How much to store?

Most guides to preparedness tell you to start with the figure of one gallon of water per day per person. Now, there’s nothing wrong with this, but you need to take several things into consideration. The one gallon figure is by most accounts inclusive of water for drinking, as well as for other uses such as cooking and sanitation. Some of us drink much more water than others. Some prefer to drink other liquids, though other liquids probably won’t be as available during a disaster scenario. Water for cooking, i.e. reconstituting dehydrated or freeze-dried food certainly could be another use. When you add in water for washing or personal hygiene, the one gallon figure starts to seem a little thin. The fact is that it’s definitely better to have too much water than not enough. Probably a more realistic figure would be between 1 and 3 gallons per day per person. Don’t forget that if you have pets, they have to be figured into the water equation as well.

Of course, the other component is how long a period of time you are planning to prepare for. The venerable 72-hour figure is certainly a good place to start, but in a catastrophic event such as a Cascadia Subduction Earthquake, self-sufficiency for at least two weeks (or even longer) is probably more of a realistic time period. When you take into consideration all the uses you would have for water during a time period like that, the amount you might need starts adding up. Again, there’s no magic number with regard to amount. It really depends on your personal habits and needs, but consider at least double the standard recommended amount. The fact is, water is probably like food or five gallon buckets – no matter how much you have, you’ll wish you had more.

What should I store it in?

First and foremost, water should be stored in containers designed to hold water. While that may sound silly, some containers out there don’t lend themselves to water storage as well as others. With few exceptions, you should avoid storing water in containers which have previously contained other things. An example would be a one gallon milk jug. The fact is that you probably couldn’t clean that container out well enough so that all traces of milk would be gone. Any traces of milk left, even the smallest amount, would not only taint the taste of the water, but also set up an opportunity for bacteria to grow. Additionally, the plastic that particular type of container is made of doesn’t hold up well over time. While water is sold in those containers, it’s really for short term use. Some would recommend 2 liter soft drink bottles, as that plastic holds up better and it’s smooth. Such a container would be fine, but again, you need to ensure that it’s cleaned out and disinfected thoroughly before storing water in it. This can be done by washing the inside of the container thoroughly with soap and hot water, rinsing it well with clean water, then rinsing it with a 1:10 mixture of household bleach (always the regular, non-scented bleach) and water and allowing it to drain and dry. There are several types of containers in different shapes and sizes that are made specifically for water storage. Here’s an example of just a few of them.

Bottled Water – Probably most people’s first line of defense for drinking water. Many people use bottled water regularly so they usually have at least some on hand. It’s inexpensive (especially filtered or purified water as opposed to spring water), and widely available. Widely available, that is, except after a disaster. Then it’s a valuable commodity which you won’t be able to replace for some time. Because of this you have to keep a supply of it at all times. The benefit to this is that you can easily rotate your stock of bottled water that’s in storage with new water that you buy for regular use. This continuous rotation gives you a constant supply of fresh water.

The biggest advantage of course would be high quality, very portable drinking water. If you had a large enough stockpile, it might also be useful for bartering for other needed supplies, though there are other items that can be used for this that may not be quite as valuable as your drinking water. Disadvantages would be a higher continuous cost, a larger space requirement for the actual volume of water stored, and the fact that some water needs such as hygiene don’t require bottled drinking water.

Bottled water may very well be a beneficial part of your water storage, but for practical purposes, it should be accompanied by some bulk water storage as well.

WaterBrick™ - This container is made to stack together like Legos. The standard WaterBrick has a 3 ½ gallon capacity, and they make a smaller one that’s half that size. It should be noted that these containers can also store dry food or materials such as rice, beans, etc. When full of water, the standard one weighs in at about 28 lbs. The advantages are the size and interlocking configuration, which lends a lot of versatility to where you can put them. One could store multiple ones in different places (locations will be discussed separately), such as closets or pantries. Some examples appear below. Disadvantage is cost and the fact that you would need more of them than you would using a bigger container that would store a larger amount. Cost on these is about $18-$20 each. They’re not available locally, but can be found multiple places online. More information at www.waterbrick.org

5 or 7 gallon water containers – These are also very common, with a little larger capacity. They are made of BPA free plastic and are specifically designed to store water. They are widely available in retail stores. Some also stack, though probably only two-high and you should be cautious about that depending on location. Remember, anything that’s stacked has a good possibility of becoming un-stacked in an earthquake, so make sure they’re secure. Advantages include portability (they weigh 40-60 lbs full) and fairly low price and availability. They also come in different shapes and sizes. These cost anywhere from $15-$20. Lowest prices are at Walmart and Bi-Mart for about $15 each. Bi-Mart has them on sale for $10 twice a year, but you need to get to them quickly as they sell out very fast. More information at www.reliance.com , retail stores, or websites such as Amazon, The Ready Store, and other preparedness supply outlets.

Water storage barrels – Water storage barrels are widely available and come in several sizes. They are made of BPA free plastic and are suitable for long term storage. The advantage of these is that you have a much larger volume with a minimal footprint. Of course, the disadvantage is that you give up almost if not all portability, so water needs to be hand pumped into a smaller container for use. Below are a 15 gallon barrel, which is about 21” tall and 15” in diameter and weighs about 125 lbs. when full. A 30 gallon barrel, which is 29” tall by 19” wide and weighs about 250 lbs. when full, and a 55 gallon barrel that is 35” tall and 23” wide and weighs 450 lbs. when full. These cost between $55 and $120.

How long will it last and how should I preserve it?

There is a lot of information out there about this, and you will find that it’s not always consistent. Some sources say that you should use household bleach to preserve it but that it should be rotated out every 6-12 months. Others cite specific preservatives that can make it last up to 5 years without rotation. Frankly, it’s kind of hard to know what to believe.

Some products are sold specifically for treating water for long term storage. Aquamira™ is a company that makes several such products that have been studied and proven effective, and are EPA registered. They manufacture a two-part product that uses chlorine dioxide to purify drinking water for long term storage. They claim that it is more effective and safer than using household bleach, which isn’t really manufactured for this purpose. More information on this product is available at www.aquamira.com .

Another method is a bleach product called Water Preserver Concentrate that is manufactured specifically to treat water for long term storage (5 years). It’s a sodium hypochlorite solution that is EPA approved for consumption if properly diluted in water. It can be found for sale on multiple websites like Amazon and The Ready Store, and one bottle treats 55 gallons of water.

Some claim that a product called Activated Stabilized Oxygen can be used to treat water and keep it safe for up to five years. This method was developed and marketed by a man named E. D. Goodloe, who was a soil microbiologist. Now, stabilized oxygen has been marketed for years as a nutritional supplement, with claims of improved health and other benefits when consumed with water. These claims have been pretty thoroughly scientifically discredited. But Mr. Goodloe claimed that his preparation of Activated Stabilized Oxygen was also effective in making stored water safe from harmful anaerobic bacteria for up to five years. This is also claimed anecdotally by many others. The problem is that there doesn’t seem to be any information available that cites scientific testing that has proven it’s efficacy for keeping stored water safe. For that reason, I can’t recommend this method here. If you do choose to use or try this method, you should research it thoroughly before doing so, and periodically have the water tested to make sure that it is safe.

It should be noted that while all of these products state that they treat water for 5 years, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t or shouldn’t rotate it sooner than that. It’s a good idea to open one of your containers once a year to test it and ensure that the water is still drinkable. You can even get test kits for testing. After it has been stored for a long time, it’s helpful to pour water from one container (like buckets) to another a few times to aerate it some. This will help alleviate the stale taste you might nortice.

Water Filters

While there are many options for methods to store and preserve water, the fact is that few people have the space or resources to store enough water to sustain them and their families for an extended period of time. Because of this, something that should be a part of any preparedness kit is water filters. These enable you to filter water from almost any source and make it drinkable. Creeks, rivers, ponds or lakes could all be used as sources, as well as rain barrels or other catchment devices. Regardless, a proper filter can render water from these sources free of harmful bacteria and protozoa and make it potable.

There are many brands of water filters on the market, and some are pretty expensive. However one brand, Sawyer™, makes a variety of filters that are very compact, highly effective, relatively inexpensive, and widely available. Most are quite small and can be used with a pouch (included) or water bottle to hold the source water. Others come with attachments that can be hooked up to a faucet, or even attached to a 5 gallon bucket and are capable of filtering up to 500 gallons of water per day. The level of filtration for these filters is 0.1 microns, which filters out virtually all harmful waterborne bacteria and protozoa. The only things it doesn’t filter out is viruses, but waterborne viruses in the U.S. are almost non-existent, so that level of filtration really isn’t necessary unless you’re in developing or third world countries where those might be found. Even then, Sawyer and other manufacturers also make filters that are effective down to .02 microns, and would then be effective against viruses.

If you don’t have very much room to store bulk water in containers, having effective water filters would be essential for a continuing supply of clean water. All you need is a source.

These and other filters can be found in many retail and online stores. More info at www.sawyer.com. Outdoor stores such as REI, Cabela’s or Sportsman’s Warehouse also sell a variety of water filters.

Where should I store it?

Water, like food, should be stored in as cool and dry a place as you have. It shouldn’t be in a place subject to extremes of temperature. It should be kept from freezing, and also be kept out of direct sunlight. While some bottled water can be stored in a preparedness kit, bulk water obviously can’t. One should consider storing bulk water containers in more than one place. A couple in each closet and some in the pantry perhaps, or some in the garage and some in the shop. The reason for this is of course not to put all your proverbial eggs in one basket. If you were unable to reach one storage area, you would have others that you probably could reach. Just consider your storage locations thoughtfully. Also, bulk water storage containers should not sit directly on concrete. Rather, they should be separated from the concrete by 2x4s or some other wood (not pressure treated wood) or neutral material platform. The reason for this is that plastics can absorb chemicals or other contaminants from the concrete (or other contaminated surface), and of course keeping your stored water free of contaminants is the ultimate goal.

Updated 2/7/18