by Cody Lundin
How Much Water Should I Store?
How much water you store depends on the variables already discussed and your opinion. At the bare minimum, store at least one gallon per person per day. If you live in an arid climate store as much water as you can, at least three gallons per person per day. The primary motive for storing and using this water is your family's hydration (thermoregulation), with cooking and sanitation close behind. Don't forget that pets will also require water. Rural and suburban families that own livestock, horses, or other large animals should plan accordingly for their needs. Most animal owners will know how much their animals drink during hot and cool weather—if not, pay attention the next time you water them.
Keep internally hydrated, but otherwise use water sparingly, and strictly ration your water with regard to sponge baths and the like. While most conventional emergency preparation information advises you to be independent and prepared for three days or seventy-two hours, be independent with water for at least one week, two weeks if possible, and three or four if you can manage the space and expense. Having "just enough" of any life-giving, precious resource leaves zero room for the variables that will happen after a disaster that will impact your stored supply. Never put all of your eggs in one basket and have, at minimum, two places in which you store your family's emergency water. These locations should be out of the sun and cool, if possible—away from toxic chemicals, gas containers, and other garage or closet household items that could permeate through some water containers and affect the quality of the water. Water should also be stored at your place of work and in each vehicle.
Water is fairly heavy, 8.3 pounds per gallon, and is not compressible, so the space that it takes up is the space that it takes up. Since water is so heavy, containing large amounts requires very well-made containers. There are many different containers available and all of them have their pros and cons. Before storing water in smaller preused containers, wash them first with dish detergent. After rinsing, disinfect the inside of the container with one teaspoon of household chlorine bleach per quart of water. Swish the mixture around and let it sit for a few minutes, rinse well, and you're ready to use it for water storage. Look at the following list of the most common water storage containers, and decide which containers or combinations of containers work for you.
Common Types of Water Storage Containers
Plastic
There are many advantages to using plastic containers. They are extremely common and they come in a large variety of sizes and shapes, from one-quart, backpacking-style water containers to massive tanks capable of holding thousands of gallons. They are durable, corrosion resistant, repairable, lightweight when empty, and relatively cheap. Opaque models will inhibit algae growth and come in nonattention-grabbing colors such as forest green and black.
Some disadvantages are that plastic will eventually deteriorate from ultraviolet rays from the sun, may burn/melt with sufficient heat, and will easily absorb and retain odors. Naysayers claim that all plastics eventually leach harmful chemicals into stored water.
Small Plastic Containers
There are many small plastic containers to choose from and all give you the option of easily transporting water. Due to their smaller size, usually under a gallon, they double as a convenient drinking container suitable for young children and older people alike. For long-term storage, look for containers that are made specifically for potable water or other liquids. This doesn't mean you should use a plastic container that housed paint thinner in its last life for even short-term use, so please, use common sense.
Liter Pop Bottles
These containers are tougher than hell, commonly available, easy to drink from for small children and the elderly, and store easily. I've had clients use them on rough, cross-country survival courses, and I'll admit, they can take some abuse. Almost all lack any useful opacity so they will breed algae if exposed to light for any length of time. This same trait makes them wonderful containers to use with the ultraviolet radiation "SODIS" water treatment method explained later in this chapter.
"Camping Style," One-Quart/Liter-Capacity Water Bottles
Your local camping and backpacking store will have a varied array of quality, one-quart/liter-capacity water bottles that can take extreme abuse. A common make is Nalgene. I wrap each Nalgene with two rows of duct tape that support a parachute cord loop with which I use to carry the bottle. The duct tape is supremely multiuse and has served me well for many tasks, from preventing blisters on feet and repairing rain gear to anchoring a splint made from a willow branch for a shattered patella. Six years ago, one of my Lexan plastic Nalgenes was run over by a truck hours before a film shoot with an Ohio news station (it's a long story). Other than a few abrasions, it's fine and I use it to this day. The older-style plastic Nalgenes, usually whitish in color, will degrade over time. I have had this type of plastic bottle shatter like glass when dropped. The weak link with Nalgene bottles is the plastic cap, as it's made from a softer plastic in order to grip and seal the container. I have had these caps shatter when my bottle was dropped. You can buy caps alone, they're about two dollars, and the wise person will pick up at least an extra cap per bottle.
Zipper-lock Freezer Baggies
I love zipper-lock freezer bags. Buy a name brand as there is a difference in quality and make sure to purchase "freezer" bags as they're thicker than standard zipper locks. Quality quart- and gallon-size freezer bags will hold their quantity in water, sealed in a standing position, without bursting open. As the quart-sized bag holds a quart and the gallon-sized bag holds a gallon of water, zipper-locks work well when using halogens such as iodine or chlorine to disinfect water. These bags have a very wide, flat mouth and can skim water from ground areas such as shallow puddles that other containers can't. They can also be scrunched up and reopened inside water-bearing areas to collect liquid that a quart bottle won't fit into. They are the everyday, urban version of the ultimate collapsible water container and have zillions of uses. Emergency zipper-lock water containers can be beefed up with duct tape on the outside to improve their durability against abrasions and punctures. Freezer bags also show promise when used as a container to disinfect water by ultraviolet radiation.
Juice Bottles
Plastic or glass juice bottles should be thoroughly washed and dried before use. However, even after multiple washings, you may smell and taste a hint of papaya or whatever type of juice the container originally held—the plastic containers will retain the smell and taste the most.
Bleach Bottles
Chlorine bleach bottles that housed regular sodium hypochlorite 5.25 or 6.0 percent without added phosphates or scents are durable and well suited for water storage jugs. They are opaque as well, unlike most juice bottles, and thus are more attractive for long-term water storage in which algae might be an issue.
Milk Jugs
Although superior to an animal stomach, milk jugs and gallon water containers from the grocery store both suck for storing and transporting water. Although I have used both for temporary purposes, both the container and the lid are too flimsy. Compared to the other types of containers available to you, milk gallons degrade quickly when exposed to the sun, especially here in the Southwest. Use these only when you have no other option.
Collapsible Containers, Both Large and Small
Plastic or rubber collapsible water containers provide water containment without the bulk of the container when empty. As mentioned, water is not compressible and requires a certain amount of volume when stored. This, of course, means that empty water containers will still be a space hog, using up room that might be at a premium for your family, especially in that efficiency apartment. The weak link of many collapsible containers is the thin, folded, or pleated plastic or rubber itself. The movement of the plastic/rubber creates weak areas within the plastic/rubber, which later leads to leaks. Many years ago there were quality containers being made, but from my modern experiments, most of the commercial options are crap. Fo
r this reason, don't have the bulk of your water storage containers be the collapsible variety.
"Camping Style," Five- to Seven-Gallon Jerry Cans
On my outdoor courses, I use plastic jerry cans a bunch. Most come with a cap and a funnel-like adapter that allow for easier pouring. Other caps convert into a spigot that allows you to open and close it as needed without formally capping the entire container. Some are cheaply made and others are not. Get the thickest plastic you can find and expect sooner or later for the caps and spouts to break. These are usually sold separately, like the caps to the Nalgenes, so pick up extras.
These containers are going to be heavy when full, from forty to fifty-six pounds, so limit their use to storing or transporting water for short distances. While all models have a built-in carrying handle, some designers had a clue and built in two handles, one at the top and the other toward the bottom. This allows for easier pouring and for two people to tackle the job of lugging the thing around. On some dry-camp field courses, I have my students carry full jerry cans to our base camp. The average carry distance for two healthy young males, depending on terrain and air temperature, is about a quarter to a half a mile before they want my head on a stick.
Fifty-five-Gallon Drums (Yes, This Is Considered a Small Container)
New or preowned fifty-five-gallon drums or barrels are extremely common on many survival supply Web sites. While all of them sold for storing water should be made from food-grade plastics, double check before ordering. Food wholesalers and restaurants might be another place to score some containers, although no doubt they will need cleaning and may reek of their former contents until the end of time. One of my fifty-five-gallon drums was a former home for olives. It has smelled of olives for more than seven years but I don't care as I don't use its water for human consumption. Even so, the smell is purely cosmetic.
Some have tried the following method to eliminate the infamous "pickle bucket stink" from their containers. First, wash the hell out of the inside of the container with dish soap. Next, use a paste solution of baking soda and hot water and scrub it some more and/or fill the container up with hot water and dissolve into the water a cup and a half of baking soda, stir it up good, and let the solution sit for a few days. Empty it out (hopefully on some thirsty plants) and fill it again with water and this time add a cup and a half of chlorine bleach and let it sit for a few days. Chlorine evaporates so seal the bucket as it sits. If your container doesn't have a cover, consider not wasting your time with it as it will be inferior for storing water anyway due to infiltrating debris and critters. Do this process during hot weather as it will slightly expand the plastic and allow greater access to more of the "pores" that hold onto the odor. Empty the container and let it dry with the top off. If this doesn't work, get used to the smell of pickles.
When filled with water, a fifty-five-gallon drum would herniate the Incredible Hulk if he tried to move it, so figure out where you want it before you fill it. Be careful about putting them in older homes with sketchy wooden floors or on second-story floors or higher as they will weigh more than 450 pounds when topped off. Some retailers sell cool little pumps that fit on top of the drums that allow your family to pump out the water. Other people cut into the bottom side of the drum and install a spigot. Others don't mind opening the top and using a pot to simply scoop out water, or they use a garden hose to siphon off the contents. Obviously, due to their great size, fifty-five-gallon drums are meant to store water in a static location. Even so, when mostly empty, they aren't that bad to move around and are relatively convenient and cheap for most homeowners to own a few.
Large Plastic Containers
In the Southwest, plastic water storage tanks of all shapes and sizes are a normal part of life. Many people, especially in rural areas, either haul their own or have water delivered to their homes via commercial water trucks. The most common tank size for home use is 3,000 gallons, due to its manageable size (approximately 95 inches by 105 inches), and the fact that water trucks usually hold 1,600 to 2,000 gallons. If you have the space, and choose to purchase a large-capacity plastic tank, choose one that is opaque (as most are) to inhibit algae growth and choose a low-key color such as black or dark green. Larger tanks come with an opening near the bottom, one near the top, and a manhole-type cover that allows for smaller folks to climb into the tank, if needed, for cleaning or repairs. Additional holes can easily be added wherever you like.
In the many years that I've had my tank, I've never had a problem with algae or anything else. Before I got around to capping off one of the top holes, a bird flew into the tank without my knowledge, became trapped, and died in the water. We drank the nondisinfected water anyway and watched the bird slowly dissolve until only the skull remained. Skittish guests refused to drink and brought their own water for months, thereby saving a great deal of water. I'm not recommending the dead bird trick as a way to be cheap with your water but it does demonstrate and affirm water being the ultimate natural dissolver when given sufficient time. My own mother still refuses to drink the water some seven years later.
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Any clear container left filled with water and exposed to direct or indirect sunlight will in time grow algae. This bright green slime coats the inside of the container with surprising rapidity. While I'm no algaeologist, the varieties that I have dealt with over the years have given me zero problems. When a thin layer of it decides to separate itself from the side of my water jug, I simply consider the stuff free food and drink it down. Other people, perhaps not surprisingly, have been vocal with their objections to sharing my jug. Although it's typically the stuff you can't see floating around in water that causes the problems, I understand their protests. If your family freaks out about their greenish-looking bottles, help to prevent algae growth in the first place by making clear bottles opaque with covers or paint. Also, keep them out of direct or indirect sunlight and change the water inside often. If algae takes over your bottle, it will be nearly impossible to get out without mechanical scrubbing, which is difficult to accomplish in many containers with tiny openings. The easiest way to get rid of algae is to add a couple of tablespoons of bleach to the bottle along with a little water. Shake it up a bit, let it sit for a few minutes, then come back and shake it some more until the algae breaks off and/or dissolves in the chlorine solution. Rinse the bottle out and you're back in the good graces of your fussy family. Rotate your stored water supply every six months to a year whether it was used or not.
Some suggest that chlorine be added to large amounts of stored water that sit for a long period of time, but I have never found the need to do so. I'm drinking the same water now that I added to my tank fourteen months ago (without adding any fresh water) and it's fine, sans any means of disinfection. While I cover how to use chlorine to disinfect smaller quantities of water on Chapter 13, adding chlorine drop by drop to a 3,000 gallon water tank would have the same effect as being forced to listen to one Menudo song. For those who insist on adding chlorine bleach to large amounts of stored water, sans Menudo, the recipe is as follows.
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HOW TO DISINFECT 1,000 GALLONS OF WATER WITH CHLORINE BLEACH
I went straight to the source of water disinfection information for this one and talked with Rick Pinney, water superintendent for the city of Prescott, Arizona. He kindly spent nearly an hour with me on the phone going through complex math formulas that had me close to cutting my wrists. In the end, he took pity on my anemic math skills and just gave me the answer. Thanks, Rick!
The following is used to treat 1,000 gallons of nonpotable water with sodium hypochlorite 5.25 or 6 percent to achieve a concentration of one parts per million. If you're wishing to disinfect more or less water, do the math.
The following dosage is given in three different measurements that all equate to the same amount. Choose whichever one works best for you.
Use 1/3 cup chlorine bleach per 1,000 gallons of water
Or
Or
14 ½ teaspoons of chlorine bleach per 1,000 gallons of water.
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Although larger cylindrical plastic tanks are not meant to be buried, I have mine buried in sand a few feet so the pipes running to the house aren't susceptible to damage from freezing temperatures. For purely emergency use, a family can pick the proper tank location (the company who sells you the tank should be able to supply you with how to prepare the ground for the size you purchase), attach a valve to the bottom opening, fill the tank with water, and fill smaller containers as needed without the headache of freezing pipes.
While these tanks are fairly UV resistant, they will take a beating in direct sunlight over the years. That said, I've seen tanks that have baked in the Arizona sun for more than a decade and they look brand new. If an idiot shoots at your tank, or it is somehow damaged short of a gaping hole, plastic tanks can be repaired by the use of a plastic rod of material that is simply melted into or over the leak.
Glass Containers
There are some advantages to using glass containers. Potentially harmful chemicals cannot leach into the water from glass. Water doesn't pick up weird tastes from glass and glass does not absorb odors. Ultraviolet rays from the sun have no effect on glass and glass containers will last almost indefinitely if not damaged.
