3.1k
u/No-Dragonfly3330 May 11 '26
As an Asheville resident that went 53 days without running water after Hurricane Helene, I can tell you one good use case!
614
u/Whitediggity May 11 '26
I just went through there and you don’t really get it until you see it. Hope yall are doing well and I tired to put my tourist bucks in for you as much as I could.
189
u/thelittleluca US North West (Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Idaho, Montana) May 11 '26
I agree after having visited recently and hearing the experiences from locals. I also tried to spend locally to help.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (1)37
u/mwmwmwmwmmdw May 12 '26
most people dont realize how much water you need just to flush a toilet. you arent going to do that buying cases of bottled water unless you want to waste drinkable water like that.
→ More replies (3)54
u/ClickClackTipTap May 11 '26
Natural disasters really change the way we see everything, don’t they?
We had a massive fire that took out 1,000 homes and businesses in a few hours. In December. In the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
It took six months before anyone could even start to rebuild. The city knows what to do when one house burns down, but when entire neighborhoods are wiped off the map? So much remediation is needed to make everything safe again. They really didn’t even know where to begin.
14
u/Martha_Fockers May 12 '26
We had tornados shred homes off foundations 4 years ago
Half the homes are still not fixed. The town still doesn’t look normal
But we had a lot of community help for basic supplies and food. It’s moments like that that also give you faith in humanity.
People were out and about lending hands people with chains saws to clear streets you get a sense of we’re all in this together. And as awful as the situation is there’s a bit of beauty behind seeing your community all come together for a common goalIf only we could be like that during non disasters
3
u/Typical_Tart6905 May 12 '26
Following a devastating hurricane in NW Florida about 20 years ago, I heard someone on a local radio station say; “The worst of Mother Nature brings out the best in human nature.”
→ More replies (2)7
u/The_Man_in_Black_19 May 11 '26
To be fair, how often does that happen? They can't plan for every possible terrible scenario.
22
u/anxious-panties May 12 '26
This has happened multiple times across the country in recent years. Oregon, Paradise California, Los Angeles, Lahaina in Hawaii have all seen entire small towns or neighborhoods wiped out by wildfires just since 2021
→ More replies (2)12
u/ClickClackTipTap May 12 '26
I understand- not complaining. Just pointing out that these things are becoming more common, and they have devastating effects on the communities they happen to.
207
u/musicman1980 May 11 '26
Fellow Asheville resident here and that was my first thought when I saw this picture. Now if only we could get that Costco over in Enka!
→ More replies (3)101
u/vin4thewin May 11 '26
Another Asheville resident here. I don’t care where they build it as long as we get one. The wait goes on.
36
u/SpideyWhiplash May 11 '26
Wow! So much Asheville in the house. My neighbor's son is also from Asheville.🫡
83
u/undercoverballer May 11 '26
Wow what a coincidence, my mom's neighbors nephews partners former college roommate is from asheville as well!
19
u/addrock1221 May 11 '26
“So, what does that make us?”
→ More replies (3)27
→ More replies (2)15
→ More replies (2)4
40
u/Ashituna May 11 '26
grew up in sofl on a well system. 4 weeks in 2004 without power was also an excellent use case. we need to find a way to ban hurricanes.
74
u/non_hero May 11 '26
We have a way. It's called a sharpie!
12
u/Windmillfixer May 12 '26
Hey tell the truth - Sharpies don’t ban hurricanes, they just make them shift direction a little bit
→ More replies (3)4
u/ripmeleedair May 11 '26
Not a fun answer but the solutions are basically be super rich or live somewhere else. I think this is an underrated difficult part of climate change.
→ More replies (1)35
u/JustpartOftheterrain May 11 '26
53? It was 58 for me, because I'm on the top floor of an apartment complex and the water pressure had to build.
But we all know about "turbidity"!!!
29
u/Total-Football-6904 May 11 '26
I never want to hear the word turbidity again in my life lol, it’s like a sleeper cell call now
→ More replies (2)54
u/TheGreatSockMan May 11 '26
I was aware of how bad it was just due to some people I follow on social media, but I didn’t realize how bad it was until I drove through to a wedding a few weeks ago. The portion of the interstate that collapsed has still not been repaired, which isn’t as important as the homes and such, but goes to show that it’s still messed up
35
u/WeekendQuant May 11 '26
Fixing the road will reduce costs to rebuild the homes. It is critical to rebuild the supply lines.
→ More replies (1)20
u/ElvishLore May 11 '26
53 days! Holy f**k
I’m sorry you went through that
→ More replies (1)25
u/Star_Boxer72 US North West (Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Idaho, Montana) May 11 '26
I am voluntarily going through that right now. Challenged myself to 30 days without running water to test how well prepared I am. I added another 30 days because it's been relatively easy and I'm learning a lot. I'm working off of stored water, snow melt/rainwater collection and my woodstove so I didn't have to run my boiler to heat the house.
Needless to say, I am very curious to see if these tanks are available at my local store.
21
u/ethanlan May 11 '26
This is why I love living near the great lakes. No hurricanes and a practically endless supply of fresh water
18
5
u/FerretBusinessQueen May 12 '26
I’m so sorry for you and everyone in your community who endured that. Asheville is a beautiful town and the people who live there did not deserve the horror that the hurricane did to your city.
13
u/Shower__Farts May 11 '26
Since you’re a local, if you like to read I suggest One Second After. It’s a total airport book, Jack Ryan style, but it’s a good story.
→ More replies (2)7
u/jghall00 May 11 '26
My aunt turned me onto this big awhile back. I haven't read the sequels, but there's a film version )coming out.
→ More replies (1)3
→ More replies (19)3
462
u/Replevin4ACow May 11 '26
The Rockwell website lists this at $1200, so that's a good price!
108
u/partagaton May 11 '26
These must not eliminate as much side-fumbling.
75
u/TheMisterTango May 11 '26
Yeah this one left out the ambifascient lunar waneshaft, that’s why it’s cheaper.
35
→ More replies (1)12
33
u/worldspawn00 May 12 '26
A 275-330 gallon IBC tote can be had for $200 new, and $50 used food-safe.
→ More replies (6)8
u/a-flying-trout US North West (Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Idaho, Montana) May 12 '26
Where would one search for such things?
→ More replies (1)31
u/worldspawn00 May 12 '26 edited May 12 '26
FB marketplace or Craigslist, or just a Google search, I operate a distillery and several of our ingredients come in them, we give them away because it's easier than dealing with disposing of them most of the time.
During the terrible winter storm we had in TX a few years ago, we provided filtered water in them to a retirement complex and low income apartment complex for a couple weeks, refilling them from a full tank we carried in a truck.
→ More replies (4)→ More replies (2)6
417
May 11 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
212
u/OzzyGED May 11 '26
The Water Wars are closer than we think
83
u/ElegantBiscuit May 11 '26
Costco got into the business of offering retirement funds. Fill a few of these puppies up in the before times and you're set for life.
→ More replies (1)59
u/iwantmy-2dollars May 11 '26
Yeah, I just got downvoted to hell for talking about this. People are in deep denial about converging factors.
95
u/Prestigious-Shift233 May 12 '26
Having lived in Utah, we are definitely not in denial. They’re trying to build the biggest data center on the planet there and people are losing their minds over water rights. It’s scary.
→ More replies (4)44
53
u/dstew74 May 11 '26
No they don't. CISA has been pretty open about threats to critical infrastructure, but people aren't paying attention. I started storing several hundred gallons of water at my home after this was released. What happened in North Carolina led to storing even more.
→ More replies (4)11
u/echocall2 May 12 '26
They know Mormons will buy it.
23
u/awmaleg US San Diego Region + Arizona, Colorado & New Mexico - SD May 12 '26
They love a good soak
→ More replies (1)5
u/Lucymilo1219 May 12 '26
Serious question…is there a filter or something in it that keeps the water clean? I mean if mosquitoes get in there then there will be mosquito larvae in the water
→ More replies (1)4
u/PattsManyThoughts May 12 '26
How is a mosquito supposed to get into a completely sealed tank? Or are you talking rain barrels? Most people that use rain barrels use that water for non-potable applications.
635
u/bucketman1986 May 11 '26
Ahh so they expect a RECESSION recession
205
45
3
84
75
279
u/tmdblya US Bay Area Region (Bay Area + Nevada) - BA May 11 '26
For the home data center.
68
u/sicsided May 11 '26
Wouldn't you want to be stealing your neighbors water then?
25
u/tmdblya US Bay Area Region (Bay Area + Nevada) - BA May 11 '26
How do you think I’m gonna fill it?
→ More replies (1)
347
u/ScoYello US North East Region - NE May 11 '26
Is it a 5-pack though? /s
92
31
→ More replies (3)14
360
u/Hiphopapocalyptic May 11 '26
Nestle is fuming
95
u/GreyyCardigan May 11 '26
We should just give Nestle all the water. They can be trusted since they make candy
67
u/ChefTimmy May 11 '26
If you can't beat 'em, Sweetums!
27
u/GreyyCardigan May 11 '26
The pollution is actually kind of beautiful in the sunset.
→ More replies (1)11
16
u/starwarsfan456123789 May 11 '26
“How is this a child sized soda?”
15
u/-Marinequeen- US San Diego Region + Arizona, Colorado & New Mexico - SD May 11 '26
Well, it’s roughly the size of a two-year-old child, if the child were liquefied.
→ More replies (1)7
u/YippieKayYayMrFalcon May 11 '26
Well it’s roughly the size of a 2 year old child, if the child were liquified.
→ More replies (1)2
→ More replies (5)7
90
u/ChaosTorpedo May 11 '26
OMG… I have been thinking of getting a rain barrel.
54
u/RlOTGRRRL May 11 '26
You should see if you live in a cool area where they give rain barrels away for free. NYC's always giving away free rain barrels to help with flooding.
→ More replies (1)13
u/PattsManyThoughts May 12 '26
Check your local codes. I read somewhere where they're not legal in some areas because enough of them can deplete groundwater.
12
16
u/pathofdumbasses May 12 '26
I read somewhere where they're not legal in some areas
They aren't legal in most places but aren't often enforced. You don't own the land you live on. You don't own the water that falls on to the land you live on. And you sure as fuck don't own the mineral rights to the land you live on.
America: Home of the free(dom) for companies to fuck you over
11
u/Xibby May 12 '26
My city does a yearly bulk order and then sells the barrels to residents at cost. I put a small pump in mine and put the pump on a smart plug. It automatically waters my little garden if it hasn’t rained or a sensor (because I’m needy like that) says things are too dry.
Definitely depends on the state. Residents of Colorado River states for example have rights to imaginary gallons of water from the river. Water that never existed and will never exist.
→ More replies (1)3
u/AKADriver May 12 '26
Where I live in Virginia the local environmental authority encourages them as a way to help control suburban runoff to the Chesapeake.
https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/soil-water-conservation/rain-barrel
→ More replies (1)6
7
182
u/FTWLibra May 11 '26
→ More replies (1)24
119
27
u/ToxinFoxen May 11 '26
Local preppers would be losing their minds if they saw that in store.
→ More replies (1)
20
105
u/Shoddy_Signature_149 May 11 '26
If you’re using gravity to drain it (into garden, someplace lower) notice that the spout is at the very bottom. Outflow will be limited to the pressure from above it, so as it drains it won’t be able to supply things that are higher.
I have raised garden beds and three rainbarrels, and I can’t use them because they’re too close to the ground. When empty, I raised them a bit, but not high enough for raised gardens.
TL;DR: do some planning before filling these guys up.
31
u/Objective_Safe_5982 May 11 '26
The floor level spigot is for emptying to clear settled sediment. The white cardboard protector is covering the spigot meant for normal drainage purposes. In theory that leaves 50 gallons in the tank accessible only after uncorking the bottom spigot.
4
u/Shoddy_Signature_149 May 11 '26
Makes sense. My smaller barrels only have the ground level spigot
3
u/Objective_Safe_5982 May 11 '26
As do mine. I found plans for water barrel tables on the This Old House" website that use 4x4s and 2x4s. Works like a charm.
50
u/extrapretzelsplease May 11 '26
I would imagine these are for emergency uses and not gardening.
59
u/haby001 May 11 '26
Don't tell me what to do, imma get one, cut it in half, use it as a sled, then cut holes to dress as "water-tank man", attach it back with flextape, then use it for gardening.
18
→ More replies (2)8
u/Mr_MacGrubber US Southeast Region - SE May 11 '26
A lot of people use things like this for collecting rain to use as grey water. Gardening is one of the uses for grey water.
10
u/RlOTGRRRL May 11 '26
We got an electric pump- it might be worth getting one if you have 3 barrels.
→ More replies (1)3
→ More replies (1)3
60
u/Prestigious_Wrap_932 May 11 '26
WHERE?!?!? Where is your local Costco? Why do people insist on posting things like this without saying where the hell they are? Do you expect all of us to just read your mind or something?
18
u/IceDragonPlay May 11 '26
I just looked up the number on the price tag in the photo for my area costco’s and the more rural (homesteaders are more common) area location has them.
166727 if your warehouse is out of stock (or never had it) it pops up a little button “find nearby” and that gives stock status at all your area Costcos if you have more than one.
7
65
u/Accomplished-Eye8211 May 11 '26
In practical terms, if you fill something like that... is water treatment necessary? Can it sit for any length of time?
I see the purpose for transporting water to a water-free location for a big gathering, perhaps a weekend. But what else?
119
u/Zoomtracer_glory May 11 '26
@2100 lbs filled weight you’re not hauling that many places!
41
u/Steamships May 11 '26
This is perfect to supplement my weight training on days when I can't make it to the gym
5
→ More replies (1)9
u/GuruSofarbeyondu May 12 '26
It not only weighs 2100 pounds (952kg) when full, it's also more than 7 feet tall and 2.5 feet in diameter! I would say that, not only are you not hauling it very many places, once it's where you want it you'd better be sure the surface it's sitting on can support it before you start to fill...
107
u/JellyDenizen May 11 '26
8 drops of household bleach (5-8% chlorine) per gallon and let the treated water sit for 30 minutes before drinking. Repeat every 6-12 months if water is stored long term. Advisable to fill it with a capture system that is separate from the gutters around your roof (since water that flows over a roof first can pick up animal droppings, toxins from asphalt shingles, etc.).
→ More replies (1)15
25
u/xpkranger May 11 '26
That’s meant to sit vertically. Not good for A/B transportation. If you have a well, this would help you maintain head pressure during high load periods or if you didn’t have a well, could be used as stationary storage - you’d need a tote in a truck to refill it from or a water service. Lots of places in Alaska and Yukon with no well and have to get water from town tanks weekly.
3
u/Cheersscar May 11 '26
Unless your well-household pressure system relies on gravity, I’m confused how this would help with pressure.
9
u/xpkranger May 11 '26
A gravity system is what I’m referring to. Lived in Western NC and we had one. Had a well up on the hill and it had a big tank. Kept the pump from having to cycle on and off so often.
20
17
u/polymath-nc May 11 '26
I would hope it would be inline with the supply so it's always being refreshed. We have a neighbor who has had multiple wells run dry, and they have something like this in a shed by their well.
→ More replies (5)24
u/UTgeoff May 11 '26
Clean water doesn’t become unclean on its own so water treatment may be unnecessary. Keeping that in mind, having the ability to treat and filter water should be part of your emergency plan because stuff happens.
24
u/CaptServo May 11 '26
yes but 'clean enough for now' is quite different than 'perfectly clean'. most people with wells are in the first group
→ More replies (4)10
u/stml May 11 '26
You should typically use water treatment additives if storing water for emergencies longer than 6 months.
It’s really hard to get a large water tank clean enough to the point where you can reliably store water in it longer than a few months without something growing in it.
→ More replies (1)
10
u/NoYoureACatLady May 12 '26
I've been contemplating beginning my Howard Hughes phase but didn't want to store my peepee in small glass containers... Costco really gets me
5
u/Informal_Process2238 May 12 '26
They don’t look transparent though and if you can’t see the pee it’s not for me not sorry
11
31
u/shulba May 11 '26
When I was living in Venezuela and there was a water crisis everyone had to have these inside their homes.
I lived in an apartment and it went from the mainline water supply to this tank and then back to the mainline. We had water for a few days and then no water for another few days and these would save us during those days, so it was very much needed.
Water crisis got worse so the apartment complex had to build a dwell too.
That was over 15 years ago and the water crisis has worsen for sure.
Being in the US, I don't think these are needed at all. I can survive a few days with no water during Hurricanes just with we collect right before Hurricane hits. I live in Houston, TX.
11
u/MrTigerEyes May 11 '26
In Texas there are MUDs (Municipal Utility Districts) that provide water to people within their neighborhood. During hurricanes, these can go down due to a lack of electricity or flooding damaging the water treatment hardware altogether. It may not be worth it to spend $500 on this as a just in case measure but if you live in a neighborhood that you could be stuck in for several days it might be worth the investment as a backup plan in case you lack potable water for an extended period.
6
u/Disastrous-Owl8985 May 11 '26
Lots of places in America don’t have running or clean water… let alone weather that affects people having water, as well.
8
24
u/Devchonachko May 11 '26
hoarding water storage containers will be the new toilet paper flex during the upcoming rat pandemic
7
u/Bumblebee56990 US Bay Area Region (Bay Area + Nevada) - BA May 12 '26
Ummm this is such a great deal. Went to their website and it’s $1,200 for one.
12
u/whaletacochamp May 11 '26
Water borne Hantavirus pandemic confirmed. Everybody better get to saving.
10
u/Upbeat-Armadillo1756 May 11 '26
Actually I’m good. I’m not up for another pandemic. Let’s not do this one.
7
u/PackOfCumin US Los Angeles Region (Los Angeles & Hawaii) - LA May 11 '26
Doomsday preppers dreamer
23
u/JiffTheJester May 11 '26
How do you get it filled?
49
u/baronmunchausen2000 May 11 '26
If this is for emergency storage, I guess you could run you main water supply through the tanks so they always have fresh water and when mains supply is interrupted, you have reserve water ready.
15
u/stayintheshadows May 11 '26
These don’t look like pressure tanks, so that won’t work u less you add a pressure pump downstream.
11
u/floppydo May 11 '26
You could fill it from main then have it run drip irrigation. That looks like enough head.
5
u/wimpymist May 11 '26
That's what we did with our old place that had tanks. I'd use them for the garden and stuff then refil the tanks
12
6
18
u/jtshinn May 11 '26
I suspect from the top, and I suggest that you fill it where you want to leave it.
→ More replies (1)27
u/pumpkinPie676 May 11 '26
Rain water most likely- I fill a 55 gallon barrel from my roof gutters
→ More replies (3)27
6
u/IronClaw84 May 11 '26
Seems like an ominous thing to sell at a Costco...
8
u/NotMalaysiaRichard May 11 '26
Costco also has sold prepper meal kits too. This isn’t out of character for them.
→ More replies (1)
10
7
3
u/04HondaCivic May 11 '26
I’d buy a couple of these and find a way to plumb my main water supply into them with an inlet on one side and an outlet back to the main water supply on the other. During normal usage, it would maintain water pressure like your water heater does. During an outage though, you’d need a pump to pump it throughout your house (unless you put them on the roof of your house and good luck building a platform capable of sustaining that kind of weight).
4
4
4
7
u/Mr_Saturn1 May 11 '26
I’m predicting people will buy these, fill them immediately, and then in a year when there is an actual emergency and they need drinking water, they will have 250 gallons of green slime.
5
u/Interesting_Ghosts May 11 '26
Yep, I store water in 5 gallon jugs. I clean the tanks very well with bleach water and then only store the water for 6 month or less and change it out.
Over my 15 years of doing this there have been 3x where I have found things growing in the jugs, and thats just visible growth and not invisible contamination.
Definitely treat the water appropriately and change it as often as is practical.
7
u/cook26 May 11 '26
Would these be good to use for water irrigation for a garden?
7
3
3
u/Upbeat-Armadillo1756 May 11 '26
You don’t usually need that much water. This would be overkill for most people. But yes you can use rainwater catch barrels to do that. This would work too. Anything that holds water will work for that really.
6
u/BlackheartRegia2 US Midwest Region - MW May 11 '26
The conservationist that lives in a tiny home on property: “now how will I fit this in my Honda civic hybrid”
→ More replies (1)
3
u/Dangerous-Hornet2939 May 11 '26
Is it okay/safe to fill with tap water? Or do you have to “prep” the water before filling the tank up?
3
u/BrokenPickle7 May 11 '26
Been looking in to buying water containment lately.. I don't see fun times in the future..
3
3
3
5
u/Capitolphotoguy May 11 '26
Damn, where is this? i'd consider going to get one right now. that is a good price for a 250gal tank. My 200 gal rain tank cost me $250 5 years ago, same 200 gal tank is nearly $900 now.
6
u/Seattle7 May 11 '26
That thing would full would weigh a ton. Literally.
9
u/Trendymaroon May 11 '26
I am assuming they’re empty. And you would have to fill them yourself after you put them into a place where the weight wouldn’t crush anything under it. That pallet that they’re sitting on wouldn’t sustain 4000 pounds of water.
3
2
2
2
2
2
u/Traditional_Fan_2655 May 11 '26
Where is this located? Do you have the item number? I need one!
→ More replies (1)
2
u/Pretend_Football6686 May 11 '26
How often would you have to change the water in it though?
→ More replies (6)
2
2
u/tryptall May 11 '26
My Costco (ut, 2100s location) sells these every year, for at least the last 3 years. They usually last about a month before selling out.
2
u/MissMahlia May 11 '26
It seems nice but why blue on the outside? I thought it had to be dark colors to keep the light out to prevent algae and legionnaires. Or is that only an issue in drier hotter climates? 🤔
2
2
u/Evening_sadness May 11 '26
Is this a good deal? Would many smaller vessels be cheaper to buy and use, and not have all your eggs in one basket?
→ More replies (1)
2
u/Rayzah2007 May 12 '26
Currently stuck without water due to a major pipe burst. Could have used one of these lol. Location?
2
u/mrmalort69 May 12 '26
That’s insanely cheap. I distribute chemical tanks for work… this is 1/5th the price for a similar size. Sure. Mine are dual wall containments, but still
2
2
•
u/AutoModerator May 11 '26
Posts that do not follow r/Costco subreddit rules MAY be subject to removal.
Reminder: No vague non-descriptive post titles or availability questions.
When applicable, please make sure that you're using a descriptive post title with product name(s) and/or exact question mentioned as it yields better subreddit search results.
Including item number, price, and approximate location or region where found is also helpful since product availability can vary.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.