Back in the early 1990’s I found myself building a four-bedroom bed & breakfast in a town called Busuanga, Northern Palawan.
The nearest trading post or town for supplies and building materials was an undeveloped sleepy town that took two hours overland. Thirty-five years later the sleepy town has become a popular tourism destination called Coron.
One thing that did not exist on our side was running water. People had to paddle small bancas or sibid to igib or draw water from a hillside spring. But instead of balde they used containers with screw-on caps to make them spill free and easy to transport.
The source of water was public and if several fishing boats or basnigs got ahead of you, it would be sunset before you got your turn. The solution was building a stone water tank with several two-inch industrial PVC gate valves, each assigned to locals and boats.
Since then, I have moved on to other experiences as well as water-related challenges. For instance, we once rented a rundown house on a hill in San Juan in Metro Manila that had a rundown swimming pool full of frogs. We grabbed it because the rent was cheap, on the condition that we fixed things on our own. After making the house livable, I decided to look into reviving or fixing the swimming pool. Everybody said it was unnecessary, would be expensive and not practical.
As it turned out, the pool filtration system still worked and after draining and scrubbing the tiles and evicting the frogs, we had ourselves an honest to goodness swimming pool.
About a year after we fixed everything, we experienced a typhoon that caused so much damage in Metro Manila. As a result, power lines were down, along with pumping stations and, being at the highest point, we did not get water for two weeks if not more.
By God’s grace, we had provision! We used the pool water for showers, flushing toilets, washing dishes and just about anything that required water. We were never into washing cars unlike neighbors down the hill or over watering our plants.
Since that event, I have maintained small fishponds, aquariums and grab any PVC/PE water tank that friends or neighbors want to get rid of. At home in Kapitolyo we have a pond that stores approximately 8,000 gallons combined with aquariums, which give me some assurance that we will have a water source.
In case of a shortage, the first step would be to use a small submersible ultraviolet lamp powered by AC or DC combined with an inverter. Another option is simply to boil the water or, as suggested by Malacañang, use several filters for material, bacterial and odor concerns.
If you have lived in the wild, on islands in the middle of nowhere or farms pre-development, along with the normal legacy of disasters that every Filipino goes through in life, you will be a “prepper” or homesteader at heart.
It is a state of mind where you prepare for shortage, know where to get resources, develop skills to cope or survive and have the eyes and ears as well as intellect to be prepared and efficient. They should make that a real subject in schools.
Filipinos, the government, as well as leaders need to stop operating on the basis of “pila balde,” waiting in line for their turn, their share, etc. We need to be ahead of the game, reading the local, international or global situations and having an idea of what to do – just in case.
One balde per Filipino is not going to help us in a real drought. The average Filipino consumes 120 to 150 liters of water per person per day (approximately 40 gallons). One ordinary blue plastic drum holds 55 gallons while those popular blue water tanks hold 500 gallons of water, enough for two families per day.
Even if we rationed the water, are there enough roof areas with clean functional gutters to collect water in every community? Is there enough space in depressed urban areas or shouldn’t we be setting up water collection systems in public spaces, schools and parking lots?
The ideal would be to use solar power panels and incorporate them with water collection systems in open spaces and car parks. But PBBM is not blessed with preppers or survivors in the wild.
As a prepper, I watch the most levelheaded leaders in the region, like those in Singapore. When those guys tell you “we will be in for a rough time” you can bet the farm that the economy and quality of life, especially in the Philippines, will take a serious hit or shortage.
Baldes and drums won’t be enough. Better get water tanks or IBC (intermediate bulk container) tanks that store 1,000 liters and are in a steel cage for easy movement with forklifts.
If things get worse and they probably will, I strongly suggest stocking up on the proverbial bisikleta or bicycle when you can no longer buy diesel or gas. Severe fuel shortages are happening even in Russia. How long before we run low?
Finally, start building up your 10,000 steps a day because after pedal power comes good old foot power. As the alerts tell us: “This is not a test!” God bless you all.