We have no water

...in Vicksburg today.  Early yesterday evening, the most critical piece of the city's water supply system - not just a water main but the water main, the one short section through which virtually all of the city's clean water goes - burst.  So I haven't had a shower since yesterday morning.  I happened to have a couple bottles of water in the fridge, so I poured one of them out for Pepper and used the other to brush my teeth and do the most essential cleaning, but I feel really icky.The latest news is that the repairs will likely be complete this afternoon, unless of course it takes 'til this weekend.  I'm not kidding, that's what the officials are really saying.My personal situation isn't too bleak.  If the water's not on by late this afternoon I'll just go to my mother's house out in the county.  Trouble is that my mother is in New England (I think, she won't answer her damned cell phone) and I can't find my key to her house.  That means I'm going to have to drive to my sister's first, and she lives a much further distance from town.  But that's the worst it'll be for me.I'll bet the truck stops in Jackson and Monroe will be doing a good business on shower rentals if this goes on beyond tonight.  I tell ya what, this is hell.  Everybody in town looks like they haven't showered, because they haven't.  Some of them smell like it. Me, for instance.Anything like this ever happen in your town?

All the time. I rigged up a fresh water supply to my toilet cistern and put a tap on it. That way I have 10 or so litres of non-stagnant water when the unannounced cut outs come. Its amazing how frugal you can be when needs be. Apparently leaving a tap running whilst brushing your teeth consumes 15 litres of water!Its a pisser when the first thing you do on coming in is to use the toilet, flush it and then go try to fill the kettle for a cup of tea a find out its cut out time though!!
Edited by iano, : No reason given.

iano writes:

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All the time.

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I guess it's whatever you're used to. Around here, this doesn't happen much. There's the odd boil-water notice that can go on for a few days and disrupt service at restaurants, etc., but it's very unusual for an entire city to be completely without water service.Anybody hear about that earthquake a few days ago in the Gulf of Mexico? It registered 6.0 and could be felt mildly over a good chunk of the Deep South. The plates in the Eastern US are much more solid than those on the West Coast, so small earthquakes can travel much farther, or so I've heard. So I wonder if this could be cause and effect?AbE: Oh yeah, almost forgot:

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Its a pisser when the first thing you do on coming in is to use the toilet, flush it and then go try to fill the kettle for a cup of tea a find out its cut out time though!!

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Yeesh! Oh well, oddly enough that is one thing I thought of right away. I go outside for the one. And I've already used my only flush for the other.Edited by berberry, : forgot something

As a paranoid schizo, I store many gallons of purified water in my basement. I also have over 200 gallons worth of water in the various fish tanks in my house. The only thing that scares me, really, is not getting electricity. I have a big ass freezer that will start to stink up if I don't have electricity for more than a few days.

Buy a petrol powered generator and stock up on some fuel. A freezer takes virtually nothing to run - insulated box that it is. If you don't chose this option and you get a serious power cut then run out and buy sheets of polystyrene insulation - it costs pennies, cut it neatly into panels to fit all sides, top and bottom. Tape it on - the more the merrier. You'll go weeks without problem. No heat out =- no loss of foodIf your quick after the power cut you can be first in the queue to hire a jennie (generator)Edited by iano, : No reason given.

Better option (if you don't know the duration of the cut out. Don't flush and stretch cling film over the unflushed bowl. Keep your options open as my dad always says.

if things get really bad, berberry might use a solar still and drink her own urine.

You know how I love to pick on you. Shouldn't that be "no heat in"?By the way, how do you propose to get the food out without letting heat in?

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I'm saving up to bye my own generator.And to someone else, I think berberry is a man...

Dirt-cheap gennies on Ebay.
In our fifth year of drought in Oz, with dam levels at c.29% of capacity, we are installing rainwater tanks in the cities. Proposals are to make it compulsory in all new houses. We are still getting heavy rain, but it falls in the more remote parts of the country, so thoughts are turning to a national grid of pipelines to pump to affected areas.
We are slowly getting away from water wastage, learning the value of what we have, so it`s not all bad.

Things didn't get quite that bad, mick, and iano's right - I'm a man.The suffering ended last night. I got that shower, and at my own home, no less. All is well now, although we're under a BWN that ends tomorrow.A nearby neighbor has a pool, and yesterday evening it occurred to me to go ask for a bucketful of pool water. The lady said "I hope you're not planning on drinking it" and I said that no, I only needed to flush my toilet. She said "oh, why didn't I think of that?" and called out to her teenaged son to get a bucket and haul some pool water inside.Just as I got my bucketful up this very, very steep hill and into the house, the water came back on. So it was roughly a 24-hour experience.

Engage in a bit of masochism whilst the super-aware-of-waters-value feeling is still on you. Turn on the kitchen tap full and go about your business around the house. Its a drop in the ocean in the scheme of things but the pain will be sweetly unbearable. See how long you last.

iano writes:

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Don't flush and stretch cling film over the unflushed bowl.

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I remember someone doing something like that at a drunken party somewhere, sometime. I don't remember much, but that detail stands out.

I hope you've learned your lesson. Just be like me and stock up on water around the house. Hint: wait till they are on sale.

better yet, save your milk jugs. (like the plastic one-gallon size). Water's cheaper from your tap then from the store anyday.just clean out the jugs first. milk-flavored water's gross.

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