An addition to the drinking water issue
We have discussed in depth most of the issues revolving around water the essence of life, finding, pumping, filtering, treating, storage etc but there is one little offshoot we have not yet fully explored.
Back in the early part of the industrial revolution when SD was opening his first Arkwright mill, Barneyboy was still a trainee Luddite and Scythe was still just a pruning knife the size of the mill towns, coal towns etc boomed as people flocked to them seeking work. Many places saw the population rise from a few hundred yokels harvesting mangel-wurzel’s to towns numbering thousands of workers within 50 years. But the social infrastructure had not kept pace with the booming economic output and the local water supplies were overwhelmed as the locals, washed, bathed, drank, cooked and defecated in and from the same water sources. Outbreaks of Typhus and Cholera were rampant as the polluted water supply was often the ONLY water supply for a community.
But it became noticed oddly enough by some god fearing tea totallers that many of the beer and ale consuming sinners never got ill but bible worshipping water drinking types were dropping like flies.
Anyway cutting away the rest of the history it became common knowledge before the advent of micro biology etc that if people drank ale and beer instead of water that they did not get cholera or typhus…….
So in many cases communities started brewing weak ales and beers for consumption with every meal, so people had clean safe liquid refreshments without getting dangerous bladdered.
So looking back at history perhaps we should also look at the various home brewing methods as extra sources of safe drinking liquids and its barter commodity value??
(30 June 2013, 14:02)NorthernRaider Wrote: [ -> ]An addition to the drinking water issue
We have discussed in depth most of the issues revolving around water the essence of life, finding, pumping, filtering, treating, storage etc but there is one little offshoot we have not yet fully explored.
Back in the early part of the industrial revolution when SD was opening his first Arkwright mill, Barneyboy was still a trainee Luddite and Scythe was still just a pruning knife the size of the mill towns, coal towns etc boomed as people flocked to them seeking work. Many places saw the population rise from a few hundred yokels harvesting mangel-wurzel’s to towns numbering thousands of workers within 50 years. But the social infrastructure had not kept pace with the booming economic output and the local water supplies were overwhelmed as the locals, washed, bathed, drank, cooked and defecated in and from the same water sources. Outbreaks of Typhus and Cholera were rampant as the polluted water supply was often the ONLY water supply for a community.
But it became noticed oddly enough by some god fearing tea totallers that many of the beer and ale consuming sinners never got ill but bible worshipping water drinking types were dropping like flies.
Anyway cutting away the rest of the history it became common knowledge before the advent of micro biology etc that if people drank ale and beer instead of water that they did not get cholera or typhus…….
So in many cases communities started brewing weak ales and beers for consumption with every meal, so people had clean safe liquid refreshments without getting dangerous bladdered.
So looking back at history perhaps we should also look at the various home brewing methods as extra sources of safe drinking liquids and its barter commodity value??
oh yes my brothers and sisters
I am sure that many people will get either cholera or typhus, there will be a lot of un-treated water around, but I think that these days most people [ at least the likes of ourselves ],.. know enough about this kind of problem to boil any water that comes to us from a suspect source
I dont drink now, so I doubt I would start after the shtf
(30 June 2013, 16:15)Highlander Wrote: [ -> ]I am sure that many people will get either cholera or typhus, there will be a lot of un-treated water around, but I think that these days most people [ at least the likes of ourselves ],.. know enough about this kind of problem to boil any water that comes to us from a suspect source
I dont drink now, so I doubt I would start after the shtf
yeah your wright there will be a big die off because of water borns
Look at the outragously high numbers of outbreaks of E coli, C Difficile, MRSA, Fascititus etc etc as it is now in our modern society with all its bells n whistles, Imagine a week with electricity, refrigeration, water out the tap and working sewage systems, them microscopic little buggers scare me more than anything else.
I see and respect your point HL, methinks you will plan accordingly with filtraton, wood for boiling water and charcoal for extra filtering.
On the plus side, if you can look at it that way, many of those infections will remain in the hospitals when people go to them for help and don't leave. The few that leave will take with them a death sentence for that community and although will will still die from these infections does it make that much difference without antibiotics if it is something that could be treated or not.
Going to make some filters from some 4" plastic soil pipe to incorporate into downpipes from roof gutters ...into plastic barrels.
(30 June 2013, 19:18)NorthernRaider Wrote: [ -> ]I see and respect your point HL, methinks you will plan accordingly with filtraton, wood for boiling water and charcoal for extra filtering.
I do certainly plan on having the contents of a water filtration system ready to make,.. so that I am ready,.. SD made me think more about this last weekend.
(30 June 2013, 20:16)Highlander Wrote: [ -> ] (30 June 2013, 19:18)NorthernRaider Wrote: [ -> ]I see and respect your point HL, methinks you will plan accordingly with filtraton, wood for boiling water and charcoal for extra filtering.
I do certainly plan on having the contents of a water filtration system ready to make,.. so that I am ready,.. SD made me think more about this last weekend.
Sand from the Loch, Charcoal from the woods, bit of plumbing .... bingo
Well NR, you are correct about the theory but your dates are off by about 5,000-8,000 years.
As soon as man stopped being a hunter-gatherer he became a brewer, and many anthropologists believed man stopped roaming around so he could brew.
Bread became the staff of life as the same grains used for brewing would make excellent breads if yeast fro the brewing process was added to the bread batter.
Eventually man invented writing so he could keep track of the best recipes for his brews and he invented counting so he could keep up with the bar tab. He was then forced to invent money so he could pay the bar tab since the brewer found it difficult to carry around bartered goats, pigs and chickens in their pockets.
The Egyptians and Mesopotamians knew that brewed drinks fended off waterborne disease 5,000 years ago and both the Greeks and Romans realized the alcohol in wine killed off the sickness in the water.
Brewed, fermented and distilled beverages are also concentrated calories. One of the earliest and most excellent forms of food preservation.
http://www.1st-art-gallery.com/English-S...lunch.html