Connect with us

Published

on

As a prepper, the last thing you want is to turn on the faucet and not have any water flow from it.Before this happens to you during a long-term water disruption, it’s best to learn about several ways to find and harvest more water for your stockpile.

Some options include installing a well with a solar-powered pump on your homestead and learning how to harvest rainwater.(h/t to PrepperWebsite.com) Why do you need alternative strategies for a water shortage?

You can stock up onenough bottled water so your family has enough water to drink during a long-term survival disaster, but how do you know when you have enough water?

According tominimum recommendations, you should have at least one gallon of water per person. It is also best to keep a three-day supply on hand at all times.

However, if the weather is hot you may need twice as much water. This still doesn’t include the water you need for washing, flushing the toilet, watering the garden or for your pets and livestock.

During the first day or two without running water, you can find water in places like toilet tanks, water heaters and swimming pools. But after these supplies are depleted, locating water will be an ongoing effort.

You should also remember that even if these alternative sources are available in your area, other people will be heading for the same water sources when SHTF.If you don’t want to fight other people just to get more water for your family, you should use other means to get the water you require.

Survival scenarios also highlight the need toplan ahead and get prepared beforehand, especially if you have a home garden and livestock that will require water.

If you are concerned about where to get water when SHTF, below are some tips on how to get more water when your supply runs out: Install a well with a solar-powered pump

People who live inrural areas use well water, which is ideal because it is often a reliable source of water, except when there is no electricity to operate the pump.

To avoid this issue, you can get asolar-powered pump for the well in your homestead.If you have a well, consider getting a solar-powered pump before disaster strikes so you can rest easy knowing that you can still access the water in your well even during a power outage.

While this option is the most expensive on the list, it is also one worth considering since it offers the most reliable supply of water. (Related: Prepping tips: How to survive with a limited water supply.) Harvest rainwater

Even non-preppers can learn how to harvest rainwater, and this prepping skill will come in handy when you are experiencing a disrupted water supply.

You can either splurge on a qualitysetup with gutters feeding into a storage tank, or you can choose something simple like a rain barrel with a filter. Whatever your budget, you need to storethe collected water in a covered container to prevent mosquitoes from using the water as a breeding ground.

Covering the rainwater you gathered can also help prevent the water from evaporating.

If your house doesn’t havegutters, you can use the channels in your roof that divert water into a stream off the rooftop. Simply arrange containers underneath that area to catch the rainwater.

For example, you can get yourroofer to add diverters that will direct water off the front of your roof so you can gather the rainwater in a tank or rain barrel when it rains. Use swales

Before SHTF, you can also use swales to storerainwater in your home garden.

Swales are water-harvesting ditches. However, unlike drainage ditches that cut across the contour of the land to speed water along, swales are built “on contour” to slow water down and sink it into the earth.

Swales built on contours collect water and help to recharge groundwater tables. They help to control erosionand are designed to convey excess rainwater into their ditch-like interior. Swales hold the water until it is gradually filtered through plants and soil back into the area.

You don’t need special equipment to build a swale. Get a shovel, a pick and some stakes, then be ready to use a bit of elbow grease. But if you are not strong enough to dig a swale yourself, you can make things easier by borrowing or rentinga backhoe.

The size of your swale will depend upon the volume of water your area receives during a storm.

When choosing where to dig the swale, look forthe lowest point of your property. Dig deeply enough so the storm runoff collects inside the ditch.

Pile the soil up around the trench as you excavate to create the berms, orthe raised sides of a swale that contain filtering vegetation and porous soil.The recommended rule is three feet horizontal to one foot vertical.

You need to grow plants to help keep the mounds in place and to filter and use the stored water. When choosing plants for the swale, choose varieties that can withstand different conditions.

If you live inareas with little annual rainfall but have sudden rainstorms that drop huge volumes of water at once, choose plants that are drought tolerant but grow well in sudden but infrequent heavy rains.

If you’re not sure what to plant in the swale, grownative plants that are already adapted to the area’s changing climate and fluctuating rainfall. During the first year of their installation, the plants will require additional water to help them establish.

After some time, the plants in the swale should grow well with only the captured water, except in severely dry periods.

Amend the soil in the swale ifit is nutritionally poor. You can also add a ground cover of pebbles or rocks in the interior of the swale.

The pebbles or rocks will help further filter water, hold in the soil and can be piled to provide check dams that will help slow the flow of water.

Keep plantings dense to discourage weeds and choose plants that are at least four to five inches tall and resistant to flooding. Build a condensation trap

When SHTF, you can also gather water usinga condensation trap.

You can build a condensation trap by digginga pit and placing a receptacle to catch water. Use branches angled down towards the receptacle to direct the dew and frost that gathered on the branches overnight into the catchment container.

Modern preppers have it easier because you can useplastic sheeting instead of branches to divert the water.

This method of collecting water can help provide water for a couple of animals, but unless you build a lot of condensation traps, you won’t get enough water for a large home garden and your whole family.

Check online for detailed instructions on how to create condensation traps before SHTF. Learn about dryland farming

The principles of dryland farming can help preppers and homegardeners who want to learn how to use as little water as possible and keep the moisture in the soil longer.

Knowing how to use the least amount of water will be useful in a watering emergency. This can help you make the most of a limited water supply, especially when dealing with a long-term water outage.

Somedryland farming techniques that might help include mulching heavily and making liberal use of rotting wood chips in your garden beds. You can also pair this method with rainwater collection.

Dryland farming also makes use of drought-resistant, region-specific crops so your home garden needs less water.

Preparing ahead of time ensures that you and your family cansurvive a long-term water supply disruption. Look into techniques like rainwater collection and building swales to make sure that you have enough water for your whole family, livestock and your home garden when SHTF and water become scarce.

And if disaster doesn’t strike, some of these techniques can help you save a bit of money on yourwater bill as you add more water to your stockpile.

Visit Preparedness.newsfor more tips on how to conserve your water supply when SHTF.

Watch the video below tolearnhow to create a DIY rainwater collection system.

This video is from theSHTFPrepping101 channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories:

4 Tips to preven emergency water from freezing.

Water supply basics: How to use ponds as an emergency water source.

Water supply and prepping: A beginners guide to rainwater collection.

Sources include:

PrepperWebsite.com

GardeningKnowHow.com

Brighteon.com
Submit a correction >>

Continue Reading

World

Trump ‘very disappointed’ in Russian strikes on Ukraine and calls for Putin to ‘sit down and sign a deal’

Published

on

By

Trump 'very disappointed' in Russian strikes on Ukraine and calls for Putin to 'sit down and sign a deal'

Donald Trump has said he’s “very disappointed” with Russia as he continues to push for a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine.

On Saturday, the US president met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Vatican for their first face-to-face meeting since their explosive White House summit.

The Ukrainian president said the meeting ahead of Pope Francis’s funeral could end up being “historic.” Hours later, Mr Trump questioned Vladimir Putin’s appetite for peace in a Truth Social post.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

From Saturday: Trump meets Zelenskyy at funeral

Speaking before boarding Air Force One on Sunday, Mr Trump again said the meeting went well, and that the Ukrainian leader was “calmer”.

“I think he understands the picture, I think he wants to make a deal,” he said, before turning to Mr Putin and Russia.

“I want him to stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal,” the US president said, adding he was “very disappointed that they did the bombing of those places (including Kyiv, where nine people were killed in a Russian airstrike on Friday) after discussions”.

However, Mr Trump said he thinks Mr Zelenskyy is ready to give up Crimea, which the Ukrainian leader has repeatedly said he would refuse to do.

More on Donald Trump

He added that “we’ll see what happens in the next few days” and said “don’t talk to me about Crimea, talk to Obama and Biden about Crimea”.

Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, while Barack Obama was president.

Meanwhile, US secretary of state Marco Rubio told Sky’s US partner network NBC News that a peace deal to end the war was “closer in general than they’ve been any time in the last three years, but it’s still not there”.

“If this was an easy war to end, it would have been ended by someone else a long time ago,” he added on the Meet the Press show.

Read more:
Child among 11 dead after Vancouver car attack
Liverpool win Premier League title to equal Man Utd’s record

Follow The World
Follow The World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

It comes after North Korea confirmed it had deployed troops to fight for Russia, months after Ukraine and Western officials said its forces were in Europe.

State media outlet KCNA reported North Korean soldiers made an “important contribution” to expelling Ukrainian forces from Russian territory, likely to be the Kursk region.

👉 Follow Trump100 on your podcast app 👈

KCNA said leader Kim Jong Un made the decision to deploy troops to Russia and notified Moscow, and quoted him as saying: “They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honour of the motherland.”

It also quoted the country’s ruling Workers’ Party as saying the end of the battle to liberate Kursk showed the “highest strategic level of the firm militant friendship” between North Korea and Russia.

Last June, Mr Kim and Mr Putin signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty after a state visit – his first to the country in 24 years.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

From June 2024: Putin drives Kim around in luxury limo during state visit

The North Korean leader promised at the time “full support and solidarity to the Russian government, army and people in carrying out the special military operation in Ukraine”.

Continue Reading

World

40 killed in blast at Iran’s biggest port as Tehran denies explosion ‘linked to fuel for missiles’

Published

on

By

40 killed in blast at Iran's biggest port as Tehran denies explosion 'linked to fuel for missiles'

At least 40 people have been killed and several hundred more injured after an explosion and fire at Iran’s largest port, according to state media.

The blast, at the Shahid Rajaei container hub near the southern city of Bandar Abbas, happened on Saturday as Iran held a third round of talks with the US in Oman about Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Shipping containers burned, goods inside were badly damaged and the explosion was so powerful that windows several miles away were shattered, reports said.

Iranian Red Crescent rescuers work at the site of the blast. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Iranian Red Crescent rescuers work at the site of the blast. Pic: Reuters

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

The blast at the Shahid Rajaei port happened as Iran and the US met for the third round of negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Helicopters and aircraft dumped water from the air on the blaze and by Sunday afternoon it was 90% extinguished, the head of Iran’s Red Crescent Society told state media.

Officials said port activities had resumed in unaffected parts of Shahid Rajaei.

Out of the 752 people who had received treatment for their injuries, 190 were still being treated in medical centres on Sunday, according to Iran’s crisis management organisation.

Chemicals at the port were suspected to have worsened the blast, but the exact cause of the explosion was not clear.

More on Iran

Iran’s defence ministry denied international media reports that the explosion may be connected to the mishandling of solid fuel used for missiles.

The reports were “aligned with enemy psyops [psychological operations]”, according to a ministry spokesperson, who told state TV the blast-hit area did not contain any military cargo.

Firefighters work to extinguish the fire. Pic: AP
Image:
Firefighters work to extinguish the blaze. Pic: AP

Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

Read more:
Nine die after vehicle hits crowd at Vancouver street festival
Pictures of Pope Francis’s tomb released as it opens to public

According to the Associated Press, British security company Ambrey said that the port in March received sodium perchlorate, which is used to propel ballistic missiles and the mishandling of which could have led to the explosion.

Follow The World
Follow The World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

The Financial Times previously reported two Iranian vessels had shipped from China enough of the ingredient to propel up to 260 mid-range missiles.

It was reportedly to help Tehran replenish stocks after its missile attacks on Israel in 2024.

Iran’s military has sought to deny the delivery of sodium perchlorate from China.

Iran’s state-run Irna news agency reported on Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin deployed several emergency aircraft to Bandar Abbas to provide help.

Continue Reading

World

Pilgrims travel to Pope Francis’s tomb to remember the late pontiff

Published

on

By

Pilgrims travel to Pope Francis's tomb to remember the late pontiff

Anna and Irene have already been queuing for an hour or so, and they know they have a long wait still to come.

“Two hours, three hours, ten hours – what does it matter?” says Irena. “This is about eternity.”

They have come to Rome from Slovenia, Catholics who felt “Papa Francis would have wanted us to be here”.

People take photos of the grave of late Pope Francis inside St. Mary Major Basilica.
Pic: AP/Andrew Medichini
Image:
People take photos of the grave of late Pope Francis inside St. Mary Major Basilica. Pic: AP/Andrew Medichini

A single white rose left on the tomb. Pic: Vatican
Image:
A single white rose left on the tomb. Pic: Vatican

And under the sun outside Santa Maria Maggiore, they are awaiting the opportunity to visit his tomb.

Francis, says Irena, “was like a rainbow” who lit up the world. Anna nods along: “We are so happy to be here.”

The Pope’s tomb has become a new source of pilgrimage.

More than 30,000 people came to view it during the first morning after the Pope’s funeral, the queue snaking from the front of the mighty basilica and then up and down across the square at the back.

More on Pope Francis

Some were curious visitors, others were devout followers – priests and nuns mixing in the queue with tourists and devoted locals.

All of these admired Francis; a very few actually knew him.

Father Alessandro Masseroni is a deacon who came to Rome to train to become a priest. On his phone, he shows me a photo of him and Francis, with the Pope offering words of encouragement.

Father Alessandro Masseroni meeting the Pope
Image:
Father Alessandro Masseroni meeting the Pope

He says: “I had the honour to serve Pope Francis and to talk to him many times and it was a special experience. I understand why he was so loved by all the people – he was simple and direct.

“He was sunny. St Francis was his role model and when I saw the first picture of the Pope’s tomb, the first thing I thought was of the tomb of St Francis of Assisi.

“Pope Francis will leave a legacy – it doesn’t end with his death but will continue.”

People attend the funeral Mass of Pope Francis at the Vatican, April 26, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
Image:
People attend the funeral of Pope Francis. Pic: Reuters/Yara Nardi

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Video shows Pope’s tomb

What are your emotions now, as you wait to visit his tomb, I ask. Father Alessandro pauses and smiles.

“Many emotions of course, but mainly, I think… thankfulness.”

That has been a recurring aspect among so many of the people we have met in Rome over the past week – the sense that sadness for Francis’s death is outweighed by the sense that his was a life that should be celebrated.

Volodymyr Borysyak flew in from London on the morning of the Pope’s funeral to make his third pilgrimage to Rome.

Barely had he arrived than his phone was stolen, a crime he responded to by praying for the thief.

Read more:
Vatican shares details of Pope’s private burial
How the new pope will be chosen

Volodymyr is a refugee from western Ukraine who worries that his home country’s plight is being forgotten by some of the world.

Now, the Pope who inspired him has died.

You might imagine that he would be resentful and angry. Instead, he is full of smiles.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

The farewell to Pope Francis

“We are happy to be the pilgrims of the world and this is a special day,” he tells me. “I know the pope used to pray in this basilica so that is why we will stay so long here to visit Santa Maria Maggiore.

“I think Pope Francis was, is and will be the pope for the world, because of the mercy of his heart and his love for everybody.”

Continue Reading

Trending