Without Water You Won’t Survive Past 3 Days
There is not much more important to your survival than storing drinking water. Without it you will not survive 3 days and you certainly will not be eating many meals from a jar.
Water storage is one of the bulkier items that you will have to find room to store. Water does not compress/shrink and weighs 8.2 pounds per gallon. So, it is bulky and heavy.
How Much Water is Enough?
You should plan that during a disaster that you may not have running water to perform your common daily items such as bathe, wash clothes, use a dishwasher or even flush the toilet. Therefore, your plan for water needs should not include these items for storage calculations.
According to the research I have done you should plan for drinking water and water for cooking. Washing of hands for sanitation can be done in water that is not used for drinking and cooking. Learn the terms “Potable” and “Non-Potable” when it comes to water. Potable simply means it can be used to drink and cook with. You can already guess that Non-Potable water is for everything else.
You should plan for 3 gallons per day per person of Potable water. Do the math to come up with how much water you will need for each disaster period, 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months and 365 days.
Use Proper Containers for Storing Water
The containers used to store water must be sturdy and be able to withstand pressure from the contents and yet be portable so water can be moved from storage to usable pots, glasses and other containers.
Milk jugs and discarded soda bottles are NOT strong enough to store water for long-term needs. While some may use these for their short-term storage needs these jugs will turn brittle and break. I KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE. Watch this video to learn more.
The Right Water Container for Your Needs
You can buy different size containers made to store water for long periods of time. They come in 5 gallon, 55 gallon and 535 gallon sizes and everything in between. For the larger size containers you can get them from a pressure washing supply warehouse or store. I found them locally in 335, 535 and 1,035 gallon sizes. They load from the top, have molded feet for stability and if you keep them out of sunlight they will not mold. For the larger sizes you will probably need a hand pump to get water out as you should not puncher the container to add a spout as this weakens the plastic. If your container comes with a spout that is fine. I am just not comfortable adding it.
If your plan for storing water includes a swimming pool you need to realize just how much crap flies around during a storm. Debris from trees, houses, dirt and dead animals will all make it into your pool during a storm. Left in the heat without electricity to circulate the water through the filtration system and you will have a 20,000 gallon sewage pond out your back door in just a day or two.
When we were in Pascagoula, MS after Hurricane Katrina to help clean up the absolute worst smell came from the swimming pools in the area. They contained a dark brown liquid full of trash. One I saw had a fishing pier laying in it from the gulf about a half mile away. Swimming pools are not a reliable source of non-potable water after a major storm.
Click here to learn about methods for filtering water for personal and family use.