How many people here are prepared for an emergency?

[sumi]

I would allow and actually encourage everyone to collect rainwater for use in the garden, etc. In the long run it helps a lot and it's good to have that back-up available.

Illegal wells and such, I absolute agree with. Take what nature gives you, but don't take from your neighbours.

Talking about water… A good friend of mine in S.A. ended up in hospital over the weekend after getting sick from drinking the town's tap water. Apparently bacteria in the water is a big problem in his home town at the moment.

 

[sumi]

It's funny, my last post here was about water and here I am… I know, unbelievably, after the heaviest snowfall Ireland had in over 30 years, we are in trouble with water now. And I'm not talking about the flood they predicted when all that snow melts. Shortage of drinkable water!

All I could find out so far is "someone" accidentally spilled a lot of kerosene in a nearby river. Apparently that contaminated quite a lot of water, including very possibly our drinking water. No-one knows for sure how long this is going to take to sort out, so us woefully underprepared villagers emptied the poor supermarket of the only thing they had a lot of stock left off: bottled water!

I gathered up as much of the remainder of the snow as I could in a container so if needed, I can use that to flush the toilet. I hear they are going to, or already did, cut our water supply. Crazy after all the snow melting and running off today, we need it now…

 

[Hinotori]

If the snow hasnt melted off the roof fully, I'd have containers under eaves or downspouts to collect what you can

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Oh wow... that is scary! Hope they get it sorted out quickly or get a new supply of bottled water in.

 

[baymule]

So they just turn everybody's water off? I hope the government sends in some tanker trucks of drinking water.

 

[sumi]

Unfortunately all the snow on the roofs have melted and what's left on the ground is disappearing very quickly now. Getting clean snow to melt for household use is difficult now, but I'm gathering what I can for the bathroom, chicken drink water, washing the floor, etc. We can drink and cook with bottled water for now.

When I took DS to school this morning I noticed a 1000 litre plastic tank with water sitting at the school gate.

Thankfully our local supermarket is absolutely awesome when it comes to situations like this. First the hurricane, then the snow last week, now this. They are doing their best to make sure we have we need. I'm going to start stocking up on a few emergency items anyway, starting with bottled water. This is the second time we lost water for some reason.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Glad the store is being pro-active! Yes - I would definitely stock up on water. Having that problem twice in a short amount of time would be a bit of a warning. Hope the situation is resolved quickly!

 

[baymule]

We always keep a couple of cases of bottled water around. But it is mainly because we work outside so much and guzzle it down. I sure am wanting to drill us a shallow well of some sort.

 

[Mini Horses]

Any locations with water issues should be using all the grey water they can for gardens. You can always use a bucket/dish pan/etc. to use to wash from & take that to the plants.

I keep a small bucket under eaves of the smaller chicken houses to catch rain water. They can drink water from it &/or I can pour into other watering devices for those who are penned (broodies, isolated roos, grow outs, etc). Helps with my carrying jugs to do refills. Of course, not a winter help sometimes Then, I keep an extra 150 gal trough filled to break ice & use as/if needed....if temps are that bad....or emergency.

I'm on a private 500+ ft deep but, electric must be available. A large generator set up to plug into main panel works here. OK, then there is gasoline....

 

[sumi]

I got an update on the situation. A large area and a number of villages are affected by this:

***Update on Kerosene Spillage

Irish Water issues "Do Not Drink" notice issued for Fethard Public Water Supply

March 5th, 2018 - Due to hydrocarbon contamination of the source supplying the Fethard Public Water Supply, Irish Water and Tipperary County Council, in consultation with the HSE, have issued a Do Not Drink notice for customers supplied by this scheme.

This water should not be used for
• drinking,
• drinks made with water,
• food preparation, washing or cooking of food,
• brushing of teeth, or
• making of ice.
In particular, pregnant women should not drink this water.

This water should not be used for making up infant formula for bottled fed infants. An alternative source of water should be used.

The water can be used for personal hygiene, bathing, flushing toilets, laundry and washing of utensils, however, if you are experiencing skin irritation you may wish to avoid using water for showering or bathing or washing clothes.

Domestic water filters will not render water safe to drink.

Caution should be taken when bathing children to ensure that they do not swallow the bathing water.

Discard ice cubes in fridges and freezers and filtered water in fridges.

Please note that boiling the water will not be sufficient to make it suitable to drink..

Areas affected include Fethard, Killenaule, Gortnahoe, Ballysloe, Ballynonty, Moyglass, Mullinahone, Drangan, Glengoole, Cloneen, Ballinure, Killusty and surrounding areas.

Water tankers will be provided to assist customers in these areas. Details of the locations of these tankers will be available on the Service and Supply Section of the Irish Water website at www.water.ie/water-supply/supply-and-service-update/

Irish Water is working with Tipperary County Council, the HSE and other relevant bodies to resolve this issue as quickly as possible. Our priority at this time is to safeguard public drinking water supplies and public health. Production at the plant has ceased until the issue has been resolved and it may be a number of days before a full supply is restored. We will continue to keep the public informed on the progress of this work.

Irish Water and Tipperary County Council apologise for the inconvenience caused as a result of this incident and wish to assure customers that we are making every effort to restore supply as quickly as possible once it is safe to do so.