CONTAINERS! As before, you will ONLY be allowed to get water once a day and that limit will be enforced by armed law enforcement who will be checking photo IDs and recording vehicle license numbers.

'In other news…'



"I guess that tells us there is near zero progress in getting anything repaired."

"Certainly no progress mentioned, Love. It seems my assumption that 'the Commission will wait and see' is being proved correct."

"How long can the people hold out without the County Water system?"

"Not long. There are double the number of 'For Rent' listings in the local media - paper and electronic - and the 'For Sale' listings are up at least 50%..."

"What will that do to business in the county?"

"Certainly nothing good. I'll guess that a fourth of the small businesses won't exist in another six months - they've been running on some rather thin ice financially and losing that many customers will hurt. From the 2020 census, the average size family in a rental property in this county was five. If the grocery stores lose five mouths to be fed for every empty rental, that might be an appreciable part of their business. Grocery stores run on a very small profit margin, something between one and three per cent depending on the item - they make their money on the volume. If there's not enough volume to pay the staff and keep the lights on, that store closes. With so many businesses closed for lack of water, people are like rats deserting a sinking ship - they don't care where they're going, as long as it's a place with water and jobs."

"That's not a good outlook for the county as a whole."

"It's not. People have always congregated where there was a reliable source of good water whether spring, well, stream, river, lake or whatever. Consider the number of place names with 'Spring' or 'Lake' in them."

"You're right - Palm Springs, Hot Springs, Silver Springs, Lake Mead to name just a few."

"Those who could acquire their own source of water weren't part of the 'looking for water' group but they became suppliers of farm products for those people."

"We'll be feeding some of the locals?"

"Not likely, considering that we consume most of what we produce each year. We might become suppliers if we wanted to farm a lot more acres, but the best package to sell in that event would be a package of food with enough water to prepare it and wash it down."

"A CARE package of food and a five gallon jug of water?"

"Or whatever the numbers work out to be. But then you have people without funds and unwilling to work for food who would try to take it by force - burials by backhoe require a lot of work."

"So they do."



---



Sunday, 5 December, 19:05



Ring! Ring!



'This is Jack.'

'Jack, it's Pete. Had an interesting conversation with FBI agents Mason and Toliver and Treasury agents Dodd and Hall today. Seems Lemuel Lipinski will be greeted by all four agents tomorrow morning and he'll be escorted to the State Police barracks near Juniper for what will probably be an all day event. They also have warrants for his grandsons Jake and Jethro as those boys were seen coming from the direction of the lake just minutes after the "little shake" on Halloween night.'

'That's good news. Did they reveal any details or was it just a 'courtesy call' before the confronted Lipinski?'

'Mostly a courtesy call but the IRS is investigating the source of some large amounts of silver that have "appeared" in the markets the past three years. Sounds to me like they'll be talking big money.'

'Enough to finance the design of the dam or whatever they come up with to fix the North end of Morgan Lake?'

'Dodd mentioned "eight or nine figures" but nothing in more detail.'

'Pete, eight figures is $10 million and nine figures is $100 million so perhaps Lipinski could be persuaded to provide a large portion of the design costs?'

'I hadn't put that into dollar terms. The IRS got the gangsters of the 1920's and 1930's on income tax fraud so there are precedents. You think the old man might try to buy his way out of prison?'

'The County doesn't have the money to fix what the Lipinskis broke so having him pay for it seems reasonable to me.'

'Jack, that would probably also seem reasonable to Lipinski's lawyer.'

'And that's where it will all hinge. If the lawyer says "Pay up or go to prison" I think even that old penny-pincher will pay up.'

'Just don't tell anyone else. Dodd and Toliver said not to tell anyone but I'm confident you wouldn't give Lipinski the time of day.'

'Only if he paid interest on it.'

'Good one, Jack!'

'I'll share it with Sarah but her opinion of Lipinski is no higher than mine. That family will hear nothing from us.'

'Talk to you later, Jack.'



"Sarah, I have some interesting news to share about the Lipinskis."

"Something like the 'Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin' in the book of Daniel but with 'Belshazzar and his kingdom' in chapter 5, verse 25 replaced by 'the Lipinskis'?"

"You're reading my mind."



---



"Jack, the forecast has an inch of rain Tuesday and two inches Wednesday. How many gallons is that?"

"I need the spreadsheet on rooftop water capture. Set the capture efficiency to 95%. Set the area to 288 square feet. One inch of rain gives about 160 gallons collected from that much area. Two inches would give 320 gallons collected. Adding those together, we get 480 gallons. Each of us can get two gallons per day for drinking and cooking and ten gallons per week for a two-bag sun shower. Over 30 days, that's 120 gallons for drinking and cooking and about 100 gallons for showers which is 220 gallons of the 480 gallons collected in two days' rain which leaves us with a cushion of 260 gallons for other water needs. With no additional rain, we'd have basic water use covered for the next month. Assuming a total monthly usage of 300 gallons to cover washing dishes and clothes and so forth, an average year's rainfall should cover that usage and have 3900 gallons in the tank at the end of the year. Obviously, I need to add in water usage for animals or garden but our basic water needs are more than cared for. Water for chickens could be collected from the metal roof of their coop - just need the gutter under the low side of that shed roof and a 55 gallon barrel for collection. Bigger animals need more water but we can work that out as we get animals - if we get animals. I'd expect to find some cheap or free animals on Craig's List when people figure out they can't water their animals on the five gallons per day the Guard is providing."

"Chickens are relatively low maintenance if you put out the gallon-jug waterers and put out feed to keep then busy while you collect the eggs, Not sure that I want anything bigger."

"We have pasture for a couple of cows if you want to raise one for meat and keep one for milking."

"Let me think on that overnight. It might be nice to have our own source of milk but what will it cost to get a beef butchered?"

"Maybe a quarter of that beef? The butcher needs to feed his family and barter is hard to tax."

"So it is. I'll still sleep on that."

"Then we can discuss more food in the morning. Breakfast sounds like a good time to discuss whether you want to keep a pig to grow your own bacon and sausage."

"And you'd be asking that question while I have hot, crispy bacon in my mouth?"

"Just being sure you're sufficiently fed to give an answer."

"Sounds more like being sure I'll answer in the way you want to hear."

"Would I do that?"



---






Chapter 14



Monday, 6 December, 17:59



'This is your talkradio news at 6PM. Sheriff Pete Dawson has shared with us that Jake and Jethro Lipinski are in FBI custody facing charges of 'domestic terrorism against a power production facility' for the damage that was done to Morgan Lake on 31 October. wThey are alleged to have used explosives to try to get silver out of an old lead and silver mine that is under the lake. The Lipinskis are further alleged to have used too much explosive and opened the hole at the North end of Morgan Lake which allowed 99% of the lake's water to drain into that mine. There is reportedly some negotiation in progress for the Lipinski family to pay for the repairs to the lake in lieu of the boys each spending life in a federal prison. The estimated cost of repairs is in the range of 20 to 50 million dollars. We'll keep you updated as new information becomes available.'



"Jack, does that mean the lake's bottom can be repaired?"

"Sarah, I think that means they'll try to build a dam on the side of that hole that's toward the existing dam so they will have a lake with about 70% of the original capacity. That means that the total power available from Morgan Lake Dam will be reduced but I'll have to ask Tom Logan in his official capacity as to how much reduction that will be and how long it will take to A) build the new dam and B) fill that 70% of the original lake."

"We can expect brownouts and/or rolling blackouts in January?"

"Probably. Depending on how many people have left Cherokee County and the other affected counties, the power needed for winter heating might have been reduced enough that the loss of the 3% of the state's power that Morgan Lake Dam has historically provided in January might not be a problem. That's another question for Tom…"



Bzzt!Bzzt!



"Speak of the devil. It's a text from Tom."

"And?"

"His estimate of the number of people who've left the affected counties is 1.5% of the state's population. That, plus the 'Farmers Almanac' forecast that this winter's average temperatures will be 5 to 7 degrees above average, might be enough for the power companies to manage with only a few brownouts and/or blackouts. I think that's something that should be classified as 'we'll know it when it happens'."

"You goof!"

"But I will have things set up so the switch to and from backup power is just flipping a few breakers. If we know or can guess the schedule for any type of brownout or blackout, the sensitive and/or expensive things will be on backup power well before the expected changeover."

"Guess the schedule?"

"If we can figure out the low temperature that will cause them to start doing brownouts or blackouts, we can check the hourly weather and switch to backup power an hour or so before the brownout or blackout starts."

"What about the other people in the state?"

"They'll either be wise enough to turn their electrical devices off before a scheduled brownout or blackout and to not turn them back on until ten minutes after the power comes back or they may be looking for some expensive new appliances."

"Who will tell them?"

"I asked Tom to make up a one page handout on 'What to Do to Prevent Damage from Brownouts and Blackouts' and then see if the local radio station will sponsor the printing and the remaining local businesses will distribute those flyers."

"Doing things that will keep people in the area and keep those businesses in business. Tom's good at persuading people to do things that are good for their businesses so those flyers should be available almost everywhere."

"That's what I'm hoping. There's not much else we can do to improve things for everyone in the 'dry' counties."

"I think that might have been an historical pun because all of these were 'dry' counties before Prohibition and some of them after, at least until the older County Commissioners died off."

"Correct."

"Historically correct or correct that it was a pun?"

"Historically. Hysterically, if you thought it was funny."

"You goof!"

"Made you smile."

"So you did. It's just the two of us tonight because I let Pete go home but I texted Alice with his status and limits."

"Pete won't be happy about that."

"No, but he will be forced to take care of himself and Alice has a phone number to set up an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon in a county that still has normal water flow. Taco soup is on the stove and will be ready in less than an hour. Taco shells, biscuits or cornbread to go with it?"

"Taco shells tonight and cornbread tomorrow night."

"That's what I had planned."

"You know me too well."

"That happens if you live with someone 20 plus years."

"So it does."



---



"Jack, you mentioned possible damage to the water intakes for the water treatment plant and the water intakes and the turbines at the dam from low water, possibly very muddy water and the probability of trash in the water. Any status on those?"

"They've done some wade-through-the-mud inspections of the water intakes at the water treatment plant and some maintenance video camera "walkthroughs" of the dam's water channels and while they've cleaned both as much as they can, they won't be certain of any damage until they have enough clean water to start things up again. Tom said those will be phased starts with only one intake at a time being tested at either facility when the water level is high enough."

"So time to build the new dam to block off the holed end of the lake and then time for the lake to refill means two or three years before they can even do real-world testing?"

"That's what Tom thinks and he's our most accurate construction time and weather guesser."

"So potentially some brownouts or rolling blackouts during peak heating and cooling seasons for at least three years?"

"That's his best guess. Looks like anything I put together for this winter's brownouts or blackouts will be semi-permanent."

"The lack of water means the county's population won't return soon?"

"Possibly not at all for some of them. If they found equal or better jobs and housing, they'd have little incentive to move back here."

"Does that mean some of the troublemakers will stay wherever they moved to?"

"We can hope so, Sarah. What? You don't want to be wakened again by someone trying to get water out the silo at 2AM?"

"That would be correct. Will the FBI and IRS discussions have any effect on The Bank of Cherokee County?"

"Tom hasn't heard anything yet but banks rarely do well when their head honchos are found to be less than honest with the IRS and the big depositors are very likely to move their money to a bank they consider 'safer'. I don't think the Lepinskis' bank will be seen as a good place to do business when the details of the mine hit the news."

"We'll be moving everything to the Cochise County branch of BOA?"

"That's may best option in the short term but I need to do some additional research on the other banks out here. Nice to have no loans on anything: property, vehicles, farm equipment."

"We did have some cornbread and milk days early on when we chose to have ten versus twenty or thirty year loans on some things but 'no loans' is a very good place to be."

"Sarah, have a glass of milk to toast that 'very good place to be'."

"Skoal!"



---





The end.

 

[feralferret]

Excellent story, notyoung. Thank you.

 

[larry_minn]

Very good. The terrorism charge would be tough. If so the parents would be arrested as well?. But good start of a story.

 

[kyrsyan]

Very good. Thank you.

 

[hiwall]

thank you

 

[sssarawolf]

Thank you, it was great to have a story to read.
Yes I had chores to do but the hot water pipes are frozen down in the spring house under our bedroom. Whoever put in the instant hot water heater before we moved in put the pipes to it right against the concrete wall with no insulation. We have a heater down there pointing close to the pipes and other precautions but the -18 deg. last night did us under. Dh is down there with a heat gun.

 

[moldy]

Small town nearby just issued a warning for limited water due to really cold weather and a leak. Your story is very timely.

 

[seraphima]

Very good scenario,not one I've seen before. Thank you!

 

[notyoung]

thank you

Read a couple of your books last week.

 

[Laurane]

Thank you, it was great to have a story to read.
Yes I had chores to do but the hot water pipes are frozen down in the spring house under our bedroom. Whoever put in the instant hot water heater before we moved in put the pipes to it right against the concrete wall with no insulation. We have a heater down there pointing close to the pipes and other precautions but the -18 deg. last night did us under. Dh is down there with a heat gun.

A way North of you we hit minus 52F with wind chill on Friday night & bought power from Sask, BC & MT to stop our Grid failing.... Still had rolling outages for several hours across Alberta. Happened again Saturday night with Alert & Sunday night for a couple of hours.

Scary times as temps haven't moderated & it is still
Minus 43F with windchill. Glad you found your fixable problem

 

[Laurane]

Enjoyed the details.....they won't be back to normal for a while

 

[Griz3752]

Somehow this one snuck by me but, found it now . . . . . . .

Thank you

 

[Sportsman]

Thank you. Interesting possibilities to consider.