Water Assessment

Right now, we merely turn on the tap to get any volume of water we need, and a fairly reliable water source for purity, thought of course contaminated with additives like Fluoride. In a collapse, if there are supply chain issues, or loss of critical infrastructure personnel, or both, then the reliability of volume and purity will decline. If chlorine is not available, they may be tempted to reduce amounts to control purity. Since some areas have higher demands, and may be transportation hubs, then smaller municipalities may suffer more as supplies are rerouted based upon exigencies.

If you considered any of that in the past, then you've probably looked at a weather chart for your area to see what is the typical rainfall within the normal weather seasons, and then estimated the amount you could conceivable catch, then compared that to your family's water needs. While a huge amount may fall normally, given the drought we have to assume that this will continue, and normal rainfall will not resume.

Even if you did get normal rainfall, most people don't have a means of storing any large volume of water and maintaining it's purity and rotating it easily. Those vessels are likely to be outside unless you've got a concealed cistern system in an older home. Of course, that would be subject to theft right away by desperate neighbors.

Still, some people may try to directly catch the water off their roofs, and using downspouts, channel the water into makeshift vessels. Of course, that water would be contaminated with bird fecal matter, molds, all kinds of bacteria, and chemical residues from the breakdown of whatever shingles you have on your roof. Not good, and will certainly make you sick without extraordinary filtering.

Some people have a lake or river nearby, and probably are considering ways to gather that water. Entrance of those water sources will have to be negotiated with whomever lives on those access points. Believe me, a constant mob of strangers walking through private property will not continue unless some kind of plan is agreed upon. Imagine merely several hundred people walking on your property and the security risk, not to mention people harvesting other materials as they see fit, using the restroom in the area, and destruction to the land from walking upon it.

Because those area are likely to be ideal for trapping animals, especially in a drought, you may be harming a vital food resource unless properly managed.

Traveling with water is very difficult. It is heavy, sloshes around, spills, and must be placed in a cart of some sort that can withstand the weight, plus be maneuverable, and of course go off road. Then filtering will have to occur once home, for filtering it at the site will certainly cause arguments over neighbors wishing to use your equipment plus filtering devices.

This means that you need to consider alternative water sources. While there's tons of ways to extract water from Nature, all have issues with either purity, volume, or seasonal use.

For example, while a plastic sheet over a hole in the ground and caught into a bucket will distill some water from plant materials, it is a scant amount. It isn't realistic given the volume of plant materials gathered and the calories burned towards that process.

A well will give you water, and of course in the long run this is the best way. I've discussed both sandpoints and deep wells. The later takes a lot of planning to execute. Sanitation and run off and planning agriculture, burial, paths for access, sanitation, etc all are part of that process.

Transpiration is the sweating of water from plants. Plants use turgor pressure to maintain water flow in their capillaries for biochemical processes. Yes, you can place a bag over some leaves, then the terrarium effect will cause water to seep out, and kill those leaves if sustained, but the amount of water is very small. Once the water is extracted, it isn't pure. All plants have some phytochemicals plus some dirt will come through too from the plant's surfaces, and most likely fecal matter from birds and squirrels. This means all the normal steps of purification, with subsequent water loss in each filtration.

If the weather outside drops below freezing at night, but rises above freezing during the day, then a very useful sap water can be tapped. This is subject to the local weather patterns and the kind of tree being tapped. Maples are typically done early in the Spring, with Birches following a month later. This water need not be boiled down (to concentrate it)to be useful, but rather used as drinking water. It's been said that some people tap from sycamore trees. I can't personally verify that this sap water is good tasting or if doesn't have some phytochemicals that would make it unpleasant. Birch will have a hint of wintergreen taste. Maple is of course pleasant.

Because tree roots go down to deep depths, and can be commonly found on properties, and because of relative ease of use, then this is a great way to get water. Unfortunately by doing so, you're missing out on a great source of sugar to supplement your diet and maintain your own blood sugar. I'll discuss this in detail later. These kinds of sap water are ideal not only for sugar, but also fermentation (birch or maple wine (sometimes called mead). Then of course using some mother vinegar(starter), these sources can be used to make more vinegar.

Solar stills have been used to convert water using distillation, but the volume produced is low. It is a slow process. More will follow about this.

Now is the time to consider all of these issues, and purchase equipment, and practice using it, rather than later. I would assume that demand for such equipment would increase over time as the drought increases in severity and in public awareness.