WATER

Originally posted by bruss01:

I am hoping for a fairly brief crisis, 2-6 months.  Currently we have some store-bought water in jugs for immediate use. We have over 100 gallons of water available in bulk storage. In a long-term emergency, myself and my wife would have to rely on water from our local river (which in time of crisis may be polluted  with untreated sewage or runoff) . So I share your concern about how to purify water on a long term basis.

I'd like to invite you to investigate the First Need water filter that is capable of removing darn near everything you'd find objectionable in water intended for drinking.  You can get replacement cartriges for the unit.  Many friends and I have used these on backpacking trips, the water has always been crystal clear.  One caution -  you need to protect the unit from freezing since the ceramic element can crack if frozen. 

For our bulk storage and for treating any questionable water obtained from an impure source, we plan to use swimming pool shock (calcium hypochlorite) to treat water.  We plan to have 4 barrels of 55 gallon capacity to store "city water", and we will be adding a minimal amount of shock just to give a base level of protection during storage, since the barrels will be sealed and the water changed out for fresh every 6 months.  We will have extra shock on hand for treating non-city water if needed.  We think this is better than bleach because calcium hypochlorite will store in dry form nearly indefinitely (10 years), whereas liquid chlorine bleach loses half of it's potency after a year (use twice as much for the same effect) and is next to worthless after two years.

For those who remember Y2K, here's a flashback for you:

"Dry chlorine, also called calcium hypochlorite has the added benefit of extended shelf life. Providing it is kept dry, cool and in an airtight container, it may be stored up to 10 years with minimal degradation. If you want to keep chlorine in larger quantities, this is the item to store (according to Bingo1). It must be ONLY 65% calcium hypochlorite, no addtional anti-fungals or clarifiers. In an EXTREMELY well ventilated area, (Hint: OUTSIDE!) add and dissolve one heaping teaspoon of high-test granular calcium hypochlorite (approximately 1/4 ounce) for each two gallons of water. Five pounds of dry pool bleach costs about $10-15, which will make about 92 gallons of bleach, which will sterilize 706,560 gallons of clear water, or 353,280 gallons of cloudy water. "

Locate shut off valve to your main waterpipe in  your house. Make sure you have a wrench to turn it off if need be. If your city water system is down remember do not drink the water for 72 hours.

Important information about water.

Storing

Disinfecting

Collecting & Conserving