Storing Water for an Emergency: Quick Guideline for Water Storage

You can never store enough water. You must store as much as you can and rotate your supply regularly in order to keep your supply as fresh and clean as possible and to know how far your supply can really get you. Aside from storing water properly, you also need to know the basics of locating and purifying water in your area, whether in the city or in the wild.

Before you start storing water, you should assess the possible disasters that can hit your place. Does your area have a history of calamities like earthquake or hurricanes? Do you live in a place near the coast? If your place was hit by a disaster, how long will it last?

When storing water you need to consider how many are there in your family. Each person consumes 1 1/2 gallon of water per day for drinking, preparing food, and hygienic purposes. So if there are three people in your family and you are planning to store water for 2 weeks, you should store 63-84 gallons of water or 238-318 liters of water.

Container to use in storing water

Food-grade plastic containers are the safest containers to use for water storage. To figure out if the container is a food-grade plastic, look at the bottom or the side of it if they are stamped with the letters HDPE (High-Density PolyEthylene). Look also for a recycle symbol and if you look inside the container you should see the number 2. HDPE containers are safe for storing water and food and are approved by the FDA.

Hardware and outdoor stores are selling these kinds of containers and there are different sizes available. If you are looking for a bigger container they also have 55 gallon HDPE drums.

Using massive containers can save you money and space, but the problem is they are hard to transport if it’s time to evacuate or move to another area.

Water treatment

There is no need for you to treat your tap water because it was already treated. But if you are not sure about the purity of the water, you can add 1/8 teaspoon of chlorine bleach for each gallon of water.

Boil water advisories are issued in various places in the country for reasons other than hurricanes or other natural disasters. Whenever water lines and treatment facilities are compromised, i.e. a busted line or water main break, boil warnings are issued. So always be aware of boil advisories in your area if you are storing water because you may need to boil water before you transfer it into containers.

Where to store water?

You need to store water in a cool, dry place and away from direct sunlight. Do not store water in a place near kerosene, gasoline and pesticides.

You need to replace or rotate your stored water every 6-12 months, so that it will be replaced with new supply. Label your water containers; you can label them with date so that you will know when you stored the water. Water can last for a long period of time if it is stored properly. Rotating your supply can prevent bacteria from growing in containers that are not properly cleaned.

Sometimes people take water for granted not knowing that in a time of crisis water can be a major problem. When there is flood, water can be contaminated by bacteria, chemicals, waste or sewage which makes tap water unsafe. The water distribution systems in your area can be damaged by an earthquake.

You may survive without food for weeks, but you can only survive three to five days without water. So do not take water for granted and store and use it correctly.