Water Needs
Other than shelter and depending on the climate where you live, the need for water is the biggest vulnerability that we have. A person can only survive about three days without water so we must address this need as one of our foremost preparedness tasks. Of course, we need to store an adequate supply of water, but water takes a great deal of space within the heated envelope of our home. Added to this is the fact that a person can be hard pressed to carry an adequate supply of water, along with our other supplies, in
a bug out scenario. Since water is so heavy and takes up so much space, we need to have a means to resupply ourselves on a continuous
basis.
How much water do you need?
A safe formula for water storage and supply is to have access to one gallon of potable
water per person per day. This should provide enough for our very basic needs; consumption, cooking and limited hygiene. You should store as much water as you can, depending on space available but since a single person would need a minimum of thirty gallons
per month and even more for some semblance of comfort, this becomes problematic. Here’s an idea of what one month's supply of
water looks like (per person):
As you can see, storing enough water for your needs can be insurmountable, even for just one person. If you have several
members in your family, the problem just compounds itself. The only solution is to be able to find and purify new sources of
water. Again, this is not to say that you should not store water, because you absolutely should but with a method to purify
water, you stand a much better chance of replenishing your supply at will.
Purifying water:
It is dangerous to drink
water from a questionable source without first purifying it. Even if the water looks clear and is running over rocks in a stream,
it may contain Protozoa like cryptosporidium, giardia, and parasites. It may also contain viruses, staph and bacteria.
Boiling
water for purification is effective in killing bacteria and viruses and is certainly a good survival technique as long as you
have a fire and a vessel for boiling. Most people think you need to boil water in excess of five or ten
minutes but simply bringing
it to a boil for up to one minute is adequate (three minutes at higher elevations). Boiling water will make most water safe
to drink but it will not remove chemicals, silt and debris from the water and will not improve the taste of the water.
Common household bleach or iodine tablets can be used to treat water to make it safe to drink. They kill most bacteria and viruses. However, there are several drawbacks:
· Treating
with iodine or bleach will not kill Cryptosporidium.
· Iodine and bleach have a low
to moderate effectiveness in killing Giardia.
· Bleach and iodine have a short shelf
life (about 6 months) so storing these products are not conducive to long term preparedness.
If you choose to use bleach:
· Use bleach such as Clorox or Purex that contains 5.2% to 8.25% chlorine.
· Do not use
perfumed or scented bleach.
· Filter and cloudy water before treatment with bleach.
· Use a clean water container.
· After treatment, mix thoroughly and let stand for a
least one hour before drinking.
If you have a well
If you have a well, you are a lot better off than most Americans but it’s important to realize that in the
case of a flood, your well can easily become contaminated. Also, in a grid down scenario, you will need electricity to pump
your well water. If you have a generator, you can power your well as long as your fuel supply lasts but you should have a backup
plan for getting water. One solution, assuming your well is not contaminated is to install a hand pump on your well head. You can use the same well that houses your electric pump but have the hand pump option during power outages. This might be a good
option since running a generator can draw unwanted attention.
Renewable Sources
It’s important to understand that if your water source is provided via city water system, there is a multitude
of conditions that can interrupt your water service, maybe indefinitely. Depending on the type of disaster that occurs, you might
not be able to immediately find suitable water for consumption, so it is wise to develop a water replenishment strategy before a disaster
strikes. That having been said, let’s explore some renewable sources of water.
|
Volume of Water |
Bleach |
|
1 quart |
5 drops |
|
½ gallon |
10 drops |
|
1 gallon |
¼ teaspoon |
|
5 gallons |
1 teaspoon |
|
10 gallons |
2 teaspoons |
Mapping potential water sources
In some areas of the country water is more plentiful than in others. It may require some
advanced planning to identify potential water sources and how you will transport that supply to your location, on a regular basis,
if the need arises. These sources could be local lakes, rivers or streams but may not be close enough to make the water source
practical. You will need to have water containers and a purifier but if the water shortage scenario continues, you will need
a long-term method to transport the water from its source to your location. In any event, make sure that you have multiple sources
identified incase your primary choice is not accessible when you need it.
Rainwater Catchment Systems
Rainwater catchment
is a viable renewable source of water. If the grid goes down and public or well water is no longer available, capturing rainwater
could be the best source of life sustaining water.
The degree to which you may want to collect rainwater can vary considerably
depending on your projected needs. Some people may want to have the capability to collect rainwater for emergency purposes while
others may want to install a system to provide all their water needs at all times. All sorts of systems are certainly doable,
and the components are readily available. For the purposes of survival, we will discuss some simple and affordable options here and
leave the more elaborate designs for you to research on your own.
It’s important to point out that although rainwater is generally
pure and safe to drink, it can easily become contaminated through the collection process. You will be using your roof or some
other surface to initially collect the rainwater. Since this surface must be exposed to the elements, it easily becomes dirty
from falling debris, dust and animal or bird feces. This renders the water unsafe to drink. Unless you are collecting
rainwater under extremely controlled conditions, it must be filtered or purified before consumption.
A rainwater catchment system
could be as simple as diverting a gutter downspout into a holding barrel and then drawing the water from the barrel and purifying
it for consumption or is could be a complex system that filters the water and stores several months of water. It all really
depends on how much water you expect to need between rainfalls and your budget to build a system. Here is a diagram of a simple
and relatively inexpensive system that does not require electricity:
One alternative to using household bleach to purify water is to use calcium hypochlorite. It is used to shock swimming pools
and you can get it in granular form from your local pool supply or online. As long as it stays dry, it has a very long shelf
life. A one-pound bag can purify up to 10,000 gallons of water. There’s a lot of information on the internet about using calcium
hypochlorite so I won’t go into the formulas for mixing it here.
Portable Water Filters
Portable water filters are an excellent (probably the best) solution to purifying water from a questionable
source. They do not require a fire and can be used on the go. A quality filter will remove up to 99.999% of protozoa,
viruses, staph and bacteria. They will also remove heavy metals. The result is safe water that usually taste better. A
good quality water filter should have a 1 micron or less than 1 micron absolute filter. Adding a portable water filter to your bug
out bag or other preparedness supplies is a real must.
At Home Water Filters
After a lot of research, it seems that the Berkey water filter with the black elements is the best for
several reasons. The Berkey Royal, for example, can easily supply enough potable water for several people on a daily basis. If you use four elements, you can filter up to 7 gallons of water per hour. This makes it possible to filter and replenish your
potable water supply on a consistent basis. It removes 99.9% of bacteria, viruses and parasites. It costs about $300 and is
well worth the money. An added bonus is that if you are currently buying bottled water for any reason, you can use the Berkey
water instead since it produces spring water quality water in terms of taste and even better purity.
