Storing water may be the most vital part of our preparations for SHTF events as we need daily intakes of water to keep our bodies functioning properly.
We may be able to survive for up to 2 months without food. However, we can barely last past 3-5 days without fluids or water.
Public water supplies could be disrupted due to drought, floods, quakes, pollution or civil unrest. The need for a stored supply of water is essential for our survival.
Being such an important aspect of our preparations, we need to make sure that the water is stored in the correct ways. Otherwise, we may risk catching some serious diseases that could end up being fatal.
Not Storing Water In Sealed Containers
If your water containers are not sealed, they are open to all manner of airborne contaminants and other things that can drop into the containers.
These contaminants will pollute the water causing certain bacteria to grow, making it unsafe to drink, and even dangerous for your health.
Related: What Is The Best Way To Store Water For SHTF?
It may also attract mosquitoes and other parasites to multiply in the stagnant water.
All containers need to be sealed tightly to make sure the water will stay potable for a long time.
Not Storing Water In The Right Conditions
All your long term water storage needs to be kept in clean, cool, dry and dark conditions, preferably off cement floors. The ideal places are basements, pantries with no windows, underground cellars and temperature controlled garages.
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It is important to keep plastic and glass water containers cool and away from sunlight so that chemicals are not released from the containers into the stored water.
Plastic containers in particular need to be kept away from the strong smelling odors of chemicals, fuels, paints etc. These odors can permeate the plastic containers.
Repurposing Previously Used Food Grade Containers
Some people say that previously used food grade containers such as those that held soda, beer, milk or oil etc. can be reused.
However, even the most careful sanitizing will not get rid of all the contaminants and some traces of bacteria and sugar will remain.
The exception to this is the reusing of bottles that contained water.
These can be reused as long as they are washed and sanitized with a bleach solution of 1 teaspoon bleach to 1 quart of water.
Not Using The Right Additives
Water meant for long term storage needs to be purified before it is sealed to ensure it will be good to use when needed.
There are a number of additives that can be used for purifying water including chlorine, calcium, fluorine, iodine tablets or tincture.
Another thing to be careful about is ensuring the dates on the iodine or water purification tablets have not expired.
Chlorine also needs to be fresh as it loses its strength when stored for 6 months and over. Bleach that is over 1 year old may need to be used at twice the dosing rate of fresh chlorine.
Storing Water In The Wrong Type Of Containers
Water should not be stored in metal containers as the metal will rust quite quickly and spoil the water.
The exception is the use of stainless steel containers, but the biggest disadvantage with this is that chlorine cannot be used to sanitize the water as it will corrode the container.
This also includes not being able to fill your stainless steel containers with tap water as it has already been treated with chlorine.
Plastic containers are the go-to solution for a lot of people, but these must be food grade to minimize the leaching of dangerous chemicals into the water.
Glass containers are also a possibility, but whichever container you choose to use, they must be sanitized first with a chlorine solution.
Not Filtering Rainwater
Harvesting rainwater is a great idea, but it can’t be taken for granted that it is suitable for drinking.
Many harmful bacteria can find their way into the water, causing serious diseases. Rainwater needs to be filtered as it enters the barrel, to prevent debris from polluting the water.
It also needs to be put through a 1 micron or less filter, so as to kill Giardia and Cryptosporidium parasites.
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Bleach alone will not kill these parasites. But another effective method is to boil the water for at least 5 minutes to make it potable.
Using Too Much Bleach
The correct dosage to sanitize potable water is 8 drops or ⅛ teaspoon bleach to 1 gallon of water.
This dosage can be doubled for non-potable water (water from rivers, lakes etc.). It must be left for at least 30 minutes before drinking.
Bleach is a corrosive substance. If too much of it is used, it can cause serious damage when drunk and may even lead to death.
It is also important to use unscented bleach that contains 4-6% sodium hypochlorite which is the common concentration for most household bleaches.
Not Changing The Water Regularly And Accessing The Water Storage Improperly
Some people say that if the container and water have been sanitized and sealed tightly, it will stay good forever.
However, to be on the side of caution. It is necessary to change the stored water every year. If any seal is broken or the container is cracked, you need to change the water even earlier.
Related: Is it Safe to Drink Old Stored Water?
The containers and fresh water both need to be sanitized again and sealed tightly. The discarded water can be used to water your vegetables, wash dishes, flush toilets or to do laundry.
Care must also be taken when accessing the water. You have to make sure bacteria is not introduced to the water via hands or ladles. It is recommended that a spout or spigot is used to avoid this type of contamination.
Water is going to be one of your most precious assets and needs to be stored properly.
This means using food grade containers. They need to be sanitized, filled with purified water, sealed tightly, stored in the right conditions.
A supply of bleach, filters and fuel will also help you make use of other sources of water when SHTF.
the “food grade” required containers extends to gardening and any livestock watering >>> any chemicals from the manufacturing or in re-cycled containers will eventually work into your food chain …
How do you water your animals on a daily basis? I have never seen a watering trough that is marketed as food grade.
I think any warning about chemicals and you is a lost cause …..
but lets check >>> 2 + 2 = ????
i just use a IBC tote and rain gutters for the live stock.
Unless you use copper roofing material you will introduce contaminants into your water storage container.
I use a “first flush” device off the gutters on my metal roof. It consists of an 8 foot piece of 4 inch PVC pipe closed at the bottom with a cap and drain valve. Near the top is a tee which connects to an overflow pipe to the storage tank. Dust, bird droppings and the stray leaf go into the 4 inch pipe. I usually leave the drain petcock open so it self drains after a heavy rain.
crazysquirrel maybe you should look up rainwater harvesting.
I know aside from a few governmental buildings very few copper roofed buildings.
Some of you are fretting about minor easily filtered issues when a LACK of water for 3 days will KILL you.
Day one your weak
Day two you wish you were dead
Day three (or near enough) your wish is granted
Rule of 3’s stuff here.
Its for the live stock ….and its just fine… Keeps from having to move water 9 months out of the year.
Hello, we won’t need to worry about anything with the Climate Executive Order. The Government will take care of everything. It’s ok now. ????
Sarcasm will get you places! and the scarcest sentence known to mankind is: “I’m from the Government and I’m here to help.”
In an August 12, 1986 news conference President Reagan quipped: “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help.”
?
I saw something called BLUE CAN water..or something similar to that name…its water in a Aluminum Can and they advertise its good for 25 years…BUT..very expensive…what is the difference between that water and canned Seltzer Water that is canned under strict health conditions. Not only that but its cheap…
Yes I have some of this water. What makes it shelf stable for so long is that it is packed in nitrogen, not air.
Will
There is “NO nitrogen” put into this product. I just got off the phone with the company of Blue Can Water.
A case of this is $32.00 per case. If you want to have a can of water that will last 50 yrs. This is the product for you to have for you or your family or group.
It can take a temperature change from 1 degree to 155 degree. So, this Blue Can Water is and will be the best water to prep for long, long term storage…
Thank you…
No, I do not get anything for telling everyone about this awesome product.
I will be adding this to my prep’s.
I just searched for “Blue Can Water“, and it is very expensive, over $1.00 per 12oz can. Not worth the cost for what little you get, I’ll find better long-term solutions for more volume of potable water, which is what will be needed. Canned water might be okay for a short trip across hot and arid areas but would not be feasible as a potable water supply for an extended duration.
Super, that you will find a long-term solution of potable water, resources for all of us, as it will be needed. I believe any water will be better then, no water. Filter the water first…
Thank you for doing such a “good deed for the site”… That, in your post said that you will find us a better way. Thank you again.
But really, a can of water that will last 50 yrs. in fluctuating temperatures, ranging from 1. Degrees to 155. Degree.
For the cost, very small price to pay for something that “you will die” in three days without it, they say…
Why would anyone discredit a long-term can of water as not being, what no good.?
“Then it would not be feasible as a potable water supply for an extended duration”, maybe for some one that does not understand the different, of one or the other.
Hope it will be a short trip, because I can’t carry much more then maybe two gallons, a cross arid areas.
Did find can water for 20 yr. and 30 yr. shelf life, but not 50 yrs. yet. Still looking to see if I can find anything as a can of water better then, Blue Can Water. @ That price…
Just waiting with the rest, to see what you have come up with in the long-term storage and volume that will be needed, for us.
O’ how much do we pay at the store for a can of soda pop. maybe 99. cents or 1.50 maybe even up to 2.00 dollars for a drink of soda pop. Do the math, it comes out to be cheaper, grant it you will need to put in some time to find the best deal. If you really look at how much money we spend on junk, we could already have put up 10 cases in a year. if you really tried to do such a thing. I stopped smoking cigars and just at that I put an extra 25.00 to 30.00 dollars back in my pocket.
So yes, we can have more then we think we can, only if we stop and look at what we waste money on. I have…
Again, thank you for helping those that need a long-term water solution.
All products, canned and bagged, the containers are purged with nitrogen to remove moisture. This water is NOT “packed in nitrogen.” p.s.- the air you breathe is 79% nitrogen, 20 % oxygen, and the remaining 1% is made up of all other free gasses.
We found a 30 yr canned water called e+Quential at Wally World by Augason Farms eQuenchal Drinking Water, Emergency Water Supply, 30-Year Shelf Life, Canned Water, Zero Plastic, 12 oz. cans. It runs about $20 for 24 cans. We pick up a case once a month so it’s not too hard on the budget.
It is not carried at our Wally World but I did order it directly from Auguson. I will have other water supplies but it will be nice to have water that is readily available.
Aluminum is used to purify water in France in place of chlorine, Result: Highest Alzheimer rates in population. Aluminum is not good.
Great information ,
Great comments
Best web site on the net ,
I like them all,
but this one is my favorite .
Than you
Question. The article says, “All your long-term water storage needs to be kept in clean, cool, dry and dark conditions, preferably off cement floors.” Why should it not be on a nice, flat cement floor? These containers can weigh 832 pounds for 100 gallons, what else would you put it on?
Leigh,
You don’t want to put plastic containers directly on a cement floor. It can leach into container. Need a barrier. A piece of carpeting or an flat piece of cardboard.
Hope that helps.
Peace
MadFab
Water can absorb taste of cement flooring. Just get it off the floor somehow.
Use something waterproof & ventilated if you can find it. Heavy duty industrial
screen or catwalk. Water barrels sweat with seasonal temp. changes causing
chemicals to leach out of the concrete that will eventually eat pinholes
in the bottom of the barrel. (This is for large plastic bbls.)o
Tom
The different between, is that there are “Dissolved corban dioxide gas”, injected under pressure or occurring natural geological processes. Called Seltzer water.
Blue Can water is “filtered and sterilization”. if you look it up you can find all that you need about this process…
Is it possible to store water and then filter it for drinking when the need comes?
I would certainly think so and that’s what I’m planning on doing with my “stored” rain water. After all, municipal water companies use water “stored:” in reservoirs, lakes and aquifers then filter and disinfect it. They also add toxic fluoride for our benefit of course.
I agree. We have 2 Berkey filter/purifier systems along with 4 extra sets of filters (each set will purify several thousand gal of water). We add purification drops to our stored water ( in a large, dark colored, approved, long term storage tank). While our tank is outside in the heat, it does have a shade roof over it. We will still run the water thru our Berkeys as precaution for ourselves but will probably use it straight from the tank for the pets, chickens, rabbits & garden. We have other, non-potable water stored as well for hygiene use. Of course that could also be boiled x5 mins to make potable if necessary.
Zero water pitcher (5 levels) and lots of filters. Its water is very close to distilled.
In one portion of this article your bleach formula is 1 tsp to one quart and later it is 1/8 tsp to one gallon. Is the best formula 1/8 teaspoon per gallon or 32x’s that amount?
Travis, I wondered about that , too, then went back to reread the statement: the ratio 1 tsp bleach:1 quart water applies to sanitizing the container, not for storing water. The latter ratio applies to sanitizing potable water for storage.
1 tsp of bleach per quart of water is for sanitizing containers.
for storing water in sealable containers, use 8 drops per gallon of generic bleach that has no additives.
Chlorine will evaporate out of the water if exposed to open air – the more surface area exposure, the faster it evaporates out of the water, so if you have water with too much chlorine, you can let it sit open to the air for a few days and then give it the sniff and tiny sip test. You’ll know if it still has too much chlorine. If it smells like a Spa or pool, too much chlorine, if you can barely smell any chlorine, or none at all, it should be good. You do not want to chemically burn your mouth, throat, and digestive tract.
I use food grade hydrogen peroxide even though it is a lot more expensive than bleach.
It has no bad taste and is way less toxic, and just as effective.
Use the cheap bleach for sanitizing containers, but H2O2 for sanitizing the actual water.
The concentration dose depends on the concentration of the H2O2 you get.
I see comments all of the time about livestock drinking contaminated water. But, most livestock particularly cows, now drink from farm ponds, streams, creeks and rivers. All of the above are contaminated with farm chemical runoff and other pollutants. I was told once that GOD gave cows their 7 stomachs to work as a Natural Filtration System within their own bodies. If you haven’t been poisoned by beef before now, it isn’t going to happen.
It may take a long time for beef poisoning, BUT…I’ve heard that cows off gassing is going to raise the earth’s temperature so high that all the water will evaporate. Can’t recall which rocket surgeon said that, but it must be true. It was on the internet! In the meantime, eat bugs…save the planet.
Farmer
If that was true, then the Earth would have exploded a very long time ago. Don’t believe all this crap that they are pushing. It’s a lie…
Remember they have to blame someone or something. Why not cow’s…
Don’t you think we also let off gas’s also that help with the temperature. Maybe it all the hot air that the leftist, are spewing that is the real problem
Remember the devil is here to kill, steal and destroy. The biggest lie they push, is Deception
It was sarc red….
Were cool Farmer, that’s why I said, that about the leftist. LOL.
They really are the problem.
Have a good one bro…
red ant,
You are correct but it goes futher than that even the people writing these prepping articles are swaying the truth for profit. You do not have to have perfect drinking water to survive. I have swallowed creek and lake water and I have not gotten sick from it. But That does not mean I need to purposely drink it unless I filter out contaminates using a charcol filter or distilling it because when the shtf happens all these companies will be shut down and all the chemicals will not be disposed of properly and will end up in the streams and rivers. So with in a few months the river and lake water will not be drinkable unless it is boiled and distilled. Then it will be questionable if the toxins is out.
Farmer,
You are a wise truther. The cow gas is from the dirt cheap gmo corn, soy etc. products they are feeding them not sweet grass.
“By Way Of Deception, Thou Shalt Do War.”
Farmer,
If we’re all going to be eating more beans, then we humans will be doing some serious off-gassing. Maybe vegans off-gas more than omnivores or carnivores?
I read of a farmer in Australia, who’s cattle grazed at the beach and ate red seaweed. The farmer found that those cows were healthier and didn’t off-gas hardly at all. He had other cattle that did not graze at the beach to use as a comparison.
But the milk was pink-only LGBTG would drink it.
love those farmers and ranchers who dont follow the WEF , CRF , Who liars networks of morons , villiage idiots , perverts with nothing to do in life but figure out control to satisfy thier own lust .
Thank a Farmer
Thank a rancher
and all that see the truth
support the farmer
Yes, Al Gore says the oceans are already boiling!
Good info from you, BB.
He was that red hot papa that you heard about
But an asbestos mama put his fire out
And Big Bad Bill is Sweet William now
Lol. What?
I’ve got 50,000 litres of drinkable water in my house tanks at any time, plus a couple of megalitres in my spring-fed lake. Should be ok for a couple of weeks 🙂
Stackable gallon water jugs with supports up to the ceiling make a great indoor radiation barrier for the outside walls of 1st floor rooms. Has to be a stacked double row of bottles to block radiation leaks between bottles. Water will block the radiation from fallout on the ground outside the walls. Water will not block gamma rays of any weapon burst.
Blocking radiation from above is more difficult, but can be engineered with proper stacking technique…but water is heavy, so use caution.
I live under a swimming pool so I should be okay, right?
Any filter removes radiation from water.
Yep we bought a couple of cases of the blue water in cans years ago. Maybe 5 or 10 years can not remember now. We live near hurricanes so we have to prep for that also. We also keep 6 cases of bottled water from June until hurricane season is over . Then consume them and start over. Plus we have 12 55 gallon food grade plastic drums . Filled with city water and then stabilized. I have gutters and down spouts and just have to finish that project. We also have a water distiller . Plus numerous filters, purifiers. Plus we have several of the 5 gallon blue plastic containers for water also. We live where it rains a lot. Probably 60 to 70 inches of rain a year. Lakes and rivers all over the place.
Love your sarcasm.
Oops that was for RedAnt
Sorry but if your worried about radiation, from like a bomb! Your stackable water jugs will not protect you from radiation. Time, distance and shielding, lead is the best shielding hence why they use the lead blankets for xrays
I purchased “The Lost Ways” and as a result, i purchased several other books as special offers. I paid via credit card and I received “The Lost Ways” book but none of the other books. How can I check on the order and with whom do I check with?
Your cooperation is appreciated
Dave
What we have done and continue to do as we empty a gal. of bleach we rhn fill the gallon jug with water and lablel it so it is not contaminated with something else or left open. This works very well abd it just takes time to accumulate enough.
Charchol , Ash , Sand , heavy black weed block material
all needed
if yu use chemicals like clorax , bleach , other toxic ingreadiants
you might not last very long , yes you will live , but not very well
The body was designed to filter natural ingrediants and will build toleance to some of the others
but , Fact is : Drugs, chemicals , Big Pharma ideology is designed kill slowly and put yu into the care system permanantly
so use common sense , part s per gal , per 50 gal , per 1000 gal
not gallons into water , this equal s toxicity and death
one day at a time , one little bit at a time , after a while you find days to month s , and month s to years , then maybe if your fortuneate to see , understand , you will be raptured out of this mess before it comes to fuition .
I only hope its a pretrib rapture. Praise the Lord
Where can you get water supply tanks from. If I were going to use the charchole method how much would I need to filter 50 gallons .
I have large 5 gallon water bottles you can fill at the store. How long can that water be stored for future use of power outage? Also if the water is stored in these 5 gallon plastic containers for months at a time should it be boiled before use if so for how long? Thank you for help.
I store water in recycled food grade containers (empty Coke bottles, etc). Plan on using a Berkey or Sawyer filter with this water. Is there anything wrong with this plan?