Hate to burst any bubbles – Alaska is not just like the post cards; there are not beautiful glaciers every where you look. We don’t live in igloos. People are not always pulled around by dog sled. The deeper into the bush you live the more you will hate stereotypical thoughts on living in Alaska. In order to acclimate to your journey off the road system and fully enjoy the majestic way of life you will adjust to a few things. One of these fun things especially for those city folks not used to “roughing” it …….. if it’s yellow let it mellow !
Getting ready to move back to “America” I find myself excited for some of the luxuries that I didn’t give a second thought to before my experience in the wild of Alaska. Depending on where in tundra you travel you may be faced with no running water or limited running water. Learning to ration your water usage can be tricky at first. When it is just my family of three we can easily last a week on our 1000 gallon delivery. It’s when you have pesky visitors over that you start running out.
If you go to a house you don’t want to be that person that flushes the toilet when you shouldn’t. How would anyone know — once you flush the house is filled with the sound of the water pump going off. Then you proceed to do the walk of shame back into the crowd. If you are a germaphobe or like to shower more than once a week (or month in some cases) village life might not be for you. While I am no stranger to 5 gallon bucket baths from my younger years on the farm, thinking how to use my weekly water allowance was a whole new concept when I moved here.
How does water delivery work in the bush ? For the low price of $400 a month I get 1000 gallons delivered to my house once a week. If all the water is not used there is not a discount ! I’m lucky enough to have one of the newer plastic tanks to see how much water I have at any time. My husband even put idiot markers up so we knew daily how much water to ration. Every Friday the water truck comes and fills up the tank; well as long as the pipe isn’t frozen..in that case you can hope you can make it till next weeks delivery date or pay another call out fee to have them come back. They fill the tank, there is no advance system letting them know you have a full tank of water..you have an outlet pipe and a flood of water comes out. In some unlucky cases your outlet pipe is frozen and all that water comes out onto your floor, in which case you might get another 1000 gallons pumped in before the water starts pouring out your door and the driver stops pumping…. no biggy your liable not the village since it was your responsibility to keep it free and clear !! Thank goodness this hasn’t happened to us !!!
All that water has to go somewhere right — Sewer tanks are under your house (homes are build on stilts, that’s another story) Your sewer tank will be larger then your water tank, just in case you get water before your sh** gets pumped. The “Honey” truck arrives and empties your tank once a week as well. Now the fun part – there is the occasion that they accidentally dump instead of pump- YUCK ! Again thank goodness this hasn’t happened to us !! You will know that your tank was pumped as soon as you walk in the door regardless. The sucker they use is rather powerful and will empty the water right out of your toilet leaving the trap open and a nice aroma to fill the air.
If you have the pleasure of visiting or living in a no running water village you will have the opportunity to use a honey bucket aka a five gallon bucket. You may think why can’t I just go pop a squat outside? 1) There are no trees in western AK 2) During summer your ass would get eaten alive by mosquitos ! 3) Winter your pee would freeze midstream. Bad mojo it is better to stick with the comfort of a honey bucket.
While part of me can’t wait to be able to take a bath or do as much laundry as I want; part of me is already feeling nostalgic for my years of village water conservation.
disarraydayz 