I know some of you are making funny memes about the windmills here in Texas, but things are worse than most people think.
We are undergoing a “cascading effect” disaster. We lost power throughout Austin (and most other Texas counties) about 30 hours ago, and last estimates say it might be another 24 hours before it’s restored. I actually think it will be longer, because we will be hit with another big snowstorm Tuesday evening (tonight). With power being out so long, the city’s water system has completely shut down from lack of power, and prolonged aub-freezing temps might result in frozen pipes in the water mains. I have a 4wd jeep that won’t start because the engine block is frozen (hopefully that clears up tomorrow). I used to live in Alaska, so I can cope with the cold, but it sucks not having a vehicle that can safely navigate these unplowed/unsanded roads. I’m already seeing reports of people being caught without any spare water and are melting snow in order to keep the toilets working. Many people with fireplaces are exhausting their wood supply, and people can’t find food or water at stores because they’re powerless, too. I’m thankful that my wife and I learned some good lessons from being without power for 5 days in 2006, and we are not really under too much stress. Aside from it just being frickin cold in the house, we have plenty of blankets, water, and food - most of my neighbors have underestimated how much food and water they need if they have kids - those of us that can spare some are doing the best we can to help our neighbors. All city infrastructure and emergency support is overwhelmed right now, so the most important thing is we keep a check on our neighbors. We are definitely experiencing a disaster now, but there’s little that can be done other than “shelter in place.”
One other gem: My guess is that cellular tower backup generators will start to fail today or tonight. Not that it matters much, because cell service is jammed tight during waking hours.
Anyway, the memes are funny, but the reality is that millions of great Texans are suffering. I’m not looking for sympathy, I just want y’all to understand that most folks drastically underestimated how prepared they needed to be, so things are pretty bad now.
I also want to give a shout to the linemen and civil engineers that are working long hours in these freezing temps trying to restore power and water. They’re the true heroes this week.
Thanks for filling us in and good luck staying safe. I would have thought if any state was prepared like a boy scout it would be Texas. Hope this wakes a lot of people up.
One thing we do that might be helpful to spread when this is over... We keep a month's worth of 2 liter water bottles in storage and rotate them out. Takes up a lot of space but it's worth it.
We could do with a thread of tips for people currently in this situation or people wanting to prepare for this to happen in the future. Yourself and OP seem to know what you're talking about.
How much is a month's worth of water?
You need to drink about 3-4 liters of water (~¾-1 gallon) per person, per day. If you're using refillable bottles, remember that water doesn't keep well by itself, the technical term for this is "it gets funky", breeding ground for nasty shit. An old trick is to lightly rinse out old bleach jugs, then use them to hold water. The trace amounts of chemicals left will sterilize the water and keep it clean without getting you sick when you drink it. (Has a bit of a tangy aftertaste, though.)
To flush your toilet once a day ("if it's yellow..."), add about another 1-2 gallons if you have an efficiency model, or 5-7 gallons if you don't. Although it sounds gross, you can have your family piss in a bucket and shit in the toilet, and whenever the bucket gets mostly full use that to mechanically flush the solid waste down, to save on water.
If you have a weird kid who insists on shitting in the piss bucket, go ahead and kill him now. There's no helping the little fucker. Also, congrats, you now have more water for everyone! Yay!
Also, you don't want to let piss and shit sit out too long in the name of saving water, or you attract pests, foment bacteria, and the really bad diseases happen. We're talking Oregon Trail where everyone dies of dysentery here.
Showers consume ~2 gallons per minute, so they're out of the question. Won't even mention bathing in a tub, even if everyone shares the same bath water that's still not efficient (plus you risk tossing the baby out, although if you're running out of water because you insist on bathing, well, survival of the fittest and all that.)
Get a couple of washrags and sponges apiece, fill up a few lidded five gallon jugs apiece with water and about a tablespoon of bleach (as before but slightly stronger, to keep it from festering), and use this to sponge bathe. Remember the "its": pits, tits, shits, and bits are the most important places to wash (e.g., prioritize washing your armpits, chest, asshole, and genitals.) This also means, don't waste thirty gallons of emergency water washing your hair, ladies. Embrace the natty dreads look, it's totally in this month.
Also, don't double dip. We get that some nastiness is going to get into the communal water (that's why we sterilize it heavily first), but keep another bucket to squeeze the foul water into, use a different sponge for your asshole and genitals than the one you dip in the bucket, and remember which is which. Never go ass to mouth.
As a bonus, you can also use this water for your gray water needs, either to flush the toilet if the pissoir trick doesn't do it, or to hand wash dishes and clothes in. Just remember to keep your buckets separate: don't do laundry in the drinking water, don't scrub forks in the shit water residue, and don't dump the piss bucket over your head for a shower -- and if you accidentally do, don't gargle. (Most important tip on this list, honestly.)
So far we're up to about 30 gallons for drinking, 30-210 gallons for toiletry, and another 30 for bathing, dishes, and laundry. Per person. (Hope you have an efficiency toilet, poop like once a week, or like the smell of feces in the morning, there's a reason why toilets beat out even older models of washing machines for worst water wasters.)
You'll also want water for cooking, and no, you don't want to just crib that from your drinking supply. Gourmet mac and cheese isn't worth dehydration. No, not even that fancy stuff from Kraft is worth dying for. I'm super serious, you guys.
Overall, let's say anywhere from 150-300 gallons per person, for a month. A 55 gallon drum is about a midget tall and slightly wider than a fatty (or for people who like REAL measurements, ~2x2½x2½ cubic feet, and don't ask why I'm measuring cubically for a cylinder, math is weird), and you'll need between 3 and 6 of those per person.
Most drums stack, but those bitches be heavy yo (if you think reloading the water cooler at work sucks, these are only ~11x worse at roughly 450 pounds), so don't try to do it AFTER loading. And don't try to put like half a dozen of them on top of each other, unless you LIKE catastrophic stress failure and quarter ton squishing devices of doom rolling around your house.
Keep it to two or three high, and three's pushing it. Yeah, stick with two high. So assuming a family of four and that I've scared you into changing out your toilet right now, you'll want a nice row in your living room of six wide, two high. Throw out the couch to make room. This accent is a great décor set and fascinating conversation starter for when friends come over to talk about the weather, the noblesse oblige of philanthropy, and ultimately beg for potable water because they didn't prep like you did.
Add a bunch of spare buckets to convey the water around, plus a few jugs, and whatever else, and they may as well be full when you first get them, no such thing as overprepared. And per Murphy's Law, always assume something will go wrong, so maybe throw in a few more to spare in case a drum bursts, goes viral in the non-Youtube way, or you just get really thirsty.
Hope this helps. Also, hope I didn't forget anything. Also, hope you don't die because I forgot something and you took my advice to the tee (or tea, if you brew.)