Water Shortage, Storage and Filtration
"NO WATER, NO LIFE." Remember, we can live weeks with out food, but only days without water. Water is essential for life and is even more important during an emergency. Water is the most important component of any preparedness program. A healthy adult can only live three to four days without drinking water.
Water is the cheapest preparedness item to acquire and the easiest to store, it is also the most overlooked item when preparing for an emergency and one of the hardest to obtain in time of disaster or emergency crisis. In case of a natural disaster; hurricane, earthquake, flood, etc., the water wagons are the first to arrive.
HOW TO STORE WATER.
Water is best stored in glass bottles when ever possible. If you buy beverages in glass bottles with screw on tops, clean and save them for water storage. Next would be polycarbonate plastic, which is a safer plastic for storing water. When water is stored in regular plastic, it can only be stored for about 2 years. After that time the chemicals from the plastic wil begin to break down into the water, making the water unsafe to drink. So when storing water, always date your containers.
How to clean your water for consumption. If you get water from other sources like lakes, rivers, streams or rain water, you will need to make sure the water is clean enough to drink.
If your stored emergency water is destroyed in the disaster, you may need to know how to purify water. Water, whether cloudy or clear, that has been exposed to the air for a few days should be boiled vigoriously for 10 minutes to kill bacteria. Also water purification tablets are available at many drug and camping supply stores; follow directions on the label.
Some kinds of "Liquid Chlorine Bleach" can be used. Check the label; it should contain 5.25%
hypochlorite to be effective in killing bacteria. Add to water using an eye dropper in the amount
indicated below. Stir. Wait 30 minutes before drinking.
| Amount of Water |
Amount of Bleach if the water is "Clear" |
Amount of Bleach if the water is "Cloudy" |
| 1 gallon 5 gallons |
8 drops 1/2 teaspoon |
16 drops 1 teaspoon |
Learn more about what to do and how to get started with storing water. > H E R E
Also find and save some large empty buckets. You can place them outside when it rains, and you will have more water. You can use it for extra drinking water, a quick shower or if needed to wash your clothing.
Next comes food and then warmth. That tells you how important drinking water really is. However, in case of a large scale disaster, only a fraction of communities that need water will get it due to the shortage. So make every effort to prepare water to store for you and your family. Each adult will need a minimum of a gallon of water a day for hydration and personal needs.
To save on water usage, water from dish washing, hand washing and personal hygiene should be used for flushing down toilets. You can also buy wet wipes for sanitation to save on water usage. The main uses for water should be for drinking and for food preparation.
Small water purifier - Water is hard to transport, so be prepared to make the water drinkable and usable (for hygiene) when you do locate a water source. You can clean the water that you find where ever you are.
You can also collect rain water and snow in clean containers as another source. You should still purify the water. If you live near lakes, streams and rivers, you will need containers to transport water to your location.
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