The Settlers – Day 1

Water supply

After a long journey on foot we have arrived at the wasteland where we will have to live from now on. Since there is nothing on this site, we will have to do everything, from the very basics, and so gradually make it habitable. As soon we get here, we ask what to start with. Some believe that the most appropriate thing to do would be to start directly with the construction of housing, since there are very tired people, as well as children and elderly people who need to rest. Others, to a lesser extent, think about finding food. However, the vast majority think that the search for and supply of water is the most urgent thing right now.

To find a clean source of water we set up search groups and discuss ways of supply, storage places and materials to be needed. Some of us decided to do the search immediately on our own so as not to waste any more time. The rest of us decided to wait to organize into groups so as not to have to split up too much.

We then discuss at length the situation in which we find ourselves after all the journey we have already made and that the difficulty of finding sources of drinking water is enormous. Despite the desperation of many of us, the disposition for dialogue is good, so we exchange opinions on how to start the search, how to divide ourselves and eventually how to guarantee the cleanliness of the water, as well as how to transport and store it. We then set a time to meet again and each group started the search in different sectors of the terrain. Some of the women, men or children who had started the search alone join the groups without having found water yet, but at least, they have a better knowledge of the terrain now. The mapping of the terrain is quite complete, as soon as other people, who had started the search for water on their own, cross paths with the groups, either to join them or to simply continue the search on their own after exchanging information.

In general, the first impression of the geography and the extent of the terrain allows us to say that:

Most of the terrain is relatively flat and arid but there are some elevations and ravines with sparsely vegetated areas, in addition to other areas where there are closed and disused municipal water and sewage facilities. On the one hand, there are natural water sources, either in the form of drizzle and sporadic rains or underground streams. On the other hand, there could be access to city sewerage through the connection of disused pipes.

Please share with us briefly any kind of idea you have on this matter.

The plumbing work is undertaken by a few people with some knowledge of plumbing. The rest of us start sewing scraps of cloth to serve as panels to retain moisture in the air and thus filter water from the environment, while others use picks and shovels to find a possible subway source and create a well where we can store the water we find. When digging the well, we also found some wood remains, some of which we decided to burn in order to filter the water. Both the cloth panels and the rest of the wood and solid material removed while digging give us some materials that we can use to form a temporary shelter to protect us from the sun, wind and cold. These tasks take the rest of the day. Having assumed that we will spend the day fasting, the most urgent and difficult issue to resolve tomorrow is that of food.

Your answers will help to further develop this section of the story.

Continue to Day 2 – Food Provision

Back to Introduction – Arrival