dinking water investment - spinoff discussion

[bushi]

...drinking water, then? How can I invest in it? Seems to be one of increasingly dwindling resources...

Edit: This thread is a spinoff (tangent) from: http://www.pmbug.com/forum/f2/china-imports-record-amount-gold-december-price-drop-2091/

 

[DSAbug]

...drinking water, then? How can I invest in it? Seems to be one of increasingly dwindling resources...

Wait for the next big drop in the stock market and buy Coke (KO).

It's very hard to get exposure to "water". Laws regulating water differ in each state. In Texas you can dig a hole and drain the water source for your neighbor's well without much recourse. In Oregon, if you collect enough rain water you risk getting thrown in jail.

If anything.. I would recommend just investing in technology that allows you to convert untreated water into drinking water. maybe invest in companies that produce those technologies.

 

[DoChenRollingBearing]

...

There are water companies (utilities, water-treatment cos., equipment manufacturing cos., etc.), Xylem (sp?) is one, I believe it was recently spun-off. The guys at Agora were/are interested in WATER as a long-term investment theme.

 

[ancona]

Didn't the Bush family buy a huge piece of property down in Paraguay that sits on top of a huge aquifer?

 

[DSAbug]

...

There are water companies (utilities, water-treatment cos., equipment manufacturing cos., etc.), Xylem (sp?) is one, I believe it was recently spun-off. The guys at Agora were/are interested in WATER as a long-term investment theme.

Ya know.. back in 2004-2006 I had more prospectuses for water companies come across my desk than you could shake a stick at. All would mention the coming shortage in water. All of them needed prices to go up substantially for there to be a meaningful payout. I'd be willing to wager that 1/2 aren't in business any more.

Point being.. If you are wanting to get "exposure" to the theme, get a productive business model and not one that will only do well only under a doomsday scenario. Are water companies a bargain today? I have no idea.

 

[ancona]

Where I live, Florida, we get about six feet of rain a year, significantly more than most regions. I think the only place that may get more precipitation might be tha Cascades, but I'm not really sure. Either way, if I weree to put a capture system on my roof, I could probably supply four or five families with water all year. Naturally that would just be drinking water, but you get the idea. In most areas, you can shoot a well point down fifty or sixty feet and hit clean, potable water.

The problem with water is one of storage. Where there is an abundance of water, much of it simply drains away, never to be used. While we cannot trap all water, we could probably trap more than we do now. In the Carribbean, cisterns are a common sight, since a lot of areas actually have a deartyh of rain. I lived on Antigua Air Ststion during a year long project and we had very, very little rain. The government ran a de-salination plant just to supply drinking water.

All of that said, my water investment plan is 55 gallon poly barrels under my downspouts to collect rain for drinking. When TSHTF, I will not be thinking about "investments" too much.

 

[pmbug]

I got a few Canadian made rain water cisterns off amazon a couple of years ago:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013CCO08/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0013CCO08&linkCode=as2&tag=projectmana0a-20"]Amazon.com: Algreen 81001 Cascata 65-Gallon Rain Water Collection and Storage System: Patio, Lawn & Garden@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41CROkiJWhL.@@AMEPARAM@@41CROkiJWhL[/ame]

They stay pretty full most of the time (as long as we don't have severe drought conditions). Almost 200 gallons total. I use it mainly to water potted plants (and the veggie garden when it's been sowed) right now. Plants love the rainwater much better than tap water from the hose.

That said, if SHTF and potable water no longer flowed through the pipes, I'd probably be using my LifeSaver Jerrycan to filter water from the local creek or pond after the cisterns ran dry. The LifeSaver cans are relatively expensive as filters go, but it's worth it if it makes the local pond scum potable.

 

[Jay]

Where I live, Florida, we get about six feet of rain a year, significantly more than most regions. I think the only place that may get more precipitation might be tha Cascades, but I'm not really sure. Either way, if I weree to put a capture system on my roof, I could probably supply four or five families with water all year. Naturally that would just be drinking water, but you get the idea. In most areas, you can shoot a well point down fifty or sixty feet and hit clean, potable water.

The problem with water is one of storage. Where there is an abundance of water, much of it simply drains away, never to be used. While we cannot trap all water, we could probably trap more than we do now. In the Carribbean, cisterns are a common sight, since a lot of areas actually have a deartyh of rain. I lived on Antigua Air Ststion during a year long project and we had very, very little rain. The government ran a de-salination plant just to supply drinking water.

All of that said, my water investment plan is 55 gallon poly barrels under my downspouts to collect rain for drinking. When TSHTF, I will not be thinking about "investments" too much.

yeah, your six feet of rain is in the air any given day (humidity). Just kidding, I lived in Fla ten years. Just changed the filters in our Berkey first time in five years, like you said in the other thread never go back. A lot cheaper also.

 

[DSAbug]

Storing the water and keeping it from attracting mosquitoes is my main concern. In Texas they are a major bitch. That is one area I need to work on for sure.

 

[pmbug]

I'm near the coast in Texas where the mosquitos are thick during the summer. I haven't had any problems with them in my barrels. I just clamped some simple wire mesh over the overflow drains. Easy.

 

[DSAbug]

I'm near the coast in Texas where the mosquitos are thick during the summer. I haven't had any problems with them in my barrels. I just clamped some simple wire mesh over the overflow drains. Easy.

Pics of barrels?

 

[pmbug]

Will have to get them later. It's raining today.

 

[ancona]

That's an AWESOME price for food grade barrels brother!! Can you get all you want?

When I was in Houston, I saw those three by three by three totes that are essentially a plastic square bottle wrapped by a stainless steel cage and thought those would be the absolute tits for water storage since they can be stacked something like ten high.

 

[Jay]

That's an AWESOME price for food grade barrels brother!! Can you get all you want?

When I was in Houston, I saw those three by three by three totes that are essentially a plastic square bottle wrapped by a stainless steel cage and thought those would be the absolute tits for water storage since they can be stacked something like ten high.

I kept going back through the thread lookng for a price, but couldn't find one. The used food grade blue or white 55 gallon barrels (I think they are a little smaller than 55 gallons, actually) are twenty dollars each here. Every drunk in town has them stacked up in their yard for sale.

 

[bushi]

When I was in Houston, I saw those three by three by three totes that are essentially a plastic square bottle wrapped by a stainless steel cage and thought those would be the absolute tits for water storage since they can be stacked something like ten high.

...these are called IBC tanks ("totes", seemingly, on your side of the pond) they come dime a dozen (for their usefulness!), IMHO. You'll see my hydroponic setup this spring/summer, using them

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=ibc+tank&_sacat=0&_from=R40