Excellent article - reminds me to make a "pigtail" to power my well pump with a generator.
If isolation does set in for rural areas, my mate and I would welcome it. We like the farm lifestyle and we don't like uninvited company.
Something else to consider - books. We like to read and have a fair-sized library. We've spent many pleasant evenings after hurricanes and Ice storms reading via Aladdin kerosene lamp.
Thanks for reading. That's a good idea about building a library. What kind of books would you put in it aside from fiction for entertainment. I think there's another post in that topic where it'd be good to have certain reference books handy for if the internet goes down.
One book I would recommend is “Medicine for the Outdoors” by Paul Auerbach, MD. Now, there are two books with this exact same name and I have not read the other one, but I can back the Auerbach book. For ages people have recommended “Where There is No Doctor” but I find the Auerbach book to be more up-to-date and comprehensive. When he mentions a medicine he gives the scientific name and then the commercial name so you can ask for it at the pharmacy.
Another book is “Conversational Spanish” which was actually my high school text book. There are many books on this topic. Now, regardless of the politics of immigration if you live in a rural, agricultural-oriented area there are a number of Hispanic folks around and if they are good neighbors, it’s sometimes helpful to speak their language if their English is not perfect.
Now, keep these in your reading room - you know, the small room with the porcelain throne. While sitting there don’t just scroll on the phone, read a few pages of medical info or Spanish lessons. It’s amazing what you can pick up if you do this daily. And if you aren’t in there daily, read the chapter on intestinal and digestive problems.
If your farm or business depends on machinery, I bet you have a number of repair manuals saved as PDFs. Go ahead and print them out and put them in a three-ring binder. I keep around 500 gallons of diesel on hand at any given time so I will break something before I run out of fuel.
I hit a local used-book store whenever I am in town and if I see a bargain, I pick it up and put it on a pile of books I plan to read. I haven’t reached the bottom yet. Latest is “Canning by the Pint” which demonstrates small-scale canning and food preservation.
Also in our City we have smaller neighborhood associations. With a board, various volunteer committees etc. We have monthly meetings, newsletters, and yearly picknik. Even emergency drills.
Earthquake, wildfires preparedness. etc.
Anyhow: DON’T PANIC…
Then, check on neighbors. Make sure they are ok.
Also, everyone who can should take a basic first aid class.
A pigtail is a plug attached to a length of electrical table that wires into your well control board. It allows you to plug the well system into a generator. It is not difficult to make I’m sure there are instructions on YT but if you are not familiar with this sort of thing, you might be better off getting one from an electrician or at least getting some advice from an electrician. They cost around $50 in my area. Better than frying your board and even your pump.
If you live in suburbia, do NOT just “dig a hole”. It will invite vermin. You also cannot just use a bag-lined bucket to do all your toileting in, thinking you can just toss it in the trash (they can’t take putrified waste). You have to keep your waste separate. I live in earthquake country and this is what our state has recommended.
Keep a sanitation kit. You can make it out of readily available stuff:
1 five gallon bucket with lid
1 five gallon bucket with either a pool noodle (split lengthwise and snapped over the bucket edge) or a toilet seat made for 5 gallon buckets
Clay type kitty litter
Large trash bags
Sturdy large kitty litter scooper
An old tennis ball
A cheap gym sock
Scoop out all the remaining water from your toilet. Put the tennis ball in the sock and stuff it in the hole to prevent sewer gasses from coming up. (The sock helps you be able to get the ball back out.) Line the toilet with the large trash bag and put some kitty litter in.
Pee in the bucket with the seat. (You can pour that in the yard.)
Poop in the kitty litter in the toilet, then cover with a bit of kitty litter. When it is fully desiccated, you can scoop it out and put it in the bucket with the snap on lid. You can eventually bury that in a hole in the back yard too.
If you have solar panels and are grid tied, your panels will be deactivated when the grid goes down because you can’t be backfeeding the grid while they are working on it. Getting at least 1 battery will allow you to use your power generation when the grid goes down.
I have experienced many instances of "the grid" shutting down because I live in coastal Florida. Losing power happens almost every summer because of tropical storms and hurricanes. Contrary to some of your suggested responses, people open up their houses, share food and water, voluntarily set up soup kitchens, and lean into community helping community. It brings out the best in people, not the worst. Yes, we prepare in a common sense, practical way. There are many good web sites with advice on prepping for hurricane season. We prep enough for ourselves and some to share with those who might run short of essentials.
Fantastic article, a lot to dive into there. It's like showing someone a cup of water and not mentioning you need to drink a swimming pool right after.
I write a lot on prepping as well, I look forward to seeing more of your content.
Glacier makes an affordable 3 gallon gravity water filtration system. Dried beans are non-perishable and nutritious, soak ‘em and eat raw if no fuel to cook. OTC palliatives like aspirin, antibiotic ointment, bandages, iodine, alcohol have long shelf lives and will come in handy. Think for yourselves, plan to help others who don’t have contingencies in place.
Survive to live long enough to see the Adversaries’ entrails dangling in upside down mouths.
Problem with meds is that the insurance companies won't let you have more than a a three month supply, and you can't order more (to put aside) until that's almost used up. OTC stuff is another story...
We live on a lake. What purifier do you recommend if we need to use lake water for household stuff/shower/maybe cooking? I have a healthy supply of drinking water in our cold storage, so we wouldn't probably need for drinking but maybe, depending on how long things are down.
We also have a propane tank that usually lasts 3months, so cooking would be doable, but we can also cook outdoors over open fire here. I have non perishable food for 1 week for our family of 5, I have a vegetable garden if power is out in summer and of course, we can fish on the lake here. We have a home library of about 1200 volumes, I homeschool so the kids education can continue. And I'm a sucker for antique oil lamps... I should stock oil I guess.
As for the water from the lake, depends on the lake but ideally you want a system that removes sediments, organic matter, bacteria, viruses, and chemical contaminants.
There are whole house systems, undersink systems or just an emergency Point-of-Use Systems.
Here are some options.
Whole-House: Aquasana Rhino with UV to treat all water entering the home, ensuring safe showering and household use.
Under-Sink: APEC Essence ROES-50 for drinking and cooking, providing highly purified water.
Optional Shower Filter: Weddell Duo if additional chlorine or DBP removal is needed for showering.
Katadyn makes an excellent hand filter/pump…this is what I use in the backcountry ...Hiker Pro is a little pricy, it you can filter a gallon of water in about 5min
Head for the woods… oh, wait a minute, I’m already in the woods.
Fire up my generator a few hours per day to recharge the batteries that power the medical appliance that keeps me alive.
The gas station next door has a huge generator that can power the entire store. They also sell propane. The generator runs off of the huge bulk propane tank.
I’ll be fine for quite a while.
Maybe that makes me a prepper. Whatever. It feels good to be prepared.
Thank you Craig for posting about this very important issue. No water is coming to areas. I am hearing about cyber attacks, CMEs, EMPs, weather, thinning magnetosphere and so on. As your article says, 'water is life.'
Should you be caught off guard, there is always a cheap way to catch rain with a brand new plastic trash can or cans and a brand new clean tarp.
You can use the rain water to flush toilets, water gardens. If you want to drink the rain water, you will need to filter it with a good filter, not a cheap one. Rain water is not safe to drink with chemtrails and pollution in it.
How to Catch RAINWATER with a TARP for Emergency Power Outage & SHTF
After 1 week its the Law of the Jungle. At two weeks 40% of the population is dead. At one month 90% are dead. The sad thing is they can do this whenever they want. We as a species are as pathetic as the Dodo bird. We cannot feed ourselves or get water.
Water, food, clothing & shelter, their lack usually become critical in that order.
You will get dehydrated long before you starve.
You might live a few weeks to a month without food- If hydration and shelter aren't also compromised.
In anything less than shirtsleeve weather, hypothermia is an issue if you can't be in shelter 24-7. Need enough clothing, flexible and sufficient for local climate extremes. Ever worn the same socks & underwear for a week? Get more.
You won't make it too far in most of the USA without at least a roof + windbreak and some heat.
Good brief article. It happened in Portugal and Spain this month, it happens almost every day in some parts of the world, third world places like California.
I’m bothered about EMP or solar storm. When the power comes on, so do your devices but not after EMP, it’s all dead, forever. Your archives, music, photos, financial records, stock holdings, bitcoins, the lot. You might not even be able to prove your house is your property.
California is the fourth largest economy in the world. You have the Internet because of California. Crawl back in your hole and turn on Fox News. Third World, California what a bunch of nonsense.
It was ironic, in that California regularly has brown outs and your infrastructure is in a very weak state. No one would be surprised if your power went out, as ours did in Iberia. The main difference probably is that your neighbours would see it as a good time to start a race war, whereas we all sat in parks and talked to our neighbours.
Ah, was in Spain late 80’s. Barcelona… just before Olympics and LPG was not yet available. Spent a winter month camping outta back of a Volvo 100 clicks south of Barcelona.
Not in California anymore. Iberia, MI? Or Iberia in Europe?
California is a big state with much diversity of people and ecosystems. Some areas much more resilient…
4,000 miles of canals…
California has 195,834 miles of public roads. Specifically, the state boasts 386,604 total road miles, including 25 interstate highways and 318 state highways. This includes 177,300 miles of maintained roads, according to Caltrans
>39 million people etc.
Heck of a lot of infrastructure… some excellent, some falling apart.
Anyhow. Spent last 35 yrs. In Oregon. Much of infrastructure has improved… Interstates, State highways. In certain counties, towns not as much…
Lots of work needed country wide on Infrastructure…
The former National Security Advisor said in an interview last summer that credible threats currently existed to our electrical grid. He indicated that the targets were not well protected and if destroyed they would be out for 6 to 18 months because many components have to be built on site and do not exist on the shelf somewhere. He also indicated that there are known Chinese cyber security vulnerabilities to our power generation and transformer systems.
There will be no fuel unloaded at the ports or being loaded into delivery tankers because those require electricity. If the fuel makes it to gas stations, they won't be able to pump it out of the ground unless they have a backup generator. The backup generators for water and sewer will likely only run a week to a week and a half on supplies typical municipalities store. When the backup generators run out of fuel at the cell towers, communication will cease.
When the backup generators for the communication systems at the police departments and fire stations run out of fuel, those services will cease to be available. As society breaks down, officers and firemen will likely be protecting their families and property and not on the job.
If the soil conditions and water table are conducive, consider sinking a hand pump well in your backyard (think "Little House on the Prarie"). Simple filtration systems are cheap on Amazon. I can't recall how many drops of bleach or iodine per gallon are recommended for purification, but both work. Boiling water for purification is resource intensive and not practical unless you are in the woods with plenty of firewood.
Expect roving gangs of desperate badguys by the end of a week. Join with like-minded neighbors for common defense and supplies. Prepare to defend. Evil will prey on the weak among us. Don't appear to be an easy target and they will be more likely to pass you by.
Dehydrated beans and rice are available in large, sealed bags. Other dehydrated meals have a very very long shelf life. Think Ramen noodles if you want a cheap easy-button.
If things really hit the fan, no one is coming to help you. It might be wise to consider the possibilities beforehand.
I'm in Florida and most of this comes from thoughts of dealing with the aftermath of hurricanes.
Excellent article - reminds me to make a "pigtail" to power my well pump with a generator.
If isolation does set in for rural areas, my mate and I would welcome it. We like the farm lifestyle and we don't like uninvited company.
Something else to consider - books. We like to read and have a fair-sized library. We've spent many pleasant evenings after hurricanes and Ice storms reading via Aladdin kerosene lamp.
Thanks for reading. That's a good idea about building a library. What kind of books would you put in it aside from fiction for entertainment. I think there's another post in that topic where it'd be good to have certain reference books handy for if the internet goes down.
One book I would recommend is “Medicine for the Outdoors” by Paul Auerbach, MD. Now, there are two books with this exact same name and I have not read the other one, but I can back the Auerbach book. For ages people have recommended “Where There is No Doctor” but I find the Auerbach book to be more up-to-date and comprehensive. When he mentions a medicine he gives the scientific name and then the commercial name so you can ask for it at the pharmacy.
Another book is “Conversational Spanish” which was actually my high school text book. There are many books on this topic. Now, regardless of the politics of immigration if you live in a rural, agricultural-oriented area there are a number of Hispanic folks around and if they are good neighbors, it’s sometimes helpful to speak their language if their English is not perfect.
Now, keep these in your reading room - you know, the small room with the porcelain throne. While sitting there don’t just scroll on the phone, read a few pages of medical info or Spanish lessons. It’s amazing what you can pick up if you do this daily. And if you aren’t in there daily, read the chapter on intestinal and digestive problems.
If your farm or business depends on machinery, I bet you have a number of repair manuals saved as PDFs. Go ahead and print them out and put them in a three-ring binder. I keep around 500 gallons of diesel on hand at any given time so I will break something before I run out of fuel.
I hit a local used-book store whenever I am in town and if I see a bargain, I pick it up and put it on a pile of books I plan to read. I haven’t reached the bottom yet. Latest is “Canning by the Pint” which demonstrates small-scale canning and food preservation.
If I think of anything else I’ll drop you a note.
All great tips. Thanks for sharing.
Permaculture Designers Manual
Also in our City we have smaller neighborhood associations. With a board, various volunteer committees etc. We have monthly meetings, newsletters, and yearly picknik. Even emergency drills.
Earthquake, wildfires preparedness. etc.
Anyhow: DON’T PANIC…
Then, check on neighbors. Make sure they are ok.
Also, everyone who can should take a basic first aid class.
Thanks for post.
How do you make a pigtail? I share a water well which is on my elderly neighbor’s property.
She lives alone w her cat and doesn’t believe or understand the potential of an outage. The water well is on her property.
We have no solar devices or generators.
How can we at least have power connected to the well and water pressure tank?
We also live in the Arizona desert where we don’t get much rain and have very hot summers.
A pigtail is a plug attached to a length of electrical table that wires into your well control board. It allows you to plug the well system into a generator. It is not difficult to make I’m sure there are instructions on YT but if you are not familiar with this sort of thing, you might be better off getting one from an electrician or at least getting some advice from an electrician. They cost around $50 in my area. Better than frying your board and even your pump.
Thank you!
If you live in suburbia, do NOT just “dig a hole”. It will invite vermin. You also cannot just use a bag-lined bucket to do all your toileting in, thinking you can just toss it in the trash (they can’t take putrified waste). You have to keep your waste separate. I live in earthquake country and this is what our state has recommended.
Keep a sanitation kit. You can make it out of readily available stuff:
1 five gallon bucket with lid
1 five gallon bucket with either a pool noodle (split lengthwise and snapped over the bucket edge) or a toilet seat made for 5 gallon buckets
Clay type kitty litter
Large trash bags
Sturdy large kitty litter scooper
An old tennis ball
A cheap gym sock
Scoop out all the remaining water from your toilet. Put the tennis ball in the sock and stuff it in the hole to prevent sewer gasses from coming up. (The sock helps you be able to get the ball back out.) Line the toilet with the large trash bag and put some kitty litter in.
Pee in the bucket with the seat. (You can pour that in the yard.)
Poop in the kitty litter in the toilet, then cover with a bit of kitty litter. When it is fully desiccated, you can scoop it out and put it in the bucket with the snap on lid. You can eventually bury that in a hole in the back yard too.
If you have solar panels and are grid tied, your panels will be deactivated when the grid goes down because you can’t be backfeeding the grid while they are working on it. Getting at least 1 battery will allow you to use your power generation when the grid goes down.
Great advice Janet! Thanks for sharing!
Great info on the toilet situation. Thank you!
I have experienced many instances of "the grid" shutting down because I live in coastal Florida. Losing power happens almost every summer because of tropical storms and hurricanes. Contrary to some of your suggested responses, people open up their houses, share food and water, voluntarily set up soup kitchens, and lean into community helping community. It brings out the best in people, not the worst. Yes, we prepare in a common sense, practical way. There are many good web sites with advice on prepping for hurricane season. We prep enough for ourselves and some to share with those who might run short of essentials.
Thanks Paula. Appreciate your advice on hurricane prep.
Thx you Paula. In my experience such is the case.
Fantastic article, a lot to dive into there. It's like showing someone a cup of water and not mentioning you need to drink a swimming pool right after.
I write a lot on prepping as well, I look forward to seeing more of your content.
Thanks. Love this subject.
Glacier makes an affordable 3 gallon gravity water filtration system. Dried beans are non-perishable and nutritious, soak ‘em and eat raw if no fuel to cook. OTC palliatives like aspirin, antibiotic ointment, bandages, iodine, alcohol have long shelf lives and will come in handy. Think for yourselves, plan to help others who don’t have contingencies in place.
Survive to live long enough to see the Adversaries’ entrails dangling in upside down mouths.
Great tips. Thanks!
Terrifying as a mom of a type 1 diabetic. We would just have to camp at the hospital and pray for insulin.
A scary thouught. How much medication do you keep on hand? Would be good to have a bit of a stockpile.
Insulin will last in the fridge for a bit/but once unrefrigerated you have a month to use
We have enough-to use-but not go bad. But if the power grid was out long term it would be awful
Pump also has to be charged to work
Wish it was just as simple as food/water
Medical conditions definitely complicate things.
Problem with meds is that the insurance companies won't let you have more than a a three month supply, and you can't order more (to put aside) until that's almost used up. OTC stuff is another story...
We live on a lake. What purifier do you recommend if we need to use lake water for household stuff/shower/maybe cooking? I have a healthy supply of drinking water in our cold storage, so we wouldn't probably need for drinking but maybe, depending on how long things are down.
We also have a propane tank that usually lasts 3months, so cooking would be doable, but we can also cook outdoors over open fire here. I have non perishable food for 1 week for our family of 5, I have a vegetable garden if power is out in summer and of course, we can fish on the lake here. We have a home library of about 1200 volumes, I homeschool so the kids education can continue. And I'm a sucker for antique oil lamps... I should stock oil I guess.
Hi Ti Na, You sound very prepared. That's great.
As for the water from the lake, depends on the lake but ideally you want a system that removes sediments, organic matter, bacteria, viruses, and chemical contaminants.
There are whole house systems, undersink systems or just an emergency Point-of-Use Systems.
Here are some options.
Whole-House: Aquasana Rhino with UV to treat all water entering the home, ensuring safe showering and household use.
Under-Sink: APEC Essence ROES-50 for drinking and cooking, providing highly purified water.
Optional Shower Filter: Weddell Duo if additional chlorine or DBP removal is needed for showering.
Hope this helps.
Katadyn makes an excellent hand filter/pump…this is what I use in the backcountry ...Hiker Pro is a little pricy, it you can filter a gallon of water in about 5min
What I will do:
Head for the woods… oh, wait a minute, I’m already in the woods.
Fire up my generator a few hours per day to recharge the batteries that power the medical appliance that keeps me alive.
The gas station next door has a huge generator that can power the entire store. They also sell propane. The generator runs off of the huge bulk propane tank.
I’ll be fine for quite a while.
Maybe that makes me a prepper. Whatever. It feels good to be prepared.
Nothing wrong with being prepared.
Scouting Motto: Be Prepared.
“One Second After”, William Forstchen . A great book to pair with your post.
Thanks. Will check it out.
Thank you Craig for posting about this very important issue. No water is coming to areas. I am hearing about cyber attacks, CMEs, EMPs, weather, thinning magnetosphere and so on. As your article says, 'water is life.'
Should you be caught off guard, there is always a cheap way to catch rain with a brand new plastic trash can or cans and a brand new clean tarp.
You can use the rain water to flush toilets, water gardens. If you want to drink the rain water, you will need to filter it with a good filter, not a cheap one. Rain water is not safe to drink with chemtrails and pollution in it.
How to Catch RAINWATER with a TARP for Emergency Power Outage & SHTF
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4euU-SUqBHw 9:00 min.
Water is life. Thanks for sharing Geneva. Collecting rainwater is a great strategy.
After 1 week its the Law of the Jungle. At two weeks 40% of the population is dead. At one month 90% are dead. The sad thing is they can do this whenever they want. We as a species are as pathetic as the Dodo bird. We cannot feed ourselves or get water.
More people need to learn survival skills. Sadly only a few will.
Water, food, clothing & shelter, their lack usually become critical in that order.
You will get dehydrated long before you starve.
You might live a few weeks to a month without food- If hydration and shelter aren't also compromised.
In anything less than shirtsleeve weather, hypothermia is an issue if you can't be in shelter 24-7. Need enough clothing, flexible and sufficient for local climate extremes. Ever worn the same socks & underwear for a week? Get more.
You won't make it too far in most of the USA without at least a roof + windbreak and some heat.
Primitive Technology, by John Plant.
Get one.
Good brief article. It happened in Portugal and Spain this month, it happens almost every day in some parts of the world, third world places like California.
I’m bothered about EMP or solar storm. When the power comes on, so do your devices but not after EMP, it’s all dead, forever. Your archives, music, photos, financial records, stock holdings, bitcoins, the lot. You might not even be able to prove your house is your property.
California is the fourth largest economy in the world. You have the Internet because of California. Crawl back in your hole and turn on Fox News. Third World, California what a bunch of nonsense.
You should get out more.
It was ironic, in that California regularly has brown outs and your infrastructure is in a very weak state. No one would be surprised if your power went out, as ours did in Iberia. The main difference probably is that your neighbours would see it as a good time to start a race war, whereas we all sat in parks and talked to our neighbours.
Ah, was in Spain late 80’s. Barcelona… just before Olympics and LPG was not yet available. Spent a winter month camping outta back of a Volvo 100 clicks south of Barcelona.
That sounds good fun, simpler days
Not in California anymore. Iberia, MI? Or Iberia in Europe?
California is a big state with much diversity of people and ecosystems. Some areas much more resilient…
4,000 miles of canals…
California has 195,834 miles of public roads. Specifically, the state boasts 386,604 total road miles, including 25 interstate highways and 318 state highways. This includes 177,300 miles of maintained roads, according to Caltrans
>39 million people etc.
Heck of a lot of infrastructure… some excellent, some falling apart.
Anyhow. Spent last 35 yrs. In Oregon. Much of infrastructure has improved… Interstates, State highways. In certain counties, towns not as much…
Lots of work needed country wide on Infrastructure…
Thanks for this. Very informative.
You're welcome!. Thanks for reading.
The former National Security Advisor said in an interview last summer that credible threats currently existed to our electrical grid. He indicated that the targets were not well protected and if destroyed they would be out for 6 to 18 months because many components have to be built on site and do not exist on the shelf somewhere. He also indicated that there are known Chinese cyber security vulnerabilities to our power generation and transformer systems.
There will be no fuel unloaded at the ports or being loaded into delivery tankers because those require electricity. If the fuel makes it to gas stations, they won't be able to pump it out of the ground unless they have a backup generator. The backup generators for water and sewer will likely only run a week to a week and a half on supplies typical municipalities store. When the backup generators run out of fuel at the cell towers, communication will cease.
When the backup generators for the communication systems at the police departments and fire stations run out of fuel, those services will cease to be available. As society breaks down, officers and firemen will likely be protecting their families and property and not on the job.
If the soil conditions and water table are conducive, consider sinking a hand pump well in your backyard (think "Little House on the Prarie"). Simple filtration systems are cheap on Amazon. I can't recall how many drops of bleach or iodine per gallon are recommended for purification, but both work. Boiling water for purification is resource intensive and not practical unless you are in the woods with plenty of firewood.
Expect roving gangs of desperate badguys by the end of a week. Join with like-minded neighbors for common defense and supplies. Prepare to defend. Evil will prey on the weak among us. Don't appear to be an easy target and they will be more likely to pass you by.
Dehydrated beans and rice are available in large, sealed bags. Other dehydrated meals have a very very long shelf life. Think Ramen noodles if you want a cheap easy-button.
If things really hit the fan, no one is coming to help you. It might be wise to consider the possibilities beforehand.
I'm in Florida and most of this comes from thoughts of dealing with the aftermath of hurricanes.
I wish you all the best.
Great asessmemt Six Shooter. Agree with everything you wrote. Especially the part where "no one is coming to help you."