Water shortages - rationing - what are your coping strategies?

[spritsail 604]

So this week no water supply for past 36 hours, rest of weeks, 4pm to 6 am only . Rumours are might continue most of the summer, and if El Nido then rest of year. Texted my friend in Cebu and there, neighbours no water for a week.

 

So whats the best coping strategy, - buy lots of jerry cans, have a well with working pump ( i have but pumped f..ked), limit bathing to a bucket a day etc.piss in the garden so not to use CR water, girls only one shampoo a week, only one pot of tea a day) build a desalination plant. ?

[Paul 55,114]

Rainwater harvesting

 

By the way, I found a very good project to build a chlorination system, including templates, added to the folder linked to, above. 

Add a charcoal filter to the water system prior to the water going into the house, and it will be as good as havin' cotton in Augusta.

Edited May 31, 2014 by Paul

[HTM 5,426]

4000 liter water tank!

[Paul 55,114]

4000 liter water tank!

 

4,000 liters is okay - for the short term. As westerners, we would be surprised as to how fast we can go through 4,000 liters. For those who are metrically challenged - that would be about 1,050 gallons. 

 

Edited May 31, 2014 by Paul

[Raven 629]

I got a 1000L storage tank and I think we have enough for 3 days normal use

[Alan S 4,607]

4,000 liters is okay - for the short term. As westerners, we would be surprised as to how fast we can go through 4,000 liters. For those who are metrically challenged - that would be about 1,050 gallons. 

 

 

That is US gallons.

 

It is only 880 British gallons.

[broden 57,115]

in a real emergency you want a gallon of water a person a day.

so how ever long you think it would take you to reestablish supply of clean water is how much water you should work on keeping on hand

[Knowdafish 1,772]

There seems to be no shortage of water here in Dumaguete, but it is expensive at 90 centavos per gallon. We cope by using a public hand pump that works very well that is just a short walk a way when needed. 

[Paul 55,114]

That is US gallons.

 

It is only 880 British gallons.

 

Alan, I hate to say this, but Americans are confused enough by the metric system. I didn't want to confuse them more, by mentioning imperial gallons.

 

After all, the Brits would already know this, right?  

Edited May 31, 2014 by Paul

[HTM 5,426]

 

 

4,000 liters is okay - for the short term

 

 

It lasts a long time for us, I use

 

[Paul 55,114]

I won't be missing any showers. That's why I calculated out (roughly, based on past local estimates) how much rainwater we can collect on our extended roof at the farm. It's all corrugated 7v tin (GI Sheet Galvanized Iron).

 

 

Over the course of a (typical) rainy season, we could collect enough rain water to last us an entire year. So, even if we went an entire rainy season without collecting a single drop, we could still use about 50 gallons of water, per day. But, realistically, we can use about 100 gallons per day.

 

 

For every inch of rain, we can collect about 318.50 gallons of rainwater.

For every millimeter of rain, we can collect about 47.50 liters of rainwater.

 

Of course, the more collection area you have, the less rainfall you actually need in order to catch and store water. 

 

---

 

What I am getting at here is, it wouldn't take a lot of work, but would take a bit of money, to set a system up to do just that.

Edited May 31, 2014 by Paul

[Headshot 29,350]

So this week no water supply for past 36 hours, rest of weeks, 4pm to 6 am only . Rumours are might continue most of the summer, and if El Nido then rest of year. Texted my friend in Cebu and there, neighbours no water for a week.

 

So whats the best coping strategy, - buy lots of jerry cans, have a well with working pump ( i have but pumped f..ked), limit bathing to a bucket a day etc.piss in the garden so not to use CR water, girls only one shampoo a week, only one pot of tea a day) build a desalination plant. ?

 

Well, it sounds like you have two choices. Either drill your own well, so you can supply your own water, or get everybody together around a bonfire and have them all do a rain dance (you might want to have a witch doctor lead the dance if that's what you decide to do). It has been raining here in Mandaue just about every night for the last couple of weeks, but it doesn't matter much to me because I use option number one. As long as I have power, I have water. Even without power, I still have what's in the storage tank (1100 liters).

[spritsail 604]

I had a well dug around 3 to 4 years ago, 60 ft deep but needed a 1.5 hp pump to pump vertically 100 ft to reservoir tank(500 lts). At the time we had been disconnected from the neighboring barangay supply (politics) as we were deemed not to be in the barangay. It was fine but the wife who moans continually about the cost of electricity only used it sparingly. When we were connected to the mains supply from Sagay ( Camiguin) she stopped using it altogether.  As a result the pump seized up and the armature windings burnt out. Now our mains supply is about as much use as a piss in a pint pot have to get a new pump. Moral of the story, always run a maintenance test on a pump once a week to prevent it from seizing up.   

[maccydee 612]

We live next to the Salcon power plant in naga & they pump water from an underground well at a serious rate. The pipe just happens to run beside aunties house so I installed a saddle clamp & a valve to the pipe. It then goes to a 1 hp pump that then pumps it up to our house to a bank of 8 x 55 gallon drums piped in series. The barangay water supply was a joke so we told them to shove it, the power station provides water for the locals to collect from a stepped down supply pipe at certain times of the day. I installed the clamp at night so the locals didn't get upset that we have a pretty much constant supply if we need it.

[Paul 55,114]

 

 

Moral of the story, always run a maintenance test on a pump once a week to prevent it from seizing up.

 

Or, decide which one of you are going to be the man in the relationship. Now is a good time to teach her the result of her actions (being thrifty), and how they have now cost you more money than the power would have, over time.