drinking water

This is the second point discussed in the "All Is Safely Gathered In: Family Home Storage" pamphlet. The pamphlet states, "Store drinking water for circumstances in which the water supply may be polluted or disrupted. If water comes directly from a good, pretreated source then no additional purification is needed; otherwise, pretreat water before use. Store water in
sturdy, leak-proof, breakage-resistant containers. Consider using plastic bottles commonly used for juices and soda. Keep water containers away from heat sources and direct sunlight."

We store our water in large blue 50-gallon drums. An old rule-of-thumb was to store 14 gallons per person (about 2 weeks worth of drinking water only). The church no longer recommends a specific amount. We learned from the hurricane, Katrina, that water becomes a precious resource in an emergency. So, I would recommend that you store as much as you can. We also have some smaller containers of water that are more portable (could carry water from our drums to a more useful location). We've stored some filter tablets, a container of bleach, a pump and a bung wrench (to open the big barrels). I try to keep a box of bottled water in the back of my car. I probably need to purchase a water filter to provide an ongoing supply of water. How do you store your water?

Here are some water storage suggestions:

*Rinse the inside of your barrels with water and then fill them.
*Because of the chlorine already in our water, no additional chemicals are needed when filling the barrels (use tap water and a clean hose.)
*Do not place your barrels directly on concrete floors or right against concrete walls. They can leach moisture from the cement. You can raise them using (non-treated) wood.
*Store water away from harmful chemicals and foul-smelling products because plastic has a tendency to absorb odors.
*Blue barrels are fine for storage in light.
*Siphon pumps are plastic and crack easily. Place in a safe spot.

“Culinary water (tap water) can be used for long-term storage. Guaranteeing that culinary water is bacteria-free is difficult. You do not need to treat culinary water at the time you store it. The time to treat your stored water is after you’ve stored it and just BEFORE you use it. Why? Purifying chemicals eventually wear out, and bacteria can begin to grow”. (Larry Barkdull, Emergency Essentials, page 20-21.)

These links give additional information:

Water Storage Guidelines - This is from providentliving.org. It has all the information about types of containers, pretreament and post-treatment methods.

http://www.fema.gov/plan/prepare/water - FEMA

http://www.redcross.org/services/prepare - Red Cross