Selawik Returns to Pre-Plumbing Days (Point Hope, Hope: houses, luxury, school)
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A cold snap that settled over much of Alaska in January has sent an entire village more than a decade back in time. On Jan. 23 the entire water and sewer system froze in Selawik, a village just above the Arctic Circle on the Western Alaska coastline and home to more than 800 people, about half of whom are children and teens.
Since then the families that have come to rely on in-home plumbing conveniences like washing machines and showers, flush toilets and kitchen sinks, have had to do without, forcing the youngest among them to temporarily deal with a different way of life.
Interesting to hear from the old-timers on this one. Also, think if this happened in some random, remote town NOT in the Alaska bush, where there wouldn't be any old-timers who knew how to deal with not having plumbing and all that. Old knowledge comes in handy.
This does happen in the Lower-48, when floods render water supplies unsafe. Anyone who's been camping much can figure out how to live without running water temporarily. And it wasn't all that long ago that rural folks in the Lower-48 were without indoor plumbing. I know my mom spent summers on her grandparents' farm where there was no running water until the 70s.
Oh please ! One doesn't have to be old school to learn how to deal without the modern conveniences of running water.
Its pretty simple and straightforward!!
Oh, really? If I found myself suddenly without running water, I might be able to melt freshly-fallen snow for drinking water and cleaning, but I would have a hell of a time figuring out a safe and sanitary way to dispose of my own waste. A person out camping might be able to "go behind a tree" and just leave it, but I would think having a number of people doing so in a small area for any length of time might be a bit of a health hazard.
What, pray tell, would you suggest in that situation? Building an outhouse in February might be kind of a *****. So forgive me if the solution is less than obvious.
Sheesh, hard to say anything around here without someone making you look clueless. This may happen in places down here, but it's not often, and it's never happened anywhere I've lived in my lifetime. We've had droughts, but we've never had a complete failure of the plumbing system.
I've been out backpacking and camping a LOT (did the whole Georgia section of the AT in one go, among many other trips), and access to drinking water isn't all that easy, at least not where I've been. You have to have at least some know-how about where to get the water, and boiling it and all that. I sure as hell don't like those iodine tablets; makes the water taste nasty and doesn't kill giardia (sic?). I don't know, my point was that it's important to know how to deal without modern amenities sometimes, and that there are a TON of people who wouldn't know what to do if this happened around here. And I know that for a fact. If Barnardsville (population around 1200) lost its plumbing system, it would definitely be a problem, because I don't know where we would get water from. You don't exactly have pristine, drinkable water flowing in the rivers in the Eastern US.
Oh, really? If I found myself suddenly without running water, I might be able to melt freshly-fallen snow for drinking water and cleaning, but I would have a hell of a time figuring out a safe and sanitary way to dispose of my own waste. A person out camping might be able to "go behind a tree" and just leave it, but I would think having a number of people doing so in a small area for any length of time might be a bit of a health hazard.
What, pray tell, would you suggest in that situation? Building an outhouse in February might be kind of a *****. So forgive me if the solution is less than obvious.
There are no trees in the arctic to hide behind. For decades people in the arctic used plastic bags & honey buckets to handle their waste.
If and when we loose water; we just go into the bathroom and close the door! Honey buckets are still in use in many homes in the arctic.
We melt snow.. for cleaning purposes. We melt river ice for drinking water!
We also know how to obtain delicious fresh drinking water from saltwater frozen ocean ice and it doesn't require any boiling of the water or the ice.
We simply let 'nature' and the sun remove the salt naturally. there are two different methods to remove the salt from frozen ocean ice.
1. Place that block of ice on sand. The sand will draw the salt downwards in that piece of ice and you can see the process happen over a short period of time.
2. Place any block of ice in the sun. Stand it up, but first you must scrape off all snow on top and the sides. The sun will cause the salt to settle even when it is 30 below zero or colder. Watch the ice and soon it will become very clear, crystal clear, as the salt settles in that frozen block of ice. Take your kettle and an ice pick and chop ice horizontaly from the top and fill your kettle with ice chips. That water is the most delicious fresh water i've ever tasted in my life.
Every spring; the village of Point Hope moves out onto the ocean ice to live for two months. This is how they provide delicious fresh drinking water for hundreds of people daily !
Snow is melted for water to clean dishes, and to wash with.
This does happen in the Lower-48, when floods render water supplies unsafe. Anyone who's been camping much can figure out how to live without running water temporarily. And it wasn't all that long ago that rural folks in the Lower-48 were without indoor plumbing. I know my mom spent summers on her grandparents' farm where there was no running water until the 70s.
Well my favorite place to visit and camp had no plumbing.. carried in all my water or gathered water from streams or springs and boiled it for cooking use. Outhouse was the only convenience and I loved it. hooking up a water bag with heated water for the shower too... Most people in the lower 48 now adays think I'm nuts.. their idea of camping is a Holiday inn.. geez.. I love this because it isn't popular and gives me the place all to myself.. most people, when faced with a loss of modern conveniences will learn to adapt quickly or do without.. oh then the whinning starts.. LOL.. have a great day everyone... Happy Saturday.. stay warm and don't hurt anything shoveling..
There are no trees in the arctic to hide behind. For decades people in the arctic used plastic bags & honey buckets to handle their waste.
If and when we loose water; we just go into the bathroom and close the door! Honey buckets are still in use in many homes in the arctic.
We melt snow.. for cleaning purposes. We melt river ice for drinking water!
We also know how to obtain delicious fresh drinking water from saltwater frozen ocean ice and it doesn't require any boiling of the water or the ice.
We simply let 'nature' and the sun remove the salt naturally. there are two different methods to remove the salt from frozen ocean ice.
1. Place that block of ice on sand. The sand will draw the salt downwards in that piece of ice and you can see the process happen over a short period of time.
2. Place any block of ice in the sun. Stand it up, but first you must scrape off all snow on top and the sides. The sun will cause the salt to settle even when it is 30 below zero or colder. Watch the ice and soon it will become very clear, crystal clear, as the salt settles in that frozen block of ice. Take your kettle and an ice pick and chop ice horizontaly from the top and fill your kettle with ice chips. That water is the most delicious fresh water i've ever tasted in my life.
Every spring; the village of Point Hope moves out onto the ocean ice to live for two months. This is how they provide delicious fresh drinking water for hundreds of people daily !
Snow is melted for water to clean dishes, and to wash with.
Ice is used for drinking or cooking purposes!
Trees are optional and not necessary!!
I was only kidding about the trees, really, but of course, arctic villages are not the only places this can happen.
Actually, you've kind of proved the original point, I think: it's possible to get by, but you have to know what to do. Chances are people who've grown up with indoor plumbing don't. I certainly didn't know you could remove the salt from sea water that simply.
The fact is, I lived without running water for the last four months that I lived in my house in Missouri. I didn't have to melt ice or anything, but I did have to haul a lot of water and use it as sparingly as possible. It's because of this that I've always said I would have no fear of living in a dry cabin. At least dry cabins have outhouses! I had to save rainwater to flush the toilet at my old place. Dumping it outside, with or without the benefit of a plastic bag, was not an option.
At least now I know what a honey bucket is. I've always wondered.
A 5 gallon bucket with a supply of small trash bag liners that will fit. If you really want luxury they make a toliet seat cover that fits right on them.
Oh, really? If I found myself suddenly without running water, I might be able to melt freshly-fallen snow for drinking water and cleaning, but I would have a hell of a time figuring out a safe and sanitary way to dispose of my own waste. A person out camping might be able to "go behind a tree" and just leave it, but I would think having a number of people doing so in a small area for any length of time might be a bit of a health hazard.
What, pray tell, would you suggest in that situation? Building an outhouse in February might be kind of a *****. So forgive me if the solution is less than obvious.
Thunderbox aka honeybucket.
Voila!
Jen
p.s. I see this has already been explained, glad you know now. Although I haven't every had to use a thunder box or honey bucket I was very interested to try a "dry tumbler" which I thought might be more like a kitty litter box for people. We really waste a lot of water on our waste, don't we?
Last edited by Gennaver; 02-04-2012 at 09:31 AM..
Reason: the p.s.
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Dumping it outside, with or without the benefit of a plastic bag, was not an option. 
Although I haven't every had to use a thunder box or honey bucket I was very interested to try a "dry tumbler" which I thought might be more like a kitty litter box for people. We really waste a lot of water on our waste, don't we?
