Survival Plumbing: Managing Water and Waste When the Grid Fails

The grid goes down. The taps run dry. The toilets stop flushing. And suddenly…you're not just a homeowner anymore—you’re the plumber, the sanitation officer, and the emergency water manager of your household.

Welcome to Survival Plumbing 101, where it’s less about wrenches and more about wits. And around the Wasatch Front—where we’ve all grown up bracing for The Big One since we were doing earthquake drills under our desks—this isn’t just prepper talk. It’s a plan you’ll wish you had before the shaking starts and the pipes burst.

Let’s break down the high-stakes world of plumbing when the lights go out and the grid stays down. Whether it’s an earthquake, blackout, or a weekend camping trip gone rogue, here’s how to keep your water running (sort of), your waste under control (definitely), and your dignity intact (hopefully).

💦 Step One: Water is Life, and the Clock is Ticking

Once the municipal grid shuts off, your water supply is on borrowed time. If you’re lucky, your home will still have residual water pressure for a few hours, maybe a day. Use that time like gold.

Here’s what to do, FAST:

• Fill your bathtub. Even if it’s outdated pink tile and you haven’t used it in five years, it’s about to be your emergency water vault.

• Fill every clean container in the house. Pots, pans, pitchers, travel mugs, even your kid’s Tupperware lunchbox—it’s all fair game.

• Don’t forget the toilet tank! That clean water in the back of your toilet (not the bowl!) can be used for hygiene or even filtered for drinking in a pinch.

🧊 Bonus Move: Freeze Water Now

If you’re prepping in advance (which you should be—this is Utah and The Big One isn’t just a rumor), keep jugs of water frozen in your freezer. They’ll buy you time, keep your fridge cool longer, and give you clean drinking water as they melt.

🚱 Step Two: Shut. It. Down.

If your water heater, water softener, or filtration system runs on electricity, assume it’s out. Now is not the time to burn through stored water flushing toilets.

Also: Shut off your main water valve. If there’s a break in the municipal lines (which can totally happen in earthquakes or floods), you don’t want contaminated sludge sneaking into your system.

Pro tip from Salt Lake County emergency crews:
The main shutoff is usually in the basement near the front of the house. If you don’t know where yours is…go find it. Now. Seriously.

💩 Step Three: Toilet Talk—The Survival Edition

Let’s get real. If the grid fails for more than a day or two, your standard flush toilet becomes a porcelain paperweight. The sewage system can back up or go offline, and flushing can lead to more mess than relief.

🚽 Option 1: The Two-Bucket Toilet System

Yes, we’re talking about poop buckets. But there’s a method to the madness.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Two 5-gallon buckets (one for liquid, one for solid)

• Heavy-duty trash bags (contractor grade)

• Sawdust, shredded newspaper, or kitty litter

• A snap-on toilet seat (you can buy one online or at a camping store)

Why two buckets?
Separating pee and poo reduces odor and makes disposal safer. Use one for urine, and the other (lined with a bag) for solids. After each solid use, sprinkle in a scoop of sawdust or litter to control smell and begin composting.

When full:
Tie off the bag and store in a heavy-duty trash can away from living areas until municipal services resume. This is not the time to DIY a landfill.

🚻 Option 2: The Old School Outhouse

Got a backyard and a shovel? Dig a trench-style latrine at least 200 feet away from your house, garden, and water sources. Cover with soil after each use.

Is it glamorous? No.
Is it survival savvy? Absolutely.

And hey, neighbors might thank you when their own bathrooms go bust.

🧴 Step Four: Handwashing Isn’t Optional

When the power’s out, the toilets don’t flush, and water’s running on fumes, bacteria and viruses are having a party. You do not want to battle dysentery while your neighbor’s chickens are running loose and the National Guard’s handing out bottled water from a parking lot in Magna.

Fact: In every major disaster—from hurricanes to earthquakes—the real killer isn’t always the event. It’s the illness that follows when people can’t manage the basics of hygiene.

Let’s make sure that’s not you.

🪣 Option 1: DIY “Tippy Tap” (Hands-Free Handwashing Station)

This one’s straight out of rural engineering textbooks and it works like magic. Plus, you’ll feel like MacGyver and a survivalist all at once.

What You’ll Need:

• One gallon-sized plastic jug (milk jug, juice container, laundry detergent bottle, etc.)

• A small nail or knife (to poke a tiny hole)

• String or wire

• A stick or dowel (for foot pedal control)

• Soap on a rope, or bar soap in a sock (seriously, it works!)

How to Build It:

1. Poke a hole near the base of the jug—small enough that water only trickles out.

2. Suspend the jug from a tree limb, broom handle, porch railing, or even an upside-down mop bucket rig. It should be high enough to pour water over your hands.

3. Tie a stick to string and connect it to the handle of the jug. Step on the stick to tip the jug and release a stream of water.

4. Hang your soap nearby. A sock full of bar soap is brilliant—easy to grab, doesn't roll away, and lasts.

5. Set a catch basin or bowl underneath to keep the ground from turning into a mud pit.

You’ve just built a gravity-fed handwashing station that works without plumbing or electricity—and keeps your water usage low.

🧼 Option 2: The Simple Spout Solution

Don’t want to mess with pulleys and strings? Keep it simple.

What You’ll Need:

• A water jug with a spout (like camping jugs or old water cooler bottles)

• A small table or crate to set it on

• A bowl or bucket underneath

• Soap (bar or liquid)

• Paper towels, clean rags, or a “community towel” (which should be swapped and washed regularly)

This setup is easier and just as effective. Just tip the spout, wash up, and go. Bonus: it’s kid-friendly and easy to move around your space.

🧴 Bonus: No-Water Backups (Still Better Than Nothing)

In absolute pinch mode? Here’s how to fake handwashing like a pro:

• Hand sanitizer: Stock up in advance. Use it after handling waste, before eating, and anytime your hands get gross.

• Alcohol wipes or baby wipes: They’re not perfect, but they’re a decent stopgap. Especially if you’re dealing with grease, food, or general outdoor grime.

🧻 Drying Your Hands: Don’t Skip This

Yes, it matters.

• Wet hands attract germs faster than dry ones.

• Use paper towels if you’ve got ‘em.

• If not, assign each family member their own hand towel. Mark with tape or Sharpie so no one’s “accidentally sharing.”

• Wash towels as often as possible—sunlight is a natural disinfectant, so hang them outside to dry if you’re short on soap and water.

🚫 Handwashing DON’Ts (Begging You, Please)

• Don’t use contaminated water. You’re better off wiping your hands with sanitizer than washing with sketchy ditch water.

• Don’t assume sanitizer = clean hands. It helps, but it’s no substitute after bathroom use or meal prep.

• Don’t skip it. Not after using the bucket toilet. Not after dealing with trash. Not after petting the dog who just rolled in who-knows-what.

🧼 Step Five: Shower (When You Can)

You’ll start to feel it on day three: that sticky, itchy, “please don’t hug me” funk. Showers may be gone, but sponge baths are not.

Here’s how to MacGyver a hygiene system:

• Use water sparingly. A bowl, a rag, and a little soap go a long way.

• Dry shampoo and baby wipes. Stockpile now, thank yourself later.

• Solar showers. Those camping bags with a nozzle? Absolute game changers.

In the heat of a Salt Lake summer, solar showers can get toasty enough for an actual warm rinse. In winter? Buckets and bravery.

🧃 Step Six: Drinking Water—Filter, Boil, or Die Trying

It’s dramatic. But not untrue.

In a prolonged grid-down event, you can’t rely on city water. Here’s how to make sure you don’t dehydrate or drink something regrettable.

💧 Rainwater Collection

It’s legal in Utah! Use clean barrels, gutters, and screens to collect rain. Filter and boil before drinking.

🥾 Backcountry-Style Filtration

Have a LifeStraw or Sawyer filter on hand. These small tools can turn sketchy puddles into drinkable water. Just don’t collect near livestock or drainage systems.

🔥 Boil It Like Grandma Did

If you can make fire, you can make water safe. Boil for at least one minute (three at higher elevations—looking at you, Kearns). Let it cool and store in clean containers.

🔧 Bonus Section: What NOT to Do

Let’s keep you alive and out of the ER. Avoid these common survival plumbing mistakes:

• Don’t flush your toilet “just one more time.” It can back up sewage into your home. Yikes.

• Don’t use pool water or chemically treated water for drinking. Chlorine ≠ hydration.

• Don’t dump waste in storm drains. Those connect to waterways and can cause environmental damage (and fines).

• Don’t rely on bottled water alone. It runs out fast, and stores will be empty within hours of a crisis.

🏠 Local Alert: When The Big One Hits Salt Lake

We’ve all heard the warnings: Utah is overdue for a massive earthquake. Geologists say we could see a magnitude 7+ event that shakes the entire Wasatch Front from Ogden to Provo.

But here’s the deal most people ignore: The water infrastructure will suffer.
Pipes will burst. Treatment plants may be offline. Roads will be damaged, making repairs slow. And if you live anywhere near older construction, you’re even more vulnerable.

Survival plumbing isn’t a theory. It’s a very real skillset you’ll wish you had if the ground starts buckling beneath you and the faucets run dry.

🧠 Wrap-Up: Make a Plan, Not a Mess

Survival plumbing isn’t glamorous, but it’s crucial. Whether you’re living through a major natural disaster, camping off-grid in the Uintas, or just prepping for whatever curveball next year throws at us, the rules are the same:

• Store water before you need it.

• Know how to shut off your system.

• Be ready to go primitive with waste.

• Don’t wait until it’s already bad to figure it out.

🛠️ You got this. Now go find that water shutoff.