Survival: Prepare Before Disaster Strikes. Barbara Fix

before purchasing.

      Warning: Water containment barrels cannot be used in below-freezing conditions, as the barrels will expand upon freezing and split. At the time of this writing Washington, Utah, and Colorado state officials have decided that rainwater collection is illegal. Apparently these States have gone on record by claiming the rain “belongs to someone else.” Who that someone was is anyone’s guess! Expect to see playhouses and sheds go up whose roofs connect to downspouts.

      Water Wells

      If you are fortunate enough to have a well, you should plan for a manual hand pump. That way, in a grid-down situation when your electric pump is rendered useless, you won’t be looking longingly at your well house, water just beneath your feet, with no earthly way to retrieve it. In northern climates, look for a frost-free model. They are available online and at hardware and home improvement stores. Quality manual pumps don’t come cheap, however. After researching which style worked best for my area in North Idaho, where winters often bring sub-zero temperatures, it lead me to a frost-free model that cost $1,500.

      Just after emptying my bank account for that frost-free manual hand pump, I stumbled upon a water containment cylinder online at Lehman’s for a mere $49. It holds just under two gallons of water and has to be lowered into the well with a rope, but hey! At least a person can collect water without having to break the piggybank.

      Do-It-Yourself Water Well

      If you’re interested in digging your own well, go to Fred Dungan’s site “An Inexpensive, Do-It-Yourself Water Well” that gives very thorough step-by-step instructions on a DIY well for under $500: