Water Filtration a Key to Drinking Water

Life StrawTechnology has advanced to the point where it is possible to filter lake water and make it potable. Devices as small as a straw have been designed to drink directly from a contaminated water source and know that the water has been filtered and is safe.

It is a good idea to have the personal filtering systems for each person in your group.  Keep the filtering system accessible in case they are caught away from home. These straw devices are light and easy to pack.

Multiple devices will make sure that they are easily accessible and ready for use.  There are various size devices that can filter thousands of gallons of water during their lifetime.

We have a Life Straw for every member of our household.  We keep them in our 72 hour kits.  Additional straws are in our vehicles.

Berkey water filterFamily Sized Filtration Options

The larger filtration systems are costly and you need to measure the cost vs return. These larger capacity devices could be used in conjunction with a rainwater harvest system.

There are a very few homes that have been equipped with rainwater harvesting systems.  These systems can continuously replenish their water supply but need a way to filter the water to make it potable. Larger capacity filtering systems can easily turn the harvested rain water into potable water.

We have a 2 gallon system for our home.  Pour water in the top tank and gravity will pull the water through the filters.  A short time later we have fresh drinking water.

People ask how the water tastes after it has been filtered.  I just look at them funny and say, “It is water.  It doesn’t have a taste.”  And that is true.  Filtered water doesn’t have any taste taste.  At least not to us.

How Large a Filtering System Do You Need?

At a minimum you will need 1 gallon per person per day.  Reality says you will need as much as 3 gallons per person per day.  Therefore, you will need a system that can filter that much water per day.  For a family of 4 you should plan on needing a system that can filter at least 12 gallons per day.

Filter and store water to get ahead of the problem.  Keep several liter bottles of filtered water in our fridge for everyday use.  This allows us to take water with us as we walk about or travel.  We can then refil them as needed from our filtered water source.

Watch this video to learn more about the individual filtration system.