During those times of emergency one of the crucial things
our bodies need for survival is water and we can't live long without it.
You figure that an normal use of water for one person is 140 gallons of water
per day for drinking, bathing, laundry, dishes, watering lawns, etc. But
for subsidence purposes you would need 2 quarts for drinking and 2 quarts for
cleaning and bathing purposes a day. That is a big difference and not a
lot of water. The more water storage containers you can have the better
your situation will be. Fourteen gallons of water per person is the
suggested amount to store for a 2 week emergency situation but to have
more would never hurt. If you have the room to store more you probably will
want to do so. For traveling, if necessary you might want to consider getting
also hydration backpacks.
The easiest way to store the bulk of your water is in 55
gallon, polyethylene (plastic) water drums. These can be obtained from most
food storage companies or from local container companies found in the yellow
pages. It is important that you use only food grade, good quality containers.
Many times you can get food grade containers from companies that distribute
beverages or syrups. If you clean them well, they can provide a good water container
that costs considerably less. One word of caution, however, often the taste or
odor of the previous contents has leached into the plastic and over time may
reintroduced to your water. If you plan to use previously used containers make
sure that what it had in it before is something you wouldn't mind tasting or
smelling in your water. To economize many people are tempted to use empty milk
jugs, but don't plan to store water in these for more than 4 months. They are
biodegradable and will break down within 6 months. Not only may you loose your
water, but if they are stored near food or other items, they may damage them.
Most water container tanks come in 5 gallon, 15 gallon or
55 gallon sizes. A suggestion is that a family stores between two and six of
these smaller water containers along with their 55 gal. drums. This is a prudent
suggestion in situations where you might need to transport water, in the
normal course of events or in a situation where your normal water source might
be disrupted, such as after an earthquake, hurricane, etc., and you might have
to go to a secondary water source such as a water truck, stream, etc. to
refill. Water weighs approximately 8 lbs. per gallon. Fifty five gallon drums
are much too heavy to handle (440 lbs.) and awkward. Smaller water containers don't
hold enough water and would require too many trips, especially if you have to
go on foot. Five 15 gallon water containers are more practical and can easily be put
into a wheelbarrow or child's wagon and wheeled to and from an area. Two liter
pop bottles make a good water container for additional water storage and cost
nothing if you save them and fill them with water as you empty them. Heavy
water containers should always be stored close to
ground level and secured to prevent breakage or possible injury in the event
of earthquake, etc. Be sure to store your water containers away from any harmful
chemicals or objectionable smelling products.
