Why Is Water Security Important?
We are going to discuss how to lower your utility bill and create water security for your family. Water is what sustains life. It's more important than food. You can go without food for a couple of weeks, but you can't go without water for more than 24-48 hours without some serious health consequences. An infant or child needs water sooner, as do older adults.
Whether you are seeing lower rainfall in your area, utility bills are skyrocketing, a data center has been built in your area, and you are concerned about water quality, whatever the reason that motivates you to want to create water security for your family, you'll find some simple and easy solutions while reading this article.
Simple Ways to Create Water Security
You will find several ways to harvest and store water in our article today that will help you create water security for your family. Some will only take a few minutes to a couple of hours with minimal investment. Other solutions we will discuss take more planning, a couple of days, good DIY skills, and a little more money investment.
We will discuss the following solutions:
- Water Storage
- Water Catchment Systems
- Waterless Toilets
- Water Purification & Treatment
- Emergency Water Supplies
How Much Water Do You Need?
The following are the recommended amounts of water to have on hand per person in your household:
Specifics: Typically, a person needs 0.5 gallons for drinking and 0.5 gallons for food preparation and sanitation per day. You can find more information at Ready.Gov
Situations that Increase Water Needs
The following situations increase your water storage needs:
Water Purification & Treatment
If you are harvesting rainwater or using emergency water methods, you need to make sure to purify your water. Here are some ideas:
Water Storage for Water Security
Space is an Issue: Using water bricks that are five-gallon containers and stackable is a good option. There are also water containers that easily slide under beds for storage. Realize that water weighs a lot. For some people, having more 2.5-gallon containers makes more sense than the traditional 5-gallon water container.
Many rectangle 2.5 and 5-gallon water containers are equipped with their own spigot, or you can get water in 2.5 or 5-gallon glass or plastic containers that sit on a water reservoir with its own stand and spigot. Be sure to date and rotate any stored water.
Emergency Water Storage: Remember to fill your bathtub when the power goes out. If you are on city water, you have a few minutes to an hour before water stops flowing. If you are on a well, you only have the water left in your pipes, unless you have a backup generator or gravity flow system.
Well Water Storage: If you are on a well, having good storage is important. At a minimum, having a 1000 gallon holding tank would give you weeks of emergency water supply. Many of us who live in the country have invested in 2,500 and 5,000-gallon holding tanks for water security and fire safety.
Benefits of Catchment Systems
Water catchment or rainwater harvesting can save money, protect the environment, and provide your family with a reliable backup water supply. It also reduces runoff and soil erosion.
Water Catchment Systems
We wrote an article years ago on the benefits of water catchment and also some ideas about how to set up a water catchment system.
Many people off-use water catchment as their main water supply. The Big Island of Hawaii has water catchment systems for many homes on the Kona side of the island. There are so many storage ideas to choose from these days, with reasonably priced systems available:
- Rain Barrels: Rain barrels that funnel from your gutter downspouts is a simple way to go. There are collapsible barrels for emergency use only and also BPA-Free barrels that are round or ones that have a flat side, making it easier to have them fit snug against your house. Most of these barrels are 50-65-gallons. We like the models with hose spigots built in so you can easily decant water or water your garden.
- Collapsible Swimming Pool: Opting for a collapsible swimming pool gives you a great amount of storage and can be filled by a downspout or out in your garden filling with rainwater. We are using a collapsible hard-side pool this year and it will hold 580 gallons, and has a hose attachment built in. We will cover the pool with netting that allows rainwater to enter but keeps the bugs out. Where we live, the prediction is for a Super El Niño this year, and we don't want the extra water to go to waste.
Water-Saving Options for Water Security
Many people are already careful with how much water they use, but the options for saving water have grown tremendously over the years. The list below is a small sampling of what is available:
- Drip irrigation instead of sprinklers because so much water is lost to evaporation
- Low-flow shower heads and low-flow faucets with aerators
- Older toilet; put a brick in the tank
- Shorter showers
- Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth or shaving
- Fix leaks
- Composting toilets-we are trying out one of these for one of our outbuildings
- Water early
- Choose native plants
- Sweep instead of washing down walkways, plus it's great exercise
- Run full loads in your dishwasher
- Store a pitcher of water in the refrigerator instead of running the tap till it gets cold
- Invest in a washer that determines water level by size of load
Water security makes good sense to ease the stress of power outages from storms or if you live in a water-scarce area. Shed Windows and More has many of the building supplies that make your next DIY project a breeze. Be sure to share with us your favorite water-saving or water harvesting ideas!