I've got 6 months of food storage and the means to protect them. If things turn out to be a 9 or 10, how long of a time period [weeks/months] do you think it will take before things are settled enough to where I can venture from my soCal suburb home to search for water? By "things are settled" I mean the time it takes for weak resource-less people to die in this scenario (sorry if you find this offensive). I am concerned about this as it relates to my water storage. As I already have a distiller and plan to build a homemade one for a prestage distilling of especially dirty water, I figure at some point I'll be able to venture from my home to haul water back to be processed. Any thoughts?

-- somewhat (slowly@gettin.it), June 21, 1999

Answers

In life there are to kinds of people, predators and prey. You just have to make sure that when you go outside you are not one of the latter.

-- BiGG (supersite@acronet.net), June 21, 1999.

thought #1. How likely do you see that scenario to be? If likely at all, you should move. I assume you don't think it is likely and are just "buying insurance" with these water preps.

#2. Get a means of collecting rain water. I know soCal isn't the ideal place for that, but I still recommend it.

#3. To answer your question about timing I'd say that in that kind of scenario and in your location I would never feel safe in leaving the house for water or anything else - no matter what my "means of protection" was. If Y2K is a 9/10 the colder your locale the better. Suburbia soCal is a nightmare location for that kind of event. Sorry that isn't useful. Rather than estimating how long you'd need to last, it might be better to just store as much as possible. Storing water without regards to potability is easy. Relatively clean water can be distilled easily enough, and you'll have plenty of time on your hands. Organize your basement to hold thousands and thousands of gallons.

Good luck.

-- Gus (y2kk@usa.net), June 21, 1999.

Opps...two kinds of...

-- BiGG (supersite@acronet.net), June 21, 1999.

Once we've worked past the human predators, we can then deal with the packs of domestic and starving dogs (fifi gone mad). Naturally they will be consuming left behind victims, however, this will only add to their desire for fresh ones. The stench will be intolerable and rotting corpses tend to breed disease. Sneaking and weaving through this maze described in search of 'anything' is not advised for the faint hearted. Aside from that, "Nobody can see the future" as my favorite duo personality, Flint, would say. How close are you to a Zoo?

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), June 21, 1999.

Gus, I would like to move but am doing my best with a spouse who is a "3" at best....as for a basement, they illegal to own here (never seen one unless underground parking counts :) ~S~

-- somewhat (slowly@gettin.it), June 21, 1999.

3000 GAL. PLASTIC SWIM POLLS, or dig 5-6 foot deep fish-pond.p.s. a fish-pond with water plants is good hiding -place-if you got say 8 inches of muck-on pond bottom, for you folks with lotsa valuables. dig the pond place stash 'then the plastic-liner-then sand & organic soil, wait 2 weeks-put in plants-who,s gonna dig around in a pond??? especially if it,s fulle plants & ''mucky''just-a-thought''

-- al-d. (CATT@ZIANET.COM), June 21, 1999.

al-d,

Sometimes you are an amazing resource for information. That's a good idea to hide things UNDER a pond. I do wish you would go easy on my eyes and punctuate your sentences in a more common manner.

-- Helen (sstaten@fullnet.net), June 21, 1999.

That is a really good idea al-d!

-- BiGG (supersite@acronet.net), June 21, 1999.

Al-d,

I must admit when I first started reading your post I thought you were probably a heavy drug user. But the more of your posts that I read, I realize that you are probably a wealth of information. Keep the good ideas coming.

-- SgtSchultz (SgtHansSchultz@Stalag13.com), June 21, 1999.

The public library has books on how people survived in the area in the past. The Indians used to have seasonal parties that travelled to the agave plants in southern California to collect the water that these plants are known for drawing up. Granted, the population was MUCH smaller then, but you would be suprised at the resources that are in front of your eyes when you know how to identify them. Maybe it is time to plant a few in your area. And collect the mundane soda bottles to fill, caulk your bathtub towards the rollover & fill, diversify...it would help if I knew your general area.

-- flora (***@__._), June 21, 1999.

so cal?? you got the pacific ocean to distill?

-- eddy (xxx@xxx.com), June 22, 1999.

Flora---I'm in north Orange County (Placentia) and will try to apply your idea to plant the water-friendly-easier-to-extract-water-from-in- time-of-crisis plants. Thanks for the input. ~S~

-- ~S~ (S@g.i), June 22, 1999.

Something about that hiding valuables under a pond sounds wrong. What if you wanted to get to the stash? You would have to dig up the pond. Why not just put the valuables in the water plant pots and plant on top of them? It is normal to be seen caring for the plants anyway, so if you were accessing valuables, who would know, unless they were watching very closely, say, like in the water?

And isn't So Cal earthquake country? Get a tremor and the pond leaks out, or the ground separates and the valuables are 200' down instead of 3 feet? Hmmm, maybe in another area of the country.

Try making some rocks, indigenous-looking, and create a hollow in the bottom. Here's one way:

Take an indigenous rock, about 2.5' to 3' in size. Yeah, it's heavy, but that's the idea. put it into a sandy bank and pack it down well, so that the majority of it is buried. Then wet the sand thoroughly so it is packed well and solid. Then lift the rock out, which will leave you a well-formed hole. Fill the hole with cement, using care not to disturb the mold you made in the wet sand. On top press a sealed container into the cement. Use a container that has an odd size so that when the cement hardens it will 'lock' the container in place. Or place pins on the bottom of it that will 'grab' the cement. [Don't forget tha the opening of the container should be pointed up so that you can get into it.] When the cement has hardened, lift the 'rock' out, and dust off the sand if necesary, and paint it to match the original rock. Weathering will take care of it in time, to some extent. Put this new rock were the old one was. Voila! Scenery is the same but you have a hidy hole. Make more than one. Make them big so that no one would think to pick it up and throw it at a dog or something.

You could do the same with landscape logs and a drill, but someone may try to use it for firewood. :<)

Here's another idea:

If you have a cement patio table, you can turn one of the seat supports over, drill out a small area, and glue a sealed container into place. Who would look under a cement seat? Also, the table stand usually has a pipe in it for the umbrella, so you could use the bottom of that, [allowing for drainage] and if the umbrella is a little higher, who would notice, other than say, a gay landscape/decorator?

OR:

That quaint well made of bricks is so nice looking out in the yard, isn't it? I think so. It's worth 25 grand, if you know where to look! Hollow bricks, with stash in 'em? A waterproof bag hanging inside out of sight but accessible if one knows how?

Got a heat pump sitting outside your house? What idiot would dig out under it in just the right place to get your stash?

That barn foundation is as old as the hills, and solid as a rock! Or is it? It might just have a few niches that could be used.

This is fun!

-- J (jart5@bellsouth.net), June 22, 1999.