Farm1 wrote:
> "Ema Nymton" > wrote in message
> ...
>> On 8/27/2012 6:05 PM, Kalmia wrote:
>>> Hurricane tip: fill a large, clean, trash barrel with water. and
>>> put the lid on it. If you lose power, you can set this barrel in
>>> the sun after the storm and at least not have to take cold showers.
>>> Don a bikini, soap up a use this warm water to rinse.
>>>
>>> Filling the bathtub is for toilet flushing and maybe some hand
>>> laundry. Even if you don't need it, you can use it for flushing
>>> later. For cooking, I fill clean, bleach-sanitized jugs with water. I
>>> keep a collection of about 30 clean jugs on hand and sanitize at
>>> the beginning of the season. Push to shove, I guess I could drink
>>> it too if desperate. If I don't lose my running water, then I just
>>> dump the 30 gallons into the washer and do a cold wash. Drought
>>> conditions mandate this, plus my water bill.
>>>
>>> I've been without elec. for long periods, and I'll tell ya, I'll
>>> take water over elec. ANY day.
>>
>>
>> Good advice, thanks. After a hurricane, our water is seldom turned
>> off, but you might have to boil the water before you can use it. We
>> have a gas water heater, so we can still take showers. Our
>> electricity has been off for 3+ weeks, though. That is the worst
>> part, especially in August when it is 99 degrees outside.
>
> I must admit that I can't see the cause for quite so much faffing
> around.
> I live in the country and we supply our own water and only use or
> have acess to what we store ourselves. This water is in the form of
> rainwater. On our house we have at tank (USian is 'cistern' I think)
> that holds 5,000 gallons and that is used for drinking and showering
> and clothes washing. We have a garden tank that is filled from a
> bore that is used for flushing and garden water.
>
> We never treat this water in any way. During the 10 years of drought
> we had here, our housetank ran out perhaps on 2 occasions and when
> that happened we had to pump water up to the housetank from the 5,000
> gallon tanks on either the shearing shed or the machinery shed. These
> tanks have held rainwater for years. It sits there untreated
> and unused till the housetank runs out. We've never had any problem
> using it. But then it is stored in the dark without any possibility
> of vermin entering the tanks and any excess inflow just runs out of
> the overflow. Perhaps the overflow serves ins oem way to keep it
> refreshed, but I'd have my doubts about that since if flow in at the
> top of the tank and also flows out again at the top.

I have read about such cisterns but I have also read that they can be loaded
with bacteria. It's a good thing we don't have to depend on rain water
here. We'd be very thirsty!