CHAT Well, my city water is gone

AlaskaSue

AlaskaSue

North to the Future
Dennis Olson said:
I have 25 gallons in carboys.
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Hm, I have a ton of water stored and fairly easy access to water all year long - but never once thought about using all the carboys around I've found around here. Sigh, guess I have a chore tomorrow - It's either that or start learning how to brew porters and stouts ;) Interesting that you guys don't have water stations in towns like we have up here. Maybe because so many have dry cabins I guess - but one can get a lot of potable water in about every little village - or of course dip your own to treat.

Meanwhile, you're in my prayers. I know you know how to deal but it's a lot easier not having to!
 
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Satanta

Satanta

Stone Cold Crazy
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AlaskaSue said:
Hm, I have a ton of water stored and fairly easy access to water all year long - but never once thought about using all the carboys around I've found around here. Sigh, guess I have a chore tomorrow - It's either that or start learning how to brew porters and stouts ;)

Meanwhile, you're in my prayers. I know you know how to deal but it's a lot easier not having to!
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Wines and small-batch Distillation, for Hand Sanitizer, you know.
 
WriterMom

WriterMom

Veteran Member
Using snow as a water source is a difficult task. One year we had a water main break on our street and were without water for maybe 15 hours. We had plenty to drink and cook with, but I tried to melt snow to use for the toilet. It seems like 50 pounds of snow yields 3 ounces of water when melted (which took FOREVER to melt)....okay, that's obviously an exaggeration. But I vowed never to use snow again as a water source.
 
SpokaneMan

SpokaneMan

Veteran Member
The easiest thing to do would be to move to Northern California. Plenty of fresh and thawed water all year around, and we never get a hard freeze. The worst we have is fires, but I'd bet that sounds pretty good right about now to our southern friends here. Maybe a little to late, but when I lived in the INW I had a 750 gallon inflatable swimming pool with it's own cycling thing of a jigger to purify water. I kept it in my basement ready to fill at all times.

As a side note, if you can get yourself a few 55 gallon blue barrels of food grade material, you can fill them up before hand. It takes 5.5 teaspoons of non scented bleach to each 55 gallons of water for purification.
 
E

ejagno

Veteran Member
Our city has been without for 4 days. I am so very thankful I opted out of city water and kept my water well. It pisses me off that we still have to work with no running water, which means no toilet flushing. They will allow you to clock out and go home to use the bathroom. That's BS.
 
N

night driver

ESFP adrift in INTJ sea
AH.

If'n ya axe anyone in Grape Country, a Carboy is a 5 gal jug.
A Demi-john is a 2 1/2 gal bottle, usu plastic but some purists still have 2 1/2 gal glass.
 
T

Thunderdragon

Senior Member
I have a farm which used to run off a well forever - but when rural water showed up - the well was never used. I decided to reopen the well and install an old school non electric hand pump on it - which did not cost very much money at all. it cost a little extra to get it pained red lol. I went and checked it out after days of temperatures below 10 degree. Damndest thing. It WORKED! Not exactly sure how deep the well is...and I did not think it would work in this weather. Power at the farm house never went out (it does have two full size fireplaces and is a fairly small house - 1000 sq.ft. on main level) with a full basement. Good to know..for future reference.... the water pressure is very poor at the old school hand pump thing - but...at least it is something.
 
FaithfulSkeptic

FaithfulSkeptic

Carrying the mantle of doubt
I haven't been following the TX weather any more than being aware of some winter storms, but I had no idea the cold has sustained long enough to freeze the water mains. Damn! So you move south to escape the crappy MN/WI winters, only to get prolonged blistering heat in the summer and still cold enough weather to do this. Unbelievable.
 
X

xtreme_right

Veteran Member
AlaskaSue said:
Hm, I have a ton of water stored and fairly easy access to water all year long - but never once thought about using all the carboys around I've found around here.
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I completely forgot about our growler collection. 1/2 gallon each so we can store 6 more gallons.
 
Milk-maid

Milk-maid

Girls with Guns Member
Mark D said:
I like the "Water BOB". They fill the tub, keep the water clean, and you can easily pump the water out. No need for extended water storage if you have any kind of "Heads Up" about whatever the emergency is.
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That's what I have too. Great idea whoever thought of it.
 
DryCreek

DryCreek

Veteran Member
Satanta said:
My Bro, his family and the folks are S.E. of you-closer to S.A. but out a bit. Their wellhead froze a few days ago.
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Happened to me as the temperatures dipped below zero.
The solution was a heating pad draped over the top of it and covered by old towels and a blanket.
We were fortunate in that our electric co-op would cycle us on for an hour and then off for 30 to 45 minutes. One power cycle was enough to thaw the wellhead!
 
Siskiyoumom

Siskiyoumom

Veteran Member
SpokaneMan said:
The easiest thing to do would be to move to Northern California. Plenty of fresh and thawed water all year around, and we never get a hard freeze. The worst we have is fires, but I'd bet that sounds pretty good right about now to our southern friends here. Maybe a little to late, but when I lived in the INW I had a 750 gallon inflatable swimming pool with it's own cycling thing of a jigger to purify water. I kept it in my basement ready to fill at all times.

As a side note, if you can get yourself a few 55 gallon blue barrels of food grade material, you can fill them up before hand. It takes 5.5 teaspoons of non scented bleach to each 55 gallons of water for purification.
Click to expand...
We are in Siskiyou county, we have snow and hard freezes. We have the blue water barrels as well. Hubby dies not like them and insists we can go to the creek to haul water in pockets. That is a big nope for me.
 
SpokaneMan

SpokaneMan

Veteran Member
Siskiyoumom said:
We are in Siskiyou county, we have snow and hard freezes. We have the blue water barrels as well. Hubby dies not like them and insists we can go to the creek to haul water in pockets. That is a big nope for me.
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How funny. You are actually telling the folks in Texas, Oklahoma, and the rest of our Northern Region friends that California gets hard freezes. Are you trying to make them feel better? LOL. Iv'e been in E. WA, North Idaho, & Western Montana. Those are the ones that get hard freezes. 7 month winters, ya know? I can't wait till the folks from Minnesota and Michigan to chime in. Also our Canadian members. I've lived more than half of my life in the frozen tundra and I prefer not to be cold any longer LOL.
 
R

raven

TB Fanatic
My opinion is we are not only entering the Grand Solar Minimum
we are entering it during Peak Idiocracy
while Darwin's Law of Survival of the Fittest is being held in abeyance.

the prognosis is not good
 
AddisonRose

AddisonRose

On loan from Heaven
I filled my tub but the drain couldn't hold it. Lost all the water by the next morning. Pulling out the bladder today.
 
Panner

Panner

Veteran Member
One thing to remember when opening the valve at the bottom of the water heater is that you may not get be able to shut it off completely later. Those valves are cheaply made, and usually plastic. If you haven't been opening it on a least a yearly schedule sediment made get in the valve. I have seen this happen many times. Best thing to do when you replace a water heater is to install a new metal ball valve, less of a chance for problems. Water heaters should always be flushed yearly, but when you move into a new place you never know if it was ever flushed.
 
phloydius

phloydius

Veteran Member
Dennis Olson said:
But all this confirmed what all of us already knew: in the event of an emergency, we are completely on our own.
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Didn’t feel it was worthy of it’s own thread, but we had the same confirmation. In 8 days we had a total of 15.5 hours of power (and 14 hours of it was in one time). Temps inside the house (at some locations) fell into the upper 20’s, but most of the house was in the low 30’s. Watched with sadness on the rare instance when cellular internet functioned how desperate & unprepared people were out there. We were on a water tower, so haven’t lost water yet (but it is so low, probably will tomorrow) - but every neighborhood directly next to us did & is still without water.

One really bright spot was also noting how many people seemed willing to take risks to show kindness to others (offering strangers waTEr, couches, setting up power charging locations at the end of drive ways, giving rides to elderly strangers, and delivering food or water to others, etc.). Saw the same thing in Houston during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Although in a indefinite crisis it may play out very differently...
 
T

Terrwyn

Veteran Member
SpokaneMan said:
How funny. You are actually telling the folks in Texas, Oklahoma, and the rest of our Northern Region friends that California gets hard freezes. Are you trying to make them feel better? LOL. Iv'e been in E. WA, North Idaho, & Western Montana. Those are the ones that get hard freezes. 7 month winters, ya know? I can't wait till the folks from Minnesota and Michigan to chime in. Also our Canadian members. I've lived more than half of my life in the frozen tundra and I prefer not to be cold any longer LOL.
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I've seen it 30 below in Upstate, N.Y. and we never lost our power once. We also had a ton of snow and because we lived near a military base in the country our roads were the first to be plowed. Ice storms galore and as long as you dressed for it no problems being outside. We also had studded snow tires but even so there were some hills you just couldn't negotiate on ice. I am having a hard time believing this is happening in our country without an attack of some kind.
Makes me want to add something to my preps. Just don't know what.
 
Z

zeker

Has No Life - Lives on TB
KFhunter said:
In extreme water shortage, you do your business outside in a private area.

I have a foldable toilet seat, dump in a bag or on the ground, take care of it later.

If you got a campground not too far away do your #2 there.
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havent had running water in the 12 yrs I have lived here

I collect the rain water and only filter kitchen water

I had always went to the prov park for my showers

very early in the morning b4 staff shows up for work

this yr.. covid has determined that the prov park did not have showers

not sure about the flush toilets or the laundry

the park has dozens of 'outhouses' scattered about

never went to the park to see if their outdoor faucets were operating
 
homepark

homepark

Resist
When I was living in an all electric home and on a well, I learned some important things during a 2 week period when power was off more than on. I have more than one way to heat. I keep lots of water on hand for flushing. I also have a dry toilet that uses WAG bags. I have accumulated a lot of those over the years. I keep a lot of drinking water on hand also.
 
Z

zeker

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Hometown said:
I hate to hear about water problems. This won't help now but good little future plan for more than one reason. I freeze 2litre bottles or gallon juice{not milk} jugs of water. Stick them all over in the freezer. If the power goes out holds food longer or you can thaw to use in emergencies. I do have a 2000 gallon tank hooked to my gutter but always have to drain for a few months in winter. For drinking or cooking have to filter. When I bought here didn't have water we hauled 450 gallons at a time from a spring down the road. Now I have my own spring. I know about water problems.
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I have always wondered why folks buy ice for camping

just freeze 2 ltr btls of water

not only do you have a mess-free cooler

but you have cold clear water for use in camp kitchen

freezing 2 ltrs of orange juice is also good

except it makes really shytty coffee :spns:
 
Dennis Olson

Dennis Olson

Chief Curmudgeon
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Posted on: February 19, 2021

Water Service update

Water Treatment Plant Update February 19, 2021 8am

Electric service has been restored to the water treatment plant and operations were able to continue uninterrupted through the night. By 4am, approximately 1/4 of town starting to see water service. Elevated tower was at 15’. Typical full water level would be 170’. City work crews responded to 5 calls for meter turn off due to broken pipes. System users may see red or brown water due to naturally accruing sediment disrupted from storage areas. Boil water notice remains in effect.




Posted on: February 19, 2021

City Hall Phone System Operational

City Hall Phone system is operating this morning 2-19-2021

(It’s been out all week.)
 
P

Pinecone

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Hey Dennis, do you have water in your motorhome? I know you are supposed to winterize them, but since it rarely gets this cold in TX I was wondering if you did or not, and if not, do you have water in it? At least maybe you could get warm there if you lose power, too.
 
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