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We can only live 3 to 4 days without water. Water is the most important part of any emergency preparedness food storage. Each person in a household will need a gallon of water a day for drinking and food preparation only.
Your water supply should be stored in heavy plastic containers. Thin plastic milk or water containers break easily and are not recommended. Empty 2 liter soda bottles work well as do empty bleach and heavy juice containers. You can purchase large 25 gallon barrels to store water in outside. Make sure they have a spigot at the bottom for
emptying.
All water that you store should be properly treated for safe consumption. Following are the different methods of water treatment.
Bleaching method. You can use non-scented household bleach to treat water for storage. Two eye-droppers full of bleach to a quart of water. For a five gallon container use a 1/2 teaspoon bleach. Be sure to date the container so you will know when it was prepared. Bleach treated water will store in a cool dark place for 1 year.
Iodine method. Tincture of iodine can be used to purify water. Four drops of iodine to a quart of clean water. Eight drops of iodine if the water is cloudy or questionable. Iodine sometimes has an odor and taste that some people do not like. Iodine can’t be used by
women who are pregnant and people with thyroid problems. The good things about it is that it has a distinctive odor that lets you know that it has worked. Iodine is affective at killing harmful bacteria and spores. Using iodine treated water with a flavored drink mix will hide the iodine taste.
Hydrogen Peroxide method. Food grade hydrogen peroxide is excellent for treating water. Use the same amounts as iodine. Water treated with hydrogen peroxide will last several years longer than any other treatment method.
Boiling method. This is the cheapest way to treat water, but we can’t always have a heat source in case of a disaster so may not be feasible. The water will need to boil for 15 minutes to kill bacteria. It may still have certain bacterial spores that may need to be treated with iodine.
Water sources inside your house that you can utilize in case of an emergency are hot water heaters, toilet tanks, water beds and canned goods. Swimming pool and spa water
can be used when diluted with other water. Let the water sit 30 minutes before drinking so that the chlorine will evaporate.
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