We all know that water is the life blood of survival during emergency situations. The rule of survival states that you cannot survive more than 3 days without water. Of course there are exceptions, but the overwhelming facts all state that the human body needs water. By storing emergency water in your home, you present yourself and family with a greater chance of surviving whichever crisis you might encounter. Being a major storm ( Hurricane Andrew ) survivor myself, I can share with you everything you need to know about emergency water. From how much you’ll need, to finding and filtering, EmergencyGuru.com will provide many great facts and tips.
Emergency Water Facts: #1 How much emergency water will I need?
Knowing how much water you’ll need to ride out a natural disaster or emergency situation is the first step in building any DIY prepper pantry. The most common guideline is to have a gallon of water per person, per day to drink. For example, if you’re stocking up for 3 people to survive 5 days, you would want to have 15 gallons of water on hand ( 3 people x 5 days =15 gallons ) as a minimum. Now keep in mind that this is just clean drinking water that we’re talking about. You will also want to have extra water on hand for other tasks like brushing your teeth, washing your hands, washing food like fruit, maybe washing a dish or two, and even some for sanitation needs. The facts are that bad weather and other emergencies can pop up at any time, and you never know how long you’ll be without help from others or your community. After the 300 mph winds of Hurricane Andrew quit blowing, my neighborhood was cutoff from outside help for about 2 weeks. August in south Florida is no joke, and extremely hot. Water was the most important item to have to keep us from dehydrating on a daily basis.
Emergency Water Facts: #2 How do I collect water for emergencies?
There are a couple of ways to collect water for emergencies. The most typical and easiest would be to stock up on bottled water. You can buy bottled water just about anywhere. Every time you go to the grocery store you can pick up an extra case of bottled water or plastic jugs ( usually in gallons ). Even if you buy just one extra gallon of water every time you shop, you’ll quickly have the minimum requirement of safe drinking water on hand to round out your DIY food supply.
Another method of collecting emergency water is to collect rainwater. I would recommend purchasing either 15 gallon containers or 55 gallon drums for this method. Just sit these items outside during the next heavy rain. Make sure that you put a screen or mesh over the top of each of these containers to help keep large debris out. Once your containers are filled, simply store them in a cool dry area if possible. You can save up a lot of water this way. Remember that you should never drink rainwater without purifying it first. This water can have airborne contaminants like pollen and bird droppings.
Emergency Water Facts: #3 Finding extra water sources around your house
There are several places around your home that can provide you with emergency water if needed. These may not provide safe drinking water initially, but they will provide essential water that you can purify then drink.
* Your Freezer – If you have ice in your freezer and the power goes out, you can collect the water from the melted ice. This water is safe for drinking!
* Pool or Hot Tub – This water is NOT SAFE for drinking, but it can be used for some of the other needs you have that involve water. The only way to safely drink this water is to distill it first. This process is not super easy, but can be done with the correct knowledge.
* Water Heater – Most water heaters hold about 30 gallons of safe drinking water. This water IS SAFE for drinking, and will provide emergency water for several people for several days. ( see the rule stated above in water fact #1)
* Toilet – This will never be anyone’s first choice for water, but it does provide. I’m not talking about the toilet bowl either, I’m talking about the tank behind the seat. Believe it or not, this water IS SAFE to drink unless you use a a cleaner in it ( ammonia, bleach, etc… ). If you’re unsure about this or any of the water sources above, go ahead and purify or distill it first.
Conclusion
Knowing the facts about emergency water is a must! You won’t survive long periods of time without water. Water is the easiest of the essential preps to stock up on. Water WILL be the first item that the grocery stores will sell out of right before any major storm, so take initiative today, because tomorrow’s too late!
Below are a couple of popular online sites that offer numerous methods of water storage supplies as well as water treatment supplies. Check them out now!