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- David
Survival Diva here with the first in a series of survival tips and checklists, which in matter of priority, start with water. Humans can survive 3 weeks or longer without food, but only 2 days without water in 120- degree temperature and up to 10 days in 50-degree temperature. And when a crisis places physical demands upon us, it leads to higher hydration requirements.
(David’s Note: I would point out that it’s entirely possible to die within 1-3 hours without water. How? Without muddying the waters too much between dehydration and electrolyte imbalances, think of a football game where someone cramped up in the 2nd half and had to get off the field or even be helped off.
Whether it’s cramping or foggy thought, if you happen to have a mental or physical hiccup at the wrong time because of dehydration in a life or death situation, you could be toast MUCH sooner than 2-10 days.
If you’re willing to go down the rabbit hole a little more, there are several drugs on the market that have a diuretic effect (some anti-depressants and some heart medications) that increase the rate that you pass and have to replace fluids.)
If you suddenly woke up to a full-blown crisis, whether it’s a localized event like an earthquake or a flood, or something severe enough that it impacts large portions of the nation, do you have two week’s worth of water stored indoors, and a way to collect more water when it’s needed?
With ever-increasing urgency, people in the know are sounding alarm bells over the precarious state of the U.S. economy. If even a handful of these warnings are correct, now is a good time for a reality check to see if you’re prepared to provide the most valuable item on a prepper’s basic must-have list: water!
Water: The Checklist
A Reliable Water Source: Streams, Rivers, Lakes, Ponds, Wells, Cisterns, Water Catchments
Water Storage Space
Storage Containers and Hand Carts /Alternate Wheeled Devices
Quality Water Purifier & Replacement Filters
Cheat Sheets on Water Treatment Methods
Unbelievably, the most basic element for survival, water, is not addressed by all preppers! As you can see from the list above, it doesn’t take a lot to be able to collect, purify and store water. Where some preppers stumble and give up is often over the storage space it takes to put aside large quantities of water. Yes, the cost can be a bit daunting as well, but then again, these are one-time costs and it’s something you can’t afford to scrimp on.
Minimum storage needs for drinking, cooking and clean-up water is 28 gallons per person per month at a bare minimum, meaning a family of four will consume approximately 112 gallons of water each month—and that only takes into consideration sponge baths, not bathing. For those who live in year-round hot climates, your water needs will naturally be higher.
You should also take into consideration gardening and laundry needs, and this must be figured out by you, as you are the only person who knows how often you will be doing laundry and if you plan on gardening (which I highly recommend), or if you plan to home-can, which also consumes water.
The very least you should have put aside is 2 weeks worth of water for each person in your family or group—which should be stored indoors. As per our example, putting aside the minimum for 4 people for 2 weeks means you should store a minimum of 56 gallons of water. Why 2 weeks minimum and why stored indoors? Should lawlessness, or looting, or another calamity such as an EMP or a nuclear event like a dirty bomb occur, it will be necessary to remain indoors.
Now its time to start down the list of how-to’s, including alternative solutions when possible, for gathering, storing, hauling and purifying water:
Water Sources
Streams, Rivers, Lakes, Ponds, Water Wells, Water Catchments, Cisterns & Swimming Pool
A body of water such as a stream, river, a lake or even a pond can be used to collect water from. The important thing to keep in mind when you are collecting water is to treat it as if it were contaminated. Water borne diseases are typical, as are heavy metals, salts and chemicals as well as microbes, especially when you are collecting water from a stagnant lake or a pond.
Additionally, during a long-term crisis it’s likely there will be desperate people traveling on foot who will not observe the sanitary steps it takes to keep water from becoming contaminated.
(David’s note: Heck…even in the US, it’s not uncommon to find unburied piles of human waste near construction sites. Many illegals working construction are coming from such incredibly poor conditions that proper waste disposal isn’t seen as a necessity.)
There will likely to be issues with refuse, bathroom use, and possibly deceased human and animal bodies that could contaminate water. Always run water through a quality purifier, which for me is either a Berkey or a Katadyn. And have extra filters put aside, just in case.
Water Well
For those with a well, the problem of water storage is already solved…as long as you have a manual water pump on hand and manual installation tools if you’ve decided to wait until an emergency to install it. Sadly, manual water pumps aren’t going to be the cheapest item on your preparedness list, most notably if in needs to be frost free, but because water is critical to survival, it’s well worth the investment.
If your cash flow just can’t stand the strain of a manual water pump, look into a little known item sold online at Lehman Brothers called “Lehman’s Own Galvanized Well Bucket”. It collects a little under 2 gallons of water by lowering the narrow bucket by hand into a well. They work because of a specialized leak-proof valve that opens to fill it, then closes as the bucket is hoisted up. It retails for $69.95.
Water Catchment
A water catchment/containment system is nothing more than 55 gallon food grade plastic barrels that can be purchased modified with a mesh hole on the top to catch water run-off from the roof and a spout near the bottom to access the water.
(David’s note: Before we had cisterns, I preferred using plastic barrels with a simple siphon tube or a pump over putting a spout in the bottom.)
Note: It is important to run all drinking, cooking and dish washing water used from a water catchment system through a good quality water purifier before use.
If you live in one of the few states that have outlawed capturing water run-off from roofs, having catchment barrels ready to use after SHTF is a solution when it’s less likely to be an issue. If you live in one of these socialist utopias, it’s worth checking to see whether or not they are enforcing the law on homeowners or just on businesses.
Miscellaneous: Water Storage Bags/Bladders, WaterBobs, Water Beds & Underground Cisterns
Water storage bags/water bladders come in all sizes from a 30 gallons to 3000 gallons and larger. The trouble with large water storage bags and bladders is they are not cheap. Most will cost the equivalent of .50¢ per gallon of water or more. They are designed to keep water for long periods of time, but if you plan on storing water long-term in them, you will need to investigate what method of water purification can be safely used per the manufacturer’s specifications. They are not ideal for climate zones that bring freezing winter temperatures.
An underground cistern is a good solution for water storage for those who have a yard. For someone who is handy, they can be built by following one of hundreds of DIY building instructions found online. A cistern’s benefits are they are out of site of passerby’s, they can be designed to hold thousands of gallons of water, and they won’t freeze in winter provided they are installed correctly.
NOTE: Before going to the expense of either a rain catchment system or a cistern, double-check the annual rainfall in your area to make sure it’s worth the investment.
A WaterBob is another method that can be used to store water. They can be found online for around $22.00, can hold up to 100 gallons of water (depending upon the size of your bathtub), and are made of food grade quality plastic. They take 20 – 40 minutes to fill from the bathtub faucet, so it’s conceivably possible to fill them in preparation for an emergency IF you have sufficient warning. If you have a free bathtub that isn’t being used, the WaterBob may be an excellent water storage solution.
Swimming pools make for excellent water storage! An average 21 foot pool holds approximately 25,000 gallons of water. The water can be safely consumed after putting it through a quality water purifier. When I called the people at Berkey Water Filters to verify that pool water can be processed into safe drinking water, I was told yes, but the filters would have to be changed more quickly because the chlorine shortens the life of filters.
Water Storage Space
A while back, I suggested water beds for those with tight storage space issues. Here’s why; a king sized water bed holds 180 gallons of water, a queen size holds 158 gallons, and a twin, 90 gallons. Make sure to properly clean the interior of water beds first and add ion to keep the water drinkable. If you prefer bleach or iodine to preserve the water, check with the manufacturer first.
Most of us has available space in closets and under beds. Investigate where you might have extra unused space—possibly a crawl space that receives enough heat during the winter months where the water will not freeze, expand, and eventually crack water containers.
Here’s an interesting solution to the problem of storage space. A friend came up with the idea to store beans and rice in large, food grade plastic food grade barrels, top them with those press board rounds that are used for cheap end tables, then topped it with a tablecloth. This idea would work just as well for water storage as it did beans and rice, as long as you make certain your floor can handle the extra weight. Her concern was cosmetic. She didn’t want to clutter her home with large, unsightly barrels, but I suspect most preppers would be more concerned with advertising their preparedness.
I’ve saved the best for last. A while back, David shared these innovative ideas for water storage.
Here are a couple of ways to “hide” water…
In between (wide) studs and joists. A company that I discuss in the FastestWayToPrepare.com course, Aquabarrel, makes a water tank called the Hog that’s 71” high x 20” wide x 9.5” deep. These modules can be laid horizontally (under a deck) or vertically in a wall, as long as the wall is thick enough and the studs are spaced wide enough.
In PVC pipes. The creative use of PVC pipes will allow you to store water in almost any large void that has the ability to support the weight of the water.
In underground cisterns (tanks). I’ve got friends with cisterns ranging from 55 gallons to 20,000 gallons, to one who created and filled a pond with a couple million gallons of water (think 3 ½ Olympic size swimming pools) that gets refilled by rain runoff.
In stealth rainwater catchment systems, idea #1: I keep a mental note of every house I see with a rain catchment system and it’s safe to assume that other people do too. One way to hide your rain catchment is to have your rain water run all the way to the ground and set up a French drain that directs the water to an underground cistern or 55 gallon drum(s).
Stealth rainwater catchment system, idea #2: If you have a gutter that goes along a wall of your house that happens to be the wall of your garage, you can cut a hole in the wall of your garage and put a diverter on your gutter that diverts the water into your garage to one or more drums or tanks. The full length of your gutter will still be in place, but some, most, or all of the water will go into your hidden water storage in your garage.
Methods To Store Water Safely
The following are three methods to safely store water long-term
Bleach Method: The bleach should contain a 5.2% of sodium hydrochloride without soap additives or phosphates. Use a ratio of 1/8 teaspoon of chlorine bleach for each gallon of water.
Iodine: use 12 drops of 2% tincture of iodine for each gallon of water.
NOTE: Pregnant women, those suffering from thyroid disease, and those allergic to iodine (a red flag would be those who have an allergic reaction to shellfish—many times this indicates a sensitivity to iodine) should use this method only after consulting their physician.
Ion: Use 20 drops of ion for each gallon of water.
Note: After long-term water storage, the water may taste flat. To solve the problem, pour the water from one container to the other several times, which re-oxygenates the water.
Hand Cart or Alternative Wheeled Devices
Next, you will want to have a wheeled hand cart, or in a pinch, use an item like a child’s wagon, to get the water from its source to your location. A gallon of water weighs 8.35 lbs. per gallon! If your having to haul just one weeks worth of water home from a stream, river or lake, you would need to carry nearly 233 lbs. of water! That’s where a wheeled hand cart may become your new best friend.
**To learn about David’s book, “Urban Disaster Water Purification”, which goes DEEP into improvised and store bought solutions for filtering AND purifying water, regardless of whether you’re in a wilderness or urban situation, click >HERE< In short, if you think you’re going to be able to use your cute little camping filter to remove urban contaminants out of city water, you REALLY need this book, and you can get it for only $7 through this link >HERE<.**
DIY Cheat Sheets To Treat Water
There are several ways to make water safe for drinking and cooking, even without a water purifier. They are listed below.
Treating Fallout In Water
There is something I would like to clear up before progressing to treating water for fallout. Water itself cannot become radioactive but materials that may fall into water can be radioactive, which must be carefully filtered before drinking.
Water purifiers will not rid water of fallout material, but you can make a do-it-yourself filter, and it can be done cheaply. Here’s what you do:
Materials Needed:
2 Five-Gallon Food Grade Quality Buckets
Soil—The More Clay Content In the Soil, The Better (dug at least 6 inches below the soil surface)
A Piece of Terrycloth towel that Has been Cut a Little Larger than the Circumference Of The Diameter of the Bucket
Directions:
Cut holes in the bottom of one of the buckets. Fill the bucket with the holes you made with 2 inches of soil (the more clay content in the soil, the better). Place the terrycloth piece over the soil. Water is poured from the bucket containing the soil and terrycloth cover into the second bucket.
Note: The soil and terrycloth must be changed after 50 quarts of water has run through this homemade fallout purifier.
Boiling Water
If you hadn’t gotten around to purchasing a water purifier and you suddenly find yourself needing one, you can use the boiling method. All it requires is to rapid-boil for one full minute. To re-oxygenate the water to make it more palatable, simply pour the water from one container to another.
(David’s note: this won’t get rid of heavy metals, salts, antifreeze, or other man-made contaminants, but it will kill off bacteria and viruses.)
Treating Water With Bleach
Bleach can be used to kill microorganisms by adding 1/8 teaspoon fresh bleach per gallon of water and letting it stand for at least one minute before drinking or cooking with it.
Treating Water With Purification Tablets
Purification tablets work by releasing chlorine or iodine, depending upon the manufacturer. They are affordable and available at sporting goods stores and drugstores. Typically the ratio is one tablet to purify one liter of water, but when water is cloudy, two water purification tablets can be used.
Note: a rapid-boil method, chlorine bleach, or purification tablets will kill microorganisms that can cause dysentery, cholera, typhoid and hepatitis. However, none of these methods will rid water of heavy metals or salts and most other chemicals—to do so requires water distillation. The directions to distill water are found below.
Water Distillation
To distill water, you need to collect the water condensation that has been boiled. Here’s how you do it:
Fill a pot half full and tie a cup to the handle on the pots lid, turning the lid upside down, so the cup will will hang right side up when the lid is upside down.
Put the lid on the pot , making sure the cup is not dangling in the water, and boil the water for 20 minutes. The water that drips into the pot is distilled.
(David’s note: Field Expedient Water Filtration System
One oft used and incredibly effective field expedient is called the bucket filter and it is made by layering sand, charcoal, and gravel in a bucket or other tube. This is something that every school child should be taught and every adult should know how to make. For a picture and more details, go to an article I wrote on it >HERE<
Short Cuts
You can reduce your cooking water needs by purchasing food already packed in water. Canned food like beans, vegetables and fruit packed in water takes up more storage space than does dehydrated and freeze dried foods, but the tradeoff is ease of cooking along with reduced fuel and water consumption. If you didn’t catch an earlier post The Mother Of All Food Storage Myths you should read it, especially if your food storage decisions are centered on shelf life…you may have a change of heart. Believe it or not, canned food decades old was tested and deemed safe to eat!
This is an important fact to consider when planning your food storage because in an emergency, canned goods can be consumed cold if your area is slammed with lawlessness or looters and it becomes prudent to control cooking odor.
The basics of a survival plan begins with food, water and shelter. Next week we’re moving on to food storage and all it entails. Don’t miss the opportunity to double-check your food storage plan against the detailed lists that will be provided next week!
Have You planned for the single most important survival item: water? Or have you put it off because you’re unsure of where to find, store or purify water? Please share you experience and helpful hints with the forum. It could save lives!
Chapter 19 of Implant has been posted. You can continue reading by Clicking Here.
God bless and stay safe,
David Morris and Survival Diva