12-04-2016, 08:06 AM
When you look at what people make do with in developing countries 100 gallons/day of clean water per family would be a huge luxury. This should not be dismissed. OTOH when company is here I go through more than 100 gallons/day easily. This should also not be dismissed. The culture we live in generally requires something like 50 gallons/day per person or more. If that amount of water is available as it is in Puna via catchment then there is no ecological downside to using that much, as long as you can dispose of the wastewater safely. There is also irrigation which is seasonal and fire suppression which you hope never to need but which is worth almost any price should you need it. Hence my decision to spend $3000 on a 10,000 gallon tank. Frankly that's a tiny cost given the budget for a modern house in the USA.
When I read survivalist and prepping websites I notice that some people who readily admit spending thousands on guns, ammunition, underground bunkers and the like that they will probably never use often get hung up on the mundane stuff. Before I put in my big tank I went a few times to the county taps. During drought periods it was kind of a circus and although I never saw anything bad other than some disgustingly unsanitary water containers like 5-gallon buckets with cracked lids that people had lain on the ground and stepped on and old gas cans, I could see how the distribution of such a necessary commodity based on the honor system could break down and I made a mental note that the truly prepared would provide for themselves otherwise.
When I read survivalist and prepping websites I notice that some people who readily admit spending thousands on guns, ammunition, underground bunkers and the like that they will probably never use often get hung up on the mundane stuff. Before I put in my big tank I went a few times to the county taps. During drought periods it was kind of a circus and although I never saw anything bad other than some disgustingly unsanitary water containers like 5-gallon buckets with cracked lids that people had lain on the ground and stepped on and old gas cans, I could see how the distribution of such a necessary commodity based on the honor system could break down and I made a mental note that the truly prepared would provide for themselves otherwise.