Something I realized about the system of things going down.

PJ54

PJ54

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 28, 2021
Messages
4,609
Reaction score
20,289
Since I started my job at the county waste water treatment plant (including the reclaimed & potable water plants within our jurisdiction), I have noticed how much of our modern world is vulnerable & how dependent we are on the things people take for granted. The way things work here in the US (no doubt in other parts of the modern world), is that our water has a few plants to manage things provided they are large enough. One of the water plants can push water through force live pump systems all the way to one side of the state to the other side. That's quite impressive for a plant. For waste water it is gravity fed where the influent taken from places like businesses & your home, to the sewer in which it is sloped till it reaches a lift statin pump where it gets pumped up again by a to be pushed down a slope again & again until it reaches a treatment plant. The plants can be small (packaging plants), to sub regional, to massive plants that tend to cities & multiple counties. All these have to have ginormous generators that take thousands of gallons of diesel, heaven forbid the power plants go down. The thing is that while something like that could last us years, the plant would only get a week due to all the machinery we have to maintain. We have to practice redundancy to keep the system running since the flow always comes in. This had me realize when this system of things goes down, it would be an absolute nightmare since there would be no way for the system to continue. Even things like keeping the grass cut could be a huge risk due to the nature of wildlife. It isn't just no more internet & power for the lights in the house. It would include even the entire place & I can tell you I have seen that before & it is spooky. I just felt the need to bring this up since it may be worth considering with all that is going on.
 
About ten years ago, Royal Oak, Michigan, suffered a sewage disaster. Five to six inches of rain filled the subterranean freeways, and because diesel-powered pumps were not maintained and failed, the back pressure forced raw sewage into tens of thousands of homes. Ours was one. The basement filled up with about four feet of sewage. I am glad to be out of the city. It was a disaster in every sense of the word.

 
Watchman said:
About ten years ago, Royal Oak, Michigan, suffered a sewage disaster. Five to six inches of rain filled the subterranean freeways, and because diesel-powered pumps were not maintained and failed, the back pressure forced raw sewage into tens of thousands of homes. Ours was one. The basement filled up with about four feet of sewage. I am glad to be out of the city. It was a disaster in every sense of the word.

Click to expand...
Wow! Where the DWSD when you need them? Hopefully you have well water.
 
Ana said:
Nosotros tenemos agua de manantial en la montaña cerca de casa, pero los mandamás seguro que se los quedan para uso privado.
Click to expand...
Translation

We have spring water in the mountains near home, but the bosses are sure to keep it for private use.
 
I like to think I have a practical outlook on these things. If I lived in San Diego or Seattle when things go sour I would arm myself and beat feet over to Bill Gates' house. I'm pretty sure he'll be stocked up on supplies.
If power goes down, so does the water after a few days, sewage pumping, communications. Once those go down then people have to figure out where to get food and water, and where to relieve themselves. That's where disease comes into the picture. At least 50% of the world doesn't know how to live without running water and a toilet.
 
Last edited:
BagdadBill said:
I like to think I have a practical outlook on these things. If I lived in San Diego or Seattle when things go sour I would arm myself and beat feet over to Bill Gates' house. I'm pretty sure he'll be stocked up on supplies.
If power goes down, so does the water after a few days, sewage pumping, communications. Once those go down then people have to figure out where to get food and water, and where to relieve themselves. That's where disease comes into the picture. At least 50% of the world doesn't know how to live without running water and a toilet.
Click to expand...
To add to that, I was told by my supervisor back when the plant was in rough shape, the FOG (food, oil, grease) buildings design at the time was in terrible shape on how it processed oils that came from the trucks that get it from the restaurants. It was the most dirty facility in the county, that all the workers dreaded working in there. It was so dirty & smelly on how it was used to get rid of the grease waste, that it drew tons of flies, roaches, pigeons, & rats. Apparently, he worked on getting the place redesigned where it no longer was disgusting & kept things stable & clean. One thing for sure is when this system goes down, even if you are not near the shut down treatment plants, those plants will draw all sorts of vermin. The big one to worry about is the rats since rats can carry fleas. These fleas can travel abroad & get on other animals like opossums, raccoons, deer, & even household pets.
 
PJ54 said:
To add to that, I was told by my supervisor back when the plant was in rough shape, the FOG (food, oil, grease) buildings design at the time was in terrible shape on how it processed oils that came from the trucks that get it from the restaurants. It was the most dirty facility in the county, that all the workers dreaded working in there. It was so dirty & smelly on how it was used to get rid of the grease waste, that it drew tons of flies, roaches, pigeons, & rats. Apparently, he worked on getting the place redesigned where it no longer was disgusting & kept things stable & clean. One thing for sure is when this system goes down, even if you are not near the shut down treatment plants, those plants will draw all sorts of vermin. The big one to worry about is the rats since rats can carry fleas. These fleas can travel abroad & get on other animals like opossums, raccoons, deer, & even household pets.
Click to expand...
With foreknowledge of the dangers of things like this I think a person could steer away fro the most part. My plan when the time comes is to dig a very deep hole in the ground and have dirt next to it to cover over any waste. I have more or less mapped it in my mind because there is a low spot at the edge of my property where I plan to dig for water so I have to plan accordingly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top