Water Well? Well? for emergencies?
井戸水？井戸？緊急時に？
If you use up all of your emergency water, find a well to get water.
Water well? I have never actually seen one…”
“I don’t know who has a well.”
“How can I know where the wells are near me?”
“Can I build my own well?”
When we are in the middle of an emergency, we can not expect to keep our normal, daily lifestyle. Our area’s water supply might be cut off by the disaster, and we might not know when it will be restored. If our municipal water treatment plants are without power, our water might not be safe to drink. And even worse, our water might stop flowing altogether. Public utilities — water, gas, electricity — could be completely offline. So what do we do once we’ve finished drinking all of our emergency water? Imagine your home’s plumbing is still out of commission, and your water bottles are all empty. If we’re going to be prepared, we need to anticipate the possibilities.
Before we pick up water from the river, lake or other nearby freshwater source, we need to try to find a water well close to home.
ご近所に井戸があるか探しておこう。
Do you know people who are using a water well near your home?
Actually, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, more than 43 million people rely on domestic wells for drinking water, in the U.S. (USGS)
In Japan, we just had a big earthquake on the Noto Peninsula, and people with a well on their property have been helping other survivors, allowing them to use their water for drinking and other domestic purposes (like flushing toilets). One man said in a TV interview, “1,200 people came to my well to get water every day for a month.” If our government were to organize wells in parks, squares, and other public spaces, it would be good for everybody, even benefiting private well owners.
Imagine you are in the middle of a desperate emergency situation, and 1,200 people visit your place everyday. Maybe that’s why it’s difficult to find people who have a well on their property. In a real emergency, everybody’s top priority is their own family.
⚠️
What do we do once we’ve finished drinking all of our emergency water? Imagine your home’s plumbing is still out of commission, and your water bottles are all empty.
備蓄水を飲み切ってしまったらどうする？
DIY Well
Nowadays we can build a private well by ourselves. If we can’t count on the government to bail us out of a tough situation, drilling our own well might be the fastest way to get water for emergencies.
This is a DIY water well kit (Emergency Water Well) which is on my shopping list. I live in an apartment now, so I can’t realistically try it. But I am looking for the right place to set this up… Before drilling your own well, try to find a friend or neighbor who has one already. If you’re lucky, they’ll be nice enough to share. If other people in your neighborhood have wells, it’s a pretty good indication that you’ll be able to find groundwater. Finally, if you do drill your own well, be aware of local regulations, of course, and be sure to test the water for safety, before drinking it.
American Geosciences Institute (AGI) provides ground water information for your reference. You can also try to check the old maps at oldmapsonline.org to find places where they’re used to ponds or farms that may have been covered up by newer residential areas.
自分で井戸を掘ってみる手段もあり。
Portable water filters might help you when using water well. (See blog post #11).
This is Japanese website about a DIY water well. Very helpful!! (自作井戸掘りの方法）
If well water is not an option, try to find locations where emergency water will be distributed, places like the Disaster Recovery Centers (DRC’s) organized by the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). You need to find out now before the power goes out.
事前に各自治体の災害時給水所がどこになるのか、調べておこう。
Workers in the government, they are human too. Their top priority is the safety of their own families, just like ours. In a disaster, they will have the same problems we have. We need to be prepared to take care of ourselves.
See you next time.
Remember, “Protect your life by yourself” （自分の命は自分で守る). You need to survive first, and then you need your emergency supply. No matter how well you prepared your emergency supplies, if you die, then all of your preparations will have been for nothing. First and foremost, keep your health up all the time. Build your stamina so that if you need to, you can evacuate as quickly as possible. Stay healthy.