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I've got an assortment of backpacking/camping water filters, but don't live especially near a water source, so my days would revolve around walks to the nearest

I've got an assortment of backpacking/camping water filters, but don't live especially near a water source, so my days would revolve around walks to the nearest creek. (2 km away) A cargo bike would help a lot there. If the municipal water is still functional but non-potable, a LifeStraw Max gets you effectively unlimited water on-demand for most sources of contamination.

rolph 2y ago
distillation allows separation of water from not water. mud or damp vegetation can be a water source.
jandrese 2y ago
You could collect rainwater, but realistically water outages are usually not "the taps are dry", but rather "the water treatment plant failed so we can't guarantee the water is safe to drink."
- Marsymars 2y ago
  I do collect rainwater! (In the summer months, at least.) Have a system cobbled together based on bluebarrelsystems.com Though disaster preparedness and water efficiency are a bit at odds. For the former I'd want to keep all my barrels mostly full, but for the latter I want to keep them empty enough that rainfall events aren't overflowing them and wasting water.
- Terr_ 2y ago
  That seems to be pretty optimistic with respect to geography. Consider: "The pumps aren't working and there's nothing left up inside the local water-tower." Then you'd have to travel to get any appreciable amount of water before even starting to filter it.
- cesarb 2y ago
  > You could collect rainwater, but realistically water outages are usually not "the taps are dry", but rather "the water treatment plant failed so we can't guarantee the water is safe to drink." This happened literally last month in the region where I live, and yes "the taps are dry" is exactly what happened. The water treatment plant staff detected high levels of toluene in the river which feeds the plant, so as a preventive measure, they shut down the whole thing. It took several days until they managed to get the toluene levels in the river low enough that adding activated charcoal to the water intake could get rid of the rest. In the meantime, there was no water being pumped into the system, and once your building's water tank ran dry (the size varies depending on the building), there was no water anymore (unless you hired a water truck to bring water from a nearby city). And that's not even the first time this kind of thing happened around here. A couple of years ago, another water treatment plant in the same region (fed by a different river) had trouble due to high levels of geosmin in the river, and they also had to shut down for a while. The result was the same, taps running dry once the building water tanks get empty. Not to mention that pumping water needs lots of electric power. Not only at the water treatment plant, but several other places in the system need to move water against gravity, or increase its pressure.
ninininino 2y ago
I would probably want a Gravi-stil as relying on filter mediums has a built-in expiration date (or # of gallons).
- Marsymars 2y ago
  Sure, but even with my regular water usage, the LifeStraw Max filters would last me over a year, and it works via water pressure. There isn't really any disaster scenario where I'm remaining in my home and need to purify water via burning wood.

rolph 2y ago

distillation allows separation of water from not water. mud or damp vegetation can be a water source.

jandrese 2y ago

You could collect rainwater, but realistically water outages are usually not "the taps are dry", but rather "the water treatment plant failed so we can't guarantee the water is safe to drink."

Marsymars 2y ago
I do collect rainwater! (In the summer months, at least.) Have a system cobbled together based on bluebarrelsystems.com Though disaster preparedness and water efficiency are a bit at odds. For the former I'd want to keep all my barrels mostly full, but for the latter I want to keep them empty enough that rainfall events aren't overflowing them and wasting water.
Terr_ 2y ago
That seems to be pretty optimistic with respect to geography. Consider: "The pumps aren't working and there's nothing left up inside the local water-tower." Then you'd have to travel to get any appreciable amount of water before even starting to filter it.
cesarb 2y ago
> You could collect rainwater, but realistically water outages are usually not "the taps are dry", but rather "the water treatment plant failed so we can't guarantee the water is safe to drink." This happened literally last month in the region where I live, and yes "the taps are dry" is exactly what happened. The water treatment plant staff detected high levels of toluene in the river which feeds the plant, so as a preventive measure, they shut down the whole thing. It took several days until they managed to get the toluene levels in the river low enough that adding activated charcoal to the water intake could get rid of the rest. In the meantime, there was no water being pumped into the system, and once your building's water tank ran dry (the size varies depending on the building), there was no water anymore (unless you hired a water truck to bring water from a nearby city). And that's not even the first time this kind of thing happened around here. A couple of years ago, another water treatment plant in the same region (fed by a different river) had trouble due to high levels of geosmin in the river, and they also had to shut down for a while. The result was the same, taps running dry once the building water tanks get empty. Not to mention that pumping water needs lots of electric power. Not only at the water treatment plant, but several other places in the system need to move water against gravity, or increase its pressure.

ninininino 2y ago

I would probably want a Gravi-stil as relying on filter mediums has a built-in expiration date (or # of gallons).

Marsymars 2y ago
Sure, but even with my regular water usage, the LifeStraw Max filters would last me over a year, and it works via water pressure. There isn't really any disaster scenario where I'm remaining in my home and need to purify water via burning wood.