Taking On Issues - Political Issues and Government Policies

A Hot Discussion Forum on Government Policies and Political Issues

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Election 2016
  • Big Government
  • Healthcare
  • The Other Side
  • What’s New
  • Your Freedom

Can a pool help someone survive?

June 19, 2017 By Takingonissues

Swimming pool

In short, the answer is yes. However, there must be a fair amount of caution when approaching the issue of what a swimming pool and its contents can be safely used for. One of the first thoughts that comes to mind when discussing swimming pools during a disaster scenario is that they are a goldmine of post-SHTF drinking water. This is exactly where the caution comes into play because the myriad of chemicals that are typically found in pool water can be very dangerous if ingested. In addition to the potential harmful nature of pool chemicals, it cannot be assumed that just because there is a pool, that the water has been properly treated and maintained. The immediate thought is that it would be better to find drinking water elsewhere.

So with drinking pool water off the table, why would anyone want a pool for survival purposes?

Drinking water

Wait…. what? Yes, I will now contradict myself. While I said that it is not a good idea to drink pool water, it does not mean that a pool cannot be used to collect other water (like rain) to provide drinking water. Additionally, if a pool were to be sitting unused, it could be filled with municipal or well water that could be drawn from and filtered, as it was needed for drinking.

Among the chemicals that can typically be found around a swimming pool is “pool shock,” which is a granular form of calcium hypochlorite. So even if the water in a pool should not be consumed itself, the calcium hypochlorite that is used to treat pool water can be a method for purifying water to make it safe to drink.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the basic formula for taking ordinary water and treating it with granular calcium hypochlorite is as follows:

  1. Make a chlorine solution by taking a heaping teaspoon (approximately ¼ ounce) of high-test granular calcium hypochlorite and mixing it with two gallons of water until the particles dissolve.
  2. Add one part of the chlorine solution to 100 parts of the water to be treated. (This is roughly the equivalent of one pint of the chlorine solution to 12.5 gallons of water.)
  3. If the water tastes too much like chlorine, pour the treated water from one clean container to another and let it stand for a few hours before use.
SOURCE: EPA Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water

Food

Just like a pool can be repurposed to house a large quantity of water for drinking, this same water can be used for food preparation. Whether it is used to rehydrate foods, boil pasta or make soup, clean water is the only safe method for cooking.

A pool can also double as a pond to raise your own food in. Whether as a stand-alone pond or part of an aquaponics system, the ability to raise fish as a source of food can be a huge boost to one’s food preparedness. Always ensure that if a pool is used to raise fish that the water is safe for the fish. This means that pool water cannot be used but it is also not safe to raise fish in municipal water that contains chemicals. This also results in a scenario where the pool will need to be emptied and rain water (or other untreated water) will have to be allowed to fill the pool.

Probably the best choice of fish to raise in a pool in the backyard is tilapia. It is a variety of fish that is very hardy in a variety of temperatures and can be grown out to harvestable size in roughly eight months time. In addition to rapid growth, tilapia also offers a significant size and weight for the amount of food that they must consume for the output.

Sanitation

Sanitation is extremely important to ensuring safe, long-term survival. Without proper sanitation practices, there are great risks associated with the potential diseases that can be contracted when poor sanitation conditions are present. In a disaster scenario where regular water and sanitation systems may not be functioning, having the water necessary to carry out these vital sanitation tasks become even more important. Some of the uses of pool water for sanitation in a disaster scenario include:

Bathing — There is nothing in pool water that can make it dangerous to use to bathe with. If using pool water for bathing, don’t bathe in the pool but take water from the pool to bathe with.

Toilet flushing — As long as a toilet can be flushed down, water can be added to the tank on the back of the toilet to facilitate flushing.

Laundry — While not entirely necessary to have clean clothes all of the time, there is something to be said about the comfort that clean clothing provides. Clean and dry clothes are also best suited for providing warmth in a cold environment as compared to wet and/or dirty clothing.

Dishes — Just like making clothes clean, pool water can be used to wash dishes and ensure that food preparation can be completed safely.

Fire

There is always the risk of an accidental fire when there is no disaster scenario in effect but if there is a large-scale disaster, the availability of the fire department or other emergency services may be nonexistent. This is something that can be of even higher risk in rural or remote areas. While a pool will not provide an endless supply of water, quick action following the discovery of a fire can end the threat with a minimal amount of water compared to an out of control fire.

In order to make a swimming pool an effective means to fight a fire, it is important to either have gravity on your side or have access to a water pump to be able to send the water where it needs to be. In addition to a water pump, having enough hose and appropriate hose nozzles to fight a fire are paramount to being effective.

Even if the water in a pool cannot successfully put out a fire, it may be the stop gap needed to hold off the increasing severity of a fire for a period of time that will allow emergency services the time needed to respond to your fire.

Leisure and entertainment

It would be just plain negligent to address the issue of swimming pools without including their use for leisure and entertainment. So while there are several other potential uses for a swimming pool in surviving the end of the world as we know it, there is always an opportunity to take a swim to relax and cool off.

While there are certainly other areas of preparedness that likely dictate attention prior to a swimming pool, there are several potential ways that a swimming pool can assist in being better prepared for disaster. The advantages offered by having a pool for preparedness can also be had for a reasonable price. A large in-ground swimming pool can cost thousands of dollars but the local big box store has a great variety of above-ground options starting at little more than $100.

— Thomas Miller

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Email, RSS Follow

Related

Subscribe to Taking on Issues

Enter your email address to subscribe to our site and receive notifications of new posts by email.

RSS Political News

  • Dem 2020 hopefuls Harris, Warren say they embrace idea of reparations for black Americans: report February 22, 2019
  • Trump Calls NYT True Enemy of the People February 22, 2019
  • Lawsuit Brought Against Trump for Damaging El Paso County February 22, 2019
  • Smollett Won't Change How Anyone Feels About Hate Crimes February 22, 2019
  • Why Vote for Sanders When You Can Have Warren Instead? February 22, 2019
  • Americans Want a Less Aggressive Foreign Policy February 22, 2019
  • National Emergency Will Haunt Trump's Re-Election Bid February 22, 2019
  • A Very British Lesson for the American Left February 22, 2019
  • Epidemic Of Anti-Jewish Hate Crimes In Brooklyn Is No Hoax February 22, 2019

Archives

New Featured Articles

  • Business partner: Whistleblower’s claim about Michael Flynn text is false
    December 11, 2017

    Last week I wrote about a whistleblower allegation involving Michael Flynn and a former business partner of his named Alex Copson of ACU Strategic Partners. According to a letter sent by Oversight Committee ranking member Elijah Cummings, the whistleblower happened to be at a party where Copson was bragging about having just received a text […]

    Email, RSS Follow
    […]
  • Michael Moore: Hey, let’s repeal the ‘outdated’ 2nd Amendment
    October 4, 2017
    You have to give Michael Moore this much, he says what […]
  • Report: Trump about to unwind some of Obama’s distortions to labor laws
    October 24, 2018
    There were rumors about this earlier in the year, but […]
  • Maddow: It’s not my fault if people overhyped the tax return story
    March 16, 2017
    posted at 6:01 pm on March 16, 2017 by John Sexton […]
  • Social justice warriors are coming to public schools next
    February 1, 2018
    Today the Weekly Standard published a piece […]
  • Colorado moves to thwart the Electoral College
    February 14, 2019
    Somebody is still a little peeved about losing the […]
  • Three sexual assault cases involving Harvey Weinstein sent to DA (and Rose McGowan’s former manager commits suicide)
    February 8, 2018
    We’ve been hearing about Harvey […]
  • Sunday reflection: John 4:5-42
    March 19, 2017
    posted at 11:31 am on March 19, 2017 by Ed Morrissey […]
  • Breaking: CNN, NBC report that Franken’s out; Liveblog: Franken denies allegations; attacks Trump, Moore; resignation in “weeks”; Final question: Will Franken actually leave?
    December 7, 2017
    Update: Karol Markowicz deserves the final word on […]
  • So when will Senate Dems meet to discuss Beto?
    September 14, 2018
    What’s the difference between an alleged and […]
  • End the Blockade of Gaza
    March 30, 2018
    The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian […]
  • Time for a new nuclear option for judicial confirmations
    January 23, 2019
    When it comes to new judicial confirmations, […]
  • U.S. Should Favor the Most Vulnerable Religious Refugees
    March 15, 2017
    Last week, the Trump Administration made another […]
  • U.S. Clients Are Not Our ‘Friends’
    December 29, 2016
    Like the U.S. abstention on UNSCR 2334, John […]
  • Obama Politics All The Way To Election Time
    May 9, 2012
    Perfecting Obama Style Politics Mr. Obama is doing a […]
Copyright © 2019 TakingOnIssues.com

Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Advertise | About Us