Water Management/Rationing Plan

For the Monkeys at store water and do not have a well, do you have a water management/rationing plan? After talking to a person that experienced Hurricane Michael, I have stepped up my water rationing plan.

We know that one gallon per person per day is the motto. Storing gallon jugs runs the risk of occasional floods because those milk jugs tend to fail. One gallon per day but I know there will be days that the gallon will not be used or consumed. While the milk jug gallons are not good for long-term storage, I have a few empty ones. These will act a measuring water usage. Each person will have a jug with their name on it. Start of everyday, the jug will be filled. If the event is during a snow storm or rain, then my water storage will not be used as much. But during summer, dry times I need to get a solid plan.

I have been making a list of what I use water for and now am working on a plan to know what to do if I need to conserve/ration. Most events that people deal with are short-term (a few days) but what if you have to go all of February without water? Or what if something happens and you have to spend July and August w/o water? Those that have wells and streams have an advantage but I think they would have a water management/ rationing plan also. Just remember you may have a stream near but someone up stream may be dumping waste into the water thus contaminating your supply.Are you ready? Do you have a plan?

 

I have a dozen or so old used 5 gallon distilled water jugs from work, used to water the forklift batteries, plus 3 water "office cooler jugs" for drinking water.
I keep them full.
Beyond that there really isn't a plan.

I see all these people scramble when there is a boil water notice or a water outage.
That's not going to be me.
We have a water outage here about once a month because of the improperly installed PVC water infrastructure.

 

My plan is progressive - I allow for more water usage initially then restrict when/if the outage persists. For first two weeks I allow for five gallons per person per day (hydration, food, personal hygiene, toilet flushing). For the net two weeks, three gallons per person per day, and after that one gallon per day. Don't forget your animals in the food and water equation. Another consideration is how long to you stick it out before you split. If you are rural you might want to stick it out, but in an urban/suburban environment if water (and other services) don't get restored in, say, a few months or even weeks.

 

Oh yeah I forgot I have the 260 gallons in the hot tub.

Yeah if the water is out for a day like normal I will use my 5 gallon distilled water jugs to flush the toilet and normal stuff.

If there is a bright flash in the sky and all the power goes out I will be a little bit more strict.

 

Luckily, I work in a food manufacturing facility, so containers abound. Conservation is nothing more than habit.

 

Water,Water everywhere here!

 

I am of the opinion that any thing I buy in a resealable container is capable of serving me with water for as long as it lasts, even if I have to resort to zip lock baggies .
My son worked in a restaurant that used milk in the box .about 3 gallons .the double bags inside could tolerate a fall from the counter undamaged . so he saved them for me and I washed them out and reboxed them and filled them with treated water.
I save milk jugs and orange juice jugs and other containers that will get filled as water is filtered during an event . I have more significant containers up to 2,000 gallons worth some standing full and some that water flows through them to things I use regularly like feeding the chickens or doing laundry .
Even stagnant water is useful and or can be purified and I believe having water even dirty water is better than not having any.

 

Probably will need boiling if one is to drink it,Other than that fine for gray water usage

 

Alternate water sources -
This is Ship Creek, just a few minutes walk from the house.


flows year around and is the water source for the local military bases.

 

Long term storage water comes from the dehumidifier and is stored in either 1952 era Aluminum Marine Corp 5 gallon cans with good gaskets. Or late model Plastic 5 Gallon units.
Short term storage water comes from a reverse osmosis machine in town.
Long term source is from rain water from the shop roof.
Last is the Lake.

 

That creek is a good application for the Ram pump. self powered water pump.

 

This calculator uses the one gallon method for everything which I think is a bit light

Water Storage Calculator
@3M-TA3 has a more realistic grip on water storage

 

Hurricane Florence was a good exercise. I didn't use nearly as much water as I expected. Having to tote the water yourself helps with conservation and discipline. Biggest lesson was how efficient it was to refill the toilet tanks for flushing. I had a mark inside the tank, so I knew just how much water was needed, and eventually adjusted my water level in the fill bucket so I wasn't carrying in more than was necessary. It helped maintain a bit of normalcy. This sure beat the old Marine Corps way of pouring water quickly into the toilet bowl. We used this technique during water rationing overseas when we were on a one-day-on three-days-off schedule. It works, but requires strength, timing and practice. Without all of these elements it'd be much more efficient to fill the toilet tank before you need it. And safer, if you've never practiced doing it.

Since I work in a location without potable water and have to drag everything in with me, I find dollar store packs of baby wipes to be great water savers. They store well, don't leak, and last a long time.