If you’re anything like me, or the thousands of other people in our country working to become more self-sufficient, research will tell you that a good private well is the gold standard for access to water. However, sometimes that just isn’t possible. Maybe you’re in an area of the country that doesn’t work well (pun intended) for drilling, but you still need access to water in the event of an emergency.
Let’s take a look at a few alternatives that provide solutions for both long- and short-term situations.
Storage. The storage of water has been around for centuries. Fortunately, our methods have evolved beyond clay pots, and there are many modernized solutions to help ensure you will have water when you need it. We will never advocate that water storage is the end-all be-all solution for access to water because, like any other non-renewable resource, it has a rate of consumption and an end. If you are only interested in having enough water for a few days, look no further than your local grocery store. Buy around 1.5 to 2 gallons of purified water per person for each day you want to be prepared for. This will allow you to perform the minimum functions of hygiene, drinking, and food preparation. For a family of five, for example, a week's worth of stored water would be between 52.5 gallons (7 x 5 x 1.5) and 70 gallons (7 x 5 x 2). That’s a lot of gallon jugs to store, so you might want to consider larger 5-gallon storage units for space considerations. If you want to take a more in-depth approach, have a look at any number of stackable 30- to 55-gallon drum containers for water. Simply fill these and store them. Although water purification tablets aren’t a bad idea to have on hand, I would recommend considering a high-volume water filtration system—like a Berkey, for instance—that can filter around 6,000 gallons of water per cartridge. On the other end of the spectrum, outdoor large-scale water storage solutions are also available, up to tens of thousands of gallons. While having access to 20,000 gallons of stored water would certainly provide some level of peace of mind, unfortunately, without the ability to renew that resource, it’s only temporary. As you evaluate your needs, consider whether or not water storage is right for your situation.
Other water sources. Obviously, we live on a planet with a surface composed primarily of water. Yes, most of that water is salt water, but nevertheless, we are surrounded by this life-giving resource. Fresh water on the surface is generally never too far away and can be in the form of collected rainwater, ponds, creeks, rivers, or lakes. If you have reasonably close access to one of these resources, then the remaining two questions are (1) how do you access or gather the water, and (2) how do you filter it so that it’s safe for consumption? The first question can be solved with a bucket or container in most cases in an emergency. However, what if you’d like a longer-term and more reasonable way to gather the water? If electricity is available, then there are several pumping solutions on the market to provide a mode of transporting the water from the source to your home or location. However, if electricity is not an option, then you might consider one of our Flojak Ready systems. These are flexible, easy to transport, and as long as the end of the pump is below water, you can easily pump water from the end up to 200 feet away and have access to water to fill containers or even pump into your existing water infrastructure. Like the first section on water storage, there are many different high-volume filtration options out there on the market. Do a little research and choose one that works for you and your family. Then make a plan for how you’re going to easily access water from a nearby surface source and filter it so that you don’t have to worry about not having water in an emergency.
Friends or neighbors with a well. Did you know that over 10,000 new water wells are installed every week in the United States? And that there are over 23 million wells that already exist? This means that the likelihood of being close to an existing water well is pretty good. Do some research and network with your local homesteading or farming groups, and politely ask about access to a well in the event of an emergency. If someone close by owns a well, and you have the green light to access it, you might ask or offer to install a manual backup well pump in the well so that everyone involved has access to water when needed. A Flojak Rigid or Ready would be a perfect solution.
The bottom line is that, thankfully, water shouldn’t be something you have to worry about in an emergency as long as you do a little planning. Yes, it would be nice to have a water well and be able to check that box, but sometimes that just isn’t in the cards, and that’s okay. Just make sure you have a plan that includes peace of mind. Feel free to give us a call if you have questions about planning, and one of our team members would be thrilled to help you walk through that.