Q & A Session:
"Do I really need a 55 gallon drum of water?"
Yes - at least. The Department of Homeland Security has an information page on it. It's at:www.fema.gov/plan/prepare/water . According to FEMA, we should store at least one gallon of water per person, per day. A normally active person needs at least one-half gallon of water daily just for drinking. Take into account your family's needs. Do you have babies on formula, freeze dried or dehydrated food in your food supply, etc. Also, don't forget you're going to want to wash those dishes and bathe yourselves. I was personally in a 6.8 earthquake in Southern California and we did not have running water for 2 weeks. Not to mention all the sediment that was in the water after it hadn't been running for that long.
"What types of containers are the best for storing your water?"
There are a variety of good storage containers. The most ideal for large storage would be the blue 55 gallon drums. Ideally you want the dark blue containers because white drums or light colored drums promote the growth of bacteria. Exposing them to alot of sunlight also encourages bacterial growth. These "food grade" plastic containers come in a variety of sizes - available from 5 gallon and 15 gallon up to 55 gallon drums.
"I don't have enough money for one of the big drums. Is there anything I can do that won't cost alot?"
Water may be stored in 2 Liter soda bottles. Just wash them out thorougly with hot soapy water. I usually fill mine up with water and let it set for a couple days before I dump that water out and refill it with the water I will store ( it helps take some of the soda flavor out). If you store water this way, you need to put two drops of bleach in each bottle. I have heard mixed information on storing water in juice containers. I don't. What I heard was something to the effect of how natural sugars in the juice will turn the water bad after its stored for very long. Also, milk containers are not recommended. When my family was in that earthquake we lived off of my mom's soda bottles of water. They had a tint of rootbeer and orange soda flavor, but they worked! We used to gripe when she'd make us spend one summer morning every year rotating them, but that shut us up pretty quick!
"What about storing water in bleach containers - I heard that you could do that...?"
It's very dangerous to store your water in bleach containers. Not only does it increase the chance of someone drinking full strength bleach on accident, but after time, the chemicals from the bleach that seeped into the container become toxic. It is also important to remember that when you add bleach to your storage water, that it needs to be fresh and cannot have other additives - just plain bleach, or you'll make yourselves sick.
" I heard that we're not supposed to store our water on concrete...why not, and how do you suggest storing it?"
According to preparedness lecturer Kenneth Moravec: "Concrete attracts fluids and 'bleeds.' Anything that has been on or in that concrete will find its way into your plastic water barrel. This includes the lime in the concrete, any hazardous materies (i.e. gasoline, oils, kerosene or anything a contractor used in construction), algae, etc. Usually it is not enough to make the water toxic but it will taint the water enough to make the taste unbearable. And no amount of pouring it fom container to container will take that taste away."
The best way to store that water is on two by fours making a pallet out of it.
"Where can I find the best prices on water storage containers?"
When Macey's runs their "emergency preparedness sale" you can usually get the 55 gallon drums for around $39. I've seen them sell for as high as $89 a barrel at Emergency Essentials. Watch for the sales! There's a place I've used to purchase our water storage barrels for the ward and our food grade buckets/lids and its called Industrial Container. They are located in downtown Salt Lake City. They by far are the best priced! We got them down to somewhere around $32 ea.
I'm going to post this info for now and will be adding to it soon. Anyone with questions can click on the comments icon below and ask, and I'll try to answer it and post it for everyone to learn from.
2 comments:
Thanks for that info Kari. I have heard different things about adding bleach. So- as I understand-I should add 2 drops per liter to pop bottles but don't need to add any to the water in my blue 5 gallon or 55 gallon containers. Right?
Julia,
The whole bleaching thing is somewhat controversial and pretty much subjective. It all depends on your quality of water. If you are regularly rotating your storage water every couple years or so, you wouldn't need to bleach it if it is not cloudy in any way. You can always cover yourself by adding the bleach, in which case it would be 1/4 cup fresh straight bleach to a 55 gallon water drum and somewhere around 15 drops of fresh straight bleach to a 5 gallon drum. The only harm in the bleach is adding too much and if it is too old, not to mention adding the wrong kind (eg.scented, softeners, etc.) Then, it could make you sick and cause internal bleeding. To be safe you could always call the city water department and ask them. As for my family, we will probably not add bleach to our blue drums, but will to our soda bottles.
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