Posted by: airforce Oct 1 2005, 09:42 AM
As we all know, water is basic to our survival. At the same time, it is usually so readily available to us, that most people take it for granted. Compound this with all of the conflicting information you see, and this quickly becomes a very complicated subject. In this article I'll try to present the facts as clearly as I can, and you can take it from there.
How Much Water to Store?
A normal, active adult, in a normal room temperature environment, needs to drink about two quarts of water per day to maintain health. Active children, nursing mothers, and the sick or injured will require more. You will also require more water as your activity level increases, in times of stress, and as the temperature goes up or down. (Yes, you're body needs more water in cold weather!)
You will also need water for food preparation and cooking. (You do wash your hands before cooking and preparing food, right?)
You will also need water for cleaning cooking utensils, and your body. (Again, it becomes especially important to wash your hands with soap and water after using the bathroom. If your family becomes ill during a disaster or emergency, their probability of survival falls dramatically.)
With all of the above I would consider an allowance of two gallons of water per person, per day, to be the absolute minimum needed for survival and maintenance of health. If you are caring for sick or injured, you should double that allowance.
How Should Water Be Stored?
1. Store water from the source you are now using. The first days of a disaster are stressful enough; don't add to that stress with a "different tasting" water.
2. Store water in new, heavy-duty plastic containers with tight lids. remember those steel jerry cans we used to use in the Army? Remember how foul that water started to taste, after just a couple of days?
3. Don't use containers that were previously used to store something else.
4. Store your water away from paint products, petroleum products, acids, or anything with a bad odor.
5. Rotate your water supplies. It is the only way to continuously check its quality.
I'm Running Out of Water! Now What?
Water from fresh rainfall, fresh snowfall, or glacial ice, is generally safe to drink as is. Water from any other source must be decontaminated before it is safe to use. Fortunately, though it is labor intensive, it is not that difficult to do.
The first step is to identify, now, potential sources of water. Choose a source that is surrounded by health plant life, and that supports healthy wildlife such as birds. If it is stagnant that's okay, but avoid storm water runoff, or sources subject to contamination by farm or industrial use.
Allow your water to settle, to allow solids to fall to the bottom. Twelve hours of settling is good, but twenty-four is even better.
Pre-filter your water. There are a number of ways to do this. Expedient water filters can be made from layers of cotton cloth or paper towels, or even from coffee filters. Here is one I used in Chad (probably before many of you were born) that worked quite well:
1. Take an old BDU pant leg, and tie the bottom closed. (In Chad, we used a fatigue pant leg, and tied it closed with string.)
2. Place a couple layers of cotton cloth in the bottom. On top of that, place a two-inch layer of powdered charcoal.
3. On top of that, place place a couple more layers of cotton cloth, and about a six-inch layer of sand.
4. On top of that, place another couple layers of cloth, and fill the leg to the top with dry grass or hay.
5. Suspend the leg off the ground, place a container underneath, and pour water into the top.
From here, there are a number of ways to proceed.
Boil It
This is probably the easiest way to decontaminate water. Bring it to a rolling boil for at least ten minutes. There are some disadvantages to this, of course; it takes a lot of fuel, and boiled water tastes flat. Aerating the water by repeatedly pouring it from one container to another, will improve the taste.
Chemically Treat It
Water purification tablets are available, and are relatively inexpensive. You can also use pure bleach (not the sudsy kind!) at the rate of eight drops per gallon if the water is clear, or sixteen drops per gallon if it appears cloudy.
Alternatively, you can use iodine at the rate of twelve drops per gallon of clear water, or twenty-four if it is cloudy. In either case, let the mixture stand for at least 1/2 hour before use.
Desalinators
If you can afford a yacht, you can probably afford a desalinator. They range in price from about $700 for a rinky-dink hand-pump model which produces about a gallon an hour--strictly lifeboat use--to tens of thousands of dollars. If you have that kind of money, more power to you!
Water Distillers
A number of water distillers are available over the internet. Some of them can be seen
http://www.waterwise.com/products/products.asp. Water distillers, like desalinators, can make salt water potable. If you suspect your water may be contaminated by chemicals, they may even take care of that. (Discard the first water that comes across, and avoid distilling the last water in the reservoir.) If you need distilled water for your batteries, this is really your best bet.
Like everything else, there is a downside to their use. Most distillers require electricity, and the ones that don't need a lot of fuel.
There are designs for improvised distillers on the internet and in books. I've not had much luck with them, none of them that I've built really produced enough water to be practical. (Hint: If you make one, use copper tubing rather than that flexible surgical tubing.)
Finally, you will see a "solar still" in various survival books. Don't bother with them. You will use more water making the thing than you will ever get out of it.
Filters
Finally, here's the method I use; I bought two of the
http://www.survivalunlimited.com/waterfilter.htm several years ago. One is used for everyday use--it makes Tulsa tap water a whole lot more palatable. They claim to produce water for two cents a gallon; I've been using the same set of filters for six years now, and I have no reason to doubt them!
They are expensive. I paid nearly a thousand dollars for my two, plus an extra set of filters for each--and they cost more than that now. And, while they will keep out microbes, they won't do much for salt water or water that has been chemically contaminated. Finally, dirty water will shorten the lives of the filter inserts. All water should be pre-filtered, as described above.
-----
And that, folks, is about all I know about water. I hope this stimulates some thinking--and action--on your part. As always, your ideas and comments are welcome.
Onward and upward,
airforce
