water shortage

Don't know if this is the right place for this thread, but as water is essential for B/W photography then here goes, Due to a very severe water shortage I feel that I need to close my darkroom for the time being, it is the end of our Autum,{Fall} and our reservoirs are only a third full, the de salination plant is working flat out producing 16 million litres of water a day and we are using 18 miliom a day, we face having to import water, we are looking at stanpies early next year unless we have a lot of rain, water restrictions are being imposed, and I don't feel that with the high water usage involved in print washing prints for my personal pleasure is justified at present, so apart from print orders I have closed my darkroom, and I wonder what other Apuger's would do in similer circumstabces, and how would you cope with no printing.
Richard

Use the Ilford system for films and you can cut the use of water for FB (and RC) prints by using sea water for most of the wash stage, and the the final rinses in fresh water. You can't be far from the sea living there

I have to use bottled water for final washing of films in Turkey as the tap water has a very heavy salt level and it doesn't reall add too much additional cost if you get the large 25 litre containers.

Ian

Dear Richard,

What Ian said. Film and RC paper take very little water to wash properly. An investment into a print washer and, once filled, a trickle will take care of fiber based paper. Other than the trickle out of my washer, I have never left water running while printing.

Neal Wydra

RC paper. doing film in batches. skipping a shower.

Two wash trays instead of just one; the first tray not getting changed; just to remove fixer for a minute.

For film, continuous water isn't necessary, changing water after each of multiple 5 minute soaks works well.

R.Gould, have You thought about a solar distiller?

I salute you for wanting to be eco-friendly, and have been in your position when living in Texas some time back. Break out the rain barrels, and save water when it rains, use seawater for most of the wash up(it's how the US Navy does it). Don't stop shooting, save up and run batches if you have to.

Essentially for drinking, You need to pass the distilled water through charcoal filter.
Heres some info on how its done on submarines http://www.fleetsubmarine.com/fresh_water.html

Alternatively, head north to Cumbria for the winter - If nothing else, you'd have the chance to do some snowy landscapes.

Thanks all, I intend to keep on shooting, and process the films in batches, using the ilford method of washing, as fat as printing goes, I will not print other than professional comitmints until the situation resolves itself, which hopefully won't take too long this time of the year, and have fun working overtime in my darkroom next year, I could use seawater, but i can be patient, everyone in the Island will have to make savings, and I still have the fun of printing to look forward to, the problem is that two of the normally wettest months of the year, October and November, are gone, and they have been the driest and warmest since records began 150 years ago, and there is very little rain in the forecast,

I don't really have anything to add except support and encouragement. I also live on an island and we're about to enter the dry summer months (just as I'm building my darkroom!). We can usually get through the year on our rainwater tanks but I'm thinking about adding an extra one to the side of the garage to use exclusively for the darkroom. Could that be an option for you?

I'm extremely surprised and delighted to read that you can wash prints in sea water. That's a great backup solution.

I understand and appreciate your ethical dilemma, Richard. In your position I'd try the seawater trick, but if your water situation becomes really desperate I'd look into building a LF camera or some similar photographic project until it rains again.

I knew a cruise ship photographer a few years ago, and they used to wash their colour prints with sea water with no ill effects. Of course you can shower with a friend and your film!

Cruise ships usually use reverse osmosis to desalinate sea water.
Military vessels use distillers to desalinate, since using steam distillation removes water-borne radioactivity besides micro-organisms, toxic heavy metals, organic chemicals etc.etc.

lesm said:

I don't really have anything to add except support and encouragement. I also live on an island and we're about to enter the dry summer months (just as I'm building my darkroom!). We can usually get through the year on our rainwater tanks but I'm thinking about adding an extra one to the side of the garage to use exclusively for the darkroom. Could that be an option for you?

I'm extremely surprised and delighted to read that you can wash prints in sea water. That's a great backup solution.

I understand and appreciate your ethical dilemma, Richard. In your position I'd try the seawater trick, but if your water situation becomes really desperate I'd look into building a LF camera or some similar photographic project until it rains again.

Click to expand...

I live in an apartment, and that would not work for me, this has only happened once before, and resulted in a new reservoir, the biggest in Jersey, but a very dry and hot Spring, dry Summer, and now a dry Autumn,(Fall), plus the second largest reservoir having to be taken out of commision for essential maintenence to the dam, done just before what should have been the wettest months, so that the reservoir would fill,which did not happen due to the driest Autumn on record,has not helped, the rain will come, and when it does I will lock myself in the darkroom and gorge myself on printing, untill then it remains closed and I will use film ready for the day,
Richard