Thank you so much for all of your suggestions for our water problem! My friend called yesterday and said that the local paper had an article on the front page that stated the water levels are the lowest they've been in over 100 years! Well now, that explains it!
I knew we were dry, but I didn't know it was that bad!
The Lord blessed us with rain yesterday. In the absence of a "real" rain harvesting system, or even gutters, I made my own way for collecting water. I lined up every bowl, pitcher, pot, bucket and cooler I own under the edge of the roofline to catch the runoff. I used it to flush the toilet, wash dishes, water the animals, and set up a hand-washing station. God is good and sent rain just when we needed it most!
We're headed to a friend's house for showers this evening...boy, that will be the BEST shower I've ever had! Sponge-bathing just isn't doing it for me!
My husband filled our storage water bottles (for non-drinking use) with city water from his work. YUCK! One whiff of that stuff made me very thankful for the underground spring that we use for our home...even if it does dry up now and then!
We've been researching our options for a back-up water system and I think we have settled on a rain-harvesting system using roof gutters and a collection tank. We're hoping to figure out how to gravity-feed it into the house. We'd also like to use the pole barn roof and a smaller cistern to collect water for the animals and the garden.
Another way we've decided to conserve water is by re-using our gray water. All of the water that leaves our house (except for the stuff that goes to the septic tank, of course) goes out a pipe and down a hill to the side of our house. We are going to start catching some of the water and filling the back of our toilet tank with it so that we can avoid flushing good spring water. I'm switching to organic cleansers so that we can avoid messing up the septic with chemicals.
Jack's up, so I have to run for now...I'm working on a great post for next week called "100 Tips For Going Green...The Frugal Way!" These will be things that everyone can implement into their daily lives...easily and cheaply! Stay tuned...
'Til next time...
Brandi
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2 comments:
Did you read this ?
http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2008/10/harvesting-rain-water.html
Praying for your family. It sounds like what you are talking about but if you had not read, I wanted to pass along!
Flossie
Hi Brandi!
I'm sorry I wasn't able to read your post sooner and feel your pain regarding your water issues. It sounds like you've done a great job using your existing resources to retain the rain you just received. God is so faithful, isn't He?!! As you know, several of the folks in our community have catch water systems and if there is any way we may help you and your husband with input or ideas, please don't hesitate to contact us. I was going to suggest exactly what you've done already with this most recent rain. It sounds like you are being very good stewards with your resources. I never realized how much water we wasted when we were living in the city connected to that water system. Now we are so much more aware of God's direct provision and the importance of our stewardship of it. I pray God gives you wisdom and direction in your quest to set up a catch water system. I really appreciate your teachable spirit and positive attitude.
Susan
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